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UNDERSTANDING COLOR PART II
A recent column discussed the more scientific aspects of color, and how
to choose different color schemes according to their relationship on the
color wheel. Now let’s look at some practical applications of color.
Remember that hue is just another term for color. So green may be called
celadon or olive drab, but the hue is the same. What does change in the
hue family is the value, which refers to the relative lightness or
darkness of the color.
The intensity of the color, or chroma, describes how saturated the color
is. A pure color, like the primary red, blue and yellow, is highly
intense, whereas either adding drops of the complimentary color, or
adding other tints and tones neutralizes strong colors. A tint is simply
adding white to any color, such as adding red to white to form pink. A
tone, or shade, is adding black to a color to deepen its appearance.
Colors also have a temperature as either the warm tones of red to yellow
to yellow-green on one side of the color wheel, and the cool side from
green-blue to blue to violet. If you mixed equal amounts of
complimentary colors, such as red and green, you would have a neutral
gray. That gray would be seen as a warm neutral if the red is more
dominant, or as a cooler neutral if the green is dominate.
Warm colors have the psychological effect of warmth and energy, while
cool colors make us feel more calm and peaceful. So if you want your
living room energized, choose warm fabrics and wall colors. But be aware
of the undertones in the paint. If for example you want sage green walls
as a background for gold tones furnishings, you should choose a green
that has yellow undertones. If you choose a green with blue tones in it,
your color scheme will look, and feel, slightly off kilter because of
the cooler green.
Undertones are also very important in regard to the topcoat appearance
when you are painting your walls a dark or transparent color. If you
prime with white, or a mix of white with some of the topcoat color, you
will never get the same color as the swatch. But if you prime with the
right shade of gray, you will create the right balance of light
absorption and light reflection for a uniform effect that closely
matches the color swatch. Sherman-Williams has a gray color prime system
in place.
Also, whenever two different color tones are in direct contact, the
contrast between them is intensified. So blue is brightest when seen
next to its complimentary orange, and green is brightest when seen next
to red.
Combining cool and warm tones in the same room takes some skill. It’s
safer to let a warm or cool scheme dominate, and then you are free to
add a few accessories in the opposite scheme for an unexpected and
interesting effect.
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