Colour can have a huge effect on mood, perception, and productivity which is why the paint colours you choose for your buildings should be carefully considered. To help you feel inspired and understand a bit more about colour, we've put together an explainer of interior colour combinations and some useful terminology.
At first glance, a full-colour wall can appear daunting – so many colours to choose from! The best thing you can do is to stop and think "there are only three colours" – blue, red and yellow. These are your primary colours. Every paint colour has come from a mixture of these three. Mixing two primary colours together results in a secondary colour which can be found between the primary colours used to create it - for example, adding red and blue together gives you purple. In between the secondary colours you will find the tertiary colours that come from mixing two secondary colours. Colours such as white, black, beige, ivory and grey are called neutral colours as they appear to be "without" colour, though all neutrals except white and grey do come from the colour wheel.
Colour temperature
When selecting or creating colours you need to understand a little about how a colour is either "warm" or "cool". Typically you would classify lime, green, turquoise, blue and navy as "cool" colours while yellow, mandarin, orange, raspberry, red, magenta and purple can be considered "warm" colours.
Where the line blurs a little is when you create a "cooler" purple by adding some blue, or you create a "warmer" lime by adding some yellow. The degree to which you change a colour's temperature depends on the amount of altering colour you add.
Interior colour combinations for paintwork
When you have worked out your base colour, there are two simple colour combinations that will get you started when selecting your accessories. They are complementary colours and analogous colours.
If you want an interior that is going to give a "punch" go for a complementary colour. On your colour wheel, a complementary colour is a colour directly opposite the one you have chosen as your base colour. Green and red are classic complementary colour pairings.
If subtlety is more your idea for your interior colour combinations, stick with three colours side by side on the colour wheel – this is called an analogous colour combination. Three colours side by side mean harmony, no matter what the depth of colour is.
If you're looking for long-term preventative maintenance, Higgins will deliver a cost-effective solution tailored to your budget and property. Request a free paint condition assessment to get started today.
Higgins Coatings is Australia's premier commercial painting contractor with over 70 years of experience in providing cost-effective painting and tailored maintenance solutions to a broad range of industries including hospitals, aged care, schools, and strata. If you need quality painting services delivered on time and within budget, contact us today for a consultation.