Color Palette Ideas

Complementary Colors

• Complementary colors are colors that are opposite one another on the color wheel. The most often-used example of two complementary colors is the classic red and green. Another commonly used combination is yellow and purple. Complementary colors work great to create division in a space and keep things lively. Use bright versions of these color palettes for nurseries or playrooms, and softer, darker tones for kitchens or living areas to create a vibrant, open-looking space.

Analogous Colors

• Analogous colors are colors that are close together on the color wheel. These color palettes are used extremely often because they provide a clean, neat feel. Typically three colors in the same hue are selected. A good way to use analogous color schemes is by using the lightest and darkest shades only as accent colors in the room. One of the easiest ways to do this is to purchase or create accessories and furniture in these shades and paint your walls your middle-ground shade. This will tie the darkest and lightest shades of your color palette together wonderfully.

Triadic Colors

• Triadic color schemes give you the best of both worlds. A triadic scheme is made up of three colors that are equally distanced along the color wheel, thus forming a triangle. For example, green, violet and orange are triadic colors. These color palettes give a clean and natural feel while still providing a contrast to the eye. Try using darker greens and violets with punches of different shades of orange, or try a whole different triadic color scheme all together.

Split-Complementary Colors

• Split-complementary color schemes are a variant of the complementary palette. In a complementary scheme, you have one color and its opposite; in split-complementary, you have three -- a base color and the two colors directly next to that base color's direct opposite on the color wheel. So, if your base color is green, instead of green and red you would use green and the two colors closest to red. Usually these schemes are used similarly to triadic palettes to create a clean yet colorful room.