How to Pick a Paint Color with a Color Wheel
Use a color wheel when selecting paint colors for your home as a surefire way to achieve harmonious results and create walls you'll love to look at.
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Brighten up a room with these painting and wallpaper tips.
You Will Need
- Standard color wheel
- Paint chips
Steps
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Step 1
Take a cue from pros
Take a cue from the pros when you pick paint colors for interiors or exteriors by beginning with a standard color wheel.
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Step 2
Study color wheel relationships
Study the relationships between primary, secondary and tertiary colors and understand that there are unlimited color options.
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Harmonize exterior paint colors with your landscape and neighborhood.
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Step 3
Choose monochromatic
Choose a single color from the wheel, but vary the hue -- the lighter and darker versions of a color.
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Step 4
Create a complementary scheme
Create a complementary color scheme by picking paint colors in opposite positions on the color wheel, keeping in mind that the best results include a dominant color balanced by a subtle tone of the opposite color.
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Step 5
Consider adjacent schemes
Consider adjacent schemes using colors that are located next to one another on the color wheel and vary the color intensity.
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Step 6
Build triadic
Build a triadic scheme: 3 colors located in equidistant locations from one another on the color wheel. Use 2 as accent colors.
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Take home chips of the colors you pick to make sure you like the way they look against your furnishings, woodwork, and carpets.
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Step 7
Have confidence
Have confidence in the color wheel as a tool, but always pick colors you like to create a home reflecting your distinct personality.
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Early paint pigments included charcoal, dirt, and chalk.
