Let's Get Warmed Up
For some people, choosing colors for their home comes easily. But for many others (us included), it can take time—and more than a few mistakes—to figure it all out. What colors make a room look inviting? What tones can be a little too demanding day in and day out? Where do you like to inject color in your home: the walls? The rug? The pillows? How much color is too much? And our personal favorite: where the heck do I start?
The following four exercises offer a little warm-up and an opportunity for some self-diagnosis, so you can inch closer to pinning down your favorite color schemes and combinations.
Exercise #1: The Color Wheel
Fill in the empty color wheel below according to the provided labels, making the inner petals the lightest tint of that color and the outer petals the darkest shade of that color. This will become a useful tool in understanding how colors relate to one another and will become the basis for Exercise #2. It also gives you a chance to practice creating a variety of hues that you can use within this book.
Red Green Red-Orange Red-Violet Yellow-Orange Blue-Violet Yellow-Green Blue-Green Orange Violet Yellow Blue
Exercise #2: Color Combos
Let's bring that color wheel to life a bit using this collection of home accessories, repeated for you below. Above each grouping, you'll see a prompt for what type of color combination to add to the items. Once completed, determine which groupings you like better than others—and the different feelings each variation can create (youthful? calming? chaotic?).
• Monochromatic: Choose one color from the color wheel and start filling in the objects using only tints and shades (lighter or darker versions) of that same color. Tip: This often feels like the most serene of all color combos, so you may want to add a dash of white or black to inject some contrast.
• Analogous or Tonal: Choose one color and identify the colors on either side of it on the wheel (for example, green's neighbors are blue-green and yellow-green). Fill in the objects using tones of these three colors. Tip: This is a low-risk way to add color and often creates a relaxing but colorful feeling in a space.
• Complementary: Choose one color and identify the color directly across from it (for example, blue and orange are complementary colors). Fill in the objects using tones of these two colors. Tip: Complementary color schemes can be dynamic, but also jarring, so use primary or overly bright hues carefully.
• Triad: Choose one color and identify the colors that are four petals away on either side, forming a triangle (for example, green, violet, and orange form a triad). Fill in the objects using tones of these three colors. Tip: Consider choosing one color to be most dominant in your drawing, using a second choice a bit less, and the third sparingly.
Exercise #3: Adding Color
Now that you have a better sense of what colors and combinations you like, let's take a look at two approaches to layering color into a space (or page, in this case). Below you'll find a vignette that we have duplicated for you. On this page, begin by filling in the large areas and objects with color first (furniture, walls, rug, curtains...) and stop when you feel the space has enough color (adding neutral tones and/or leaving white space in the remaining areas).
On this page, begin by filling in the small objects and details with color (the lamp, pillows, books) and stop when you feel the space has enough color (adding neutral tones and/or leaving white space in the remaining areas). Once complete, compare the pages. Which is your favorite? What about the other one isn't working as well for you? Did you find one easier or more intuitive to color?
