How to Choose Complimentary Colors for Your Decor

Complimentary colors are just that- colors that compliment your decor. It is also the name for colors that are made by mixing the three primary colors : red, blue and yellow.

This doesn't mean that you are limited to using only complimentary colors in your decor. A great item to have around for your color choosing is to get an artist's color wheel. They are usually under a dollar, pocket sized and will have all rangers of colors and shades. If you're curious what might be a great contrasting color for a dark red, a turn of the wheel will show you that the opposite color is a dark green and complimentary colors are in the browns and orange family - there with just a turn of a wheel you have your entire color scheme laid out.

Color should be balanced and splashes of bright color should be strategically placed to catch the viewers eye to see an impact piece such as a glorious plant on a stand by a couch with a stark red pillow or a brightly painted pot with a beautifully fanned out fern on a plant stand or a leaf shelf will both use up a corner space and add a splash of color of your room.

Colors can give people feelings or emotional reactions. If you're going for a peaceful and cozy color scheme, obviously steer clear of bright reds, yellows or stark black and white. You will want softer colors such as the softer sides of yellow, blue or violet. Earth tones such as the gamut of colors found in the brown and orange families can also evoke warm feelings when used in a decor.

Many people want a bright and cheery kitchen and they lean towards bright yellows or greens, for the most part this will work unless your kitchen is already brightly lit than the yellow can seem too bright to many people and you will want to go for some brighter colors that are less brilliant like toned down members of the yellow family like Golden Rod or Maize.

A great way to figure out colors is to go to the local hardware store and pick up paint samples. You can use the colors is lay out your color scheme and if you don't have a place like that nearby, go through the crayons of your children, you'll find nearly every color commonly used in decorating in a large box of crayons.

Pick the mood you want and then choose those colors. For color accents, hit the primary colors group. They are "true" colors as they are the three colors that all other colors are blended from. The primary colors are blue, red and yellow. Mixing primary colors gives us secondary colors and those are orange,green, violet. Secondary colors are also fabulous to use for accent pieces.

There are no wrong color schemes as long as you like it and your choice of colors gives the mood you wanted for your room, it's perfect!
posted by Home Decor Experts - Accent Architecturals