Color Wheel Theory in Santa Barbara, CA; Choosing an Interior Design Paint Color Scheme

When considering a color scheme many tools present themselves for consideration, such as the color wheel. The wheel has various colors depicted around the circumference and aids in determining a two-tone color scheme. The connecting lines are suggested combinations that are complementary or form some other connection.
Colors directly opposite each other are complimentary colors. Monochromatic colors use three different tones or values of the same color. Analogous color are three adjacent colors, like yellow-orange, yellow and yellow-green on the wheel. Splits for a connecting triangle shape like yellow, red violet and blue-violet. They employ a color and two adjacent tertiary colors. Triadic colors form an equilateral triangle, like yellow, red and blue. Tetradic color schemes form squares, using two complimentary pairs, like yellow-orange, yellow-green, red-violet and blue violet. These schemes create a color harmony. Of course, the wheel represents a course color group, there are varying tints, and the grays, pure white and the blacks and earth tones are not considered in the wheel. The color wheel is used in professional design, and can help pick color schemes for rooms. Once a combo is picked then you pull color chips and try to come up with what you like. The color wheel gives direction.

Paint Color Vocabulary & Words List

Other terms we should be aware of in describing color are:
• Hue: hue answers ‘what color is that?’
• Chromaticity: is the purity of the color, and may be referred to as ‘Chroma’ and tells how pure a hue is.
• Saturation referrers to the appearance of color under varying lighting. Not all lighting is balanced to ‘daylight’. General lighting adds a slight warm or reddish tint that is designed to lessen eye strain. So, lighting is not pure white. View your color chips under the lighting conditions that prevail in your home, they will slightly change from the stores lighting. Also, the color appearance will change from high light to low light or night.
• Color systems vary according to applications. RGB (red, green, blue) dominate projected light, your computer screen for instance. Paints are based on the CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow and black) system. The other system is HSL or Hue, Saturation and lightness.
• Primary colors are derived from a prism and sometimes referred to as the ‘Spectral’ colors. These are the ROYGBIV, red-orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. For pigments (paint) the primaries are CMY or cyan, magenta and yellow.
• Tints, Tones and Shades, not interchangeable these terms describe characteristics of color. Add white, the TINT is a lighter version of the original color. Add black, the colors darken and is described as the SHADE. Add gray and you get different TONES.
• Luminance or lightness described the brightness. The brighter the color the more the luminance. Luminance changes with the addition of white or black. White brightens and black decreases the luminance.
• Complementary colors ‘go together’, any two colors when mixed produce a gray.

Color Harmony

Color theory describes how pleasing a combo is. This will narrow many choices but is not an absolute, a ‘ball park’ solution, not a specific base. Colors are based on the wavelengths that our eyes perceive. The human eye can perceive approximately 7,000,000 colors. Certain colors and combos though can cause negative physiological problems, causing headaches, and affect vision, others are soothing and affect the mood. Colors must be chosen wisely, and most persons tend to prefer pastels (lighter more subdued colors) to the bright colors.

Painting Services & More in Ventura, Ojai, Newbury Park, Westlake Village, Camarillo, Thousand Oaks, Agoura Hills & Santa Barbara California

Another factor is finish; flats, eggshell, satin, semi-gloss and glossy. Each reflects light differently and each has characteristics that vary, and of course interior paints should never be used outside, but with children an exterior paint may hold up better with continuous washing, in either satin or semi-gloss. Contact McKay’s Painting for a paint consultation. We can help you with everything from selecting paint colors to the proper application for a perfect finish. Contact us today!