Characteristics of Colours

How to Transform Your Interiors with a well balanced colour palette.

Dec 15, 2008 Omeima Ismaiel

Preparing a colour scheme for a space could be a daunting exercise. Knowing some of the characteristics of colours will help in making the appropriate choices.

The Primary and Secondary Colours

The three primary colours (yellow, red and blue) cannot be created by combining any other colours. Mixing these primaries together results in the secondary colours, orange (yellow + red), green (yellow + blue) and purple (red +blue). Tertiary colours are made by mixing the primaries with secondaries thus forming the twelve segment colour wheel. Further colour combinations lead to an even larger range of colours.

The Natural Order of Colour

The natural order of colour describes the tonal quality of each colour and refers to their logical sequence from lightest to darkest; yellow being the lightest and purple the darkest. All the other colours fall inbetween these two colours as clearly seen in the colour wheel described above.

Contrast of Temperature – Warm and Cool Colours

This is the relationship between colour and temperature. We often describe colours as being warm or cool. If we were to divide the 12 segment colour circle in two halves vertically, the colours on the left are the warm ones and those on the right are cool. So all hues starting at the yellow/orange and going anti-clockwise down to the red purple are warm, while those on the second half ranging from the yellow/green to the blue/purple are cool. It is also true that the actual temperature of objects is affected by their colour and is a direct result of the energy absorbed by their surfaces when light falls on them. This light energy is converted to heat. A black surface that absorbs all the light energy falling on it is hotter than a white surface that would reflect the light.

Receding and Advancing Colours

Generally warm colours advance and cool colour recede. Thus in small or tight spaces one would use cool colours to make the space seem larger. In a narrow long room, using a warm colour such as red on the end wall, and white on the longer side walls would make the room appear wider and less narrow. However this rule of thumb can be reversed, because using a strong rich cool colour would make a surface advance and thus also seem closer. The challenge would be in using different colour hues together in one scheme and attaining harmony between their chromas, hues and values.

Shades and Tints,

A tint is a pure colour to which only white has been added (hue + white). Shades are colours to which only black has been added (hue + black). Mixing in black or white in varying proportions gives grades of shade or tint. It is thus incorrect to refer to pink as a shade as is often done by some.

Pastel Colours

Colours to which equal amounts of black and white have been added are called pastels (hue + black +white). This gives pastels their characteristic greyed appearance. Pastel shades have a greater proportion of black, while pastel tints have a greater proportion of white.

Contrast of Extension

This refers to the visual balance of colours. It is readily observed in nature; a vast country side would be swathed in green with bits of colour here and there in the form of flowers or fruits. The feeling of visual comfort one feels is a direct result of thia natural harmony. From this we learn that to balance colours in an interior there is certain proportion to maintain and having a larger area of background colour will bring out the stronger colours nicely.

Goethe

The eminent colourist Goethe calculated values proportioning colours so that a balance is obtained when two or more colours are used. He gave each colour a value: yellow 9, orange 8, red 6, purple 3, blue 4 and green 6. Thus if we want to use purple and yellow together, we would use them in the ratio of 3:6 respectively (purple being taking up the larger area). This is a really helpful guideline.

Equipped with these basic principles, one can start to put together an interior design colour scheme.

The copyright of the article Characteristics of Colours in Interior Decorating is owned by Omeima Ismaiel. Permission to republish Characteristics of Colours in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

warm colours advance, cool colours recede

strong colours advance,light colours recede

pattern using Goethe's value proportions

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