Color is crucial in interior design and significantly influences how we perceive a space. It's often said that color dominates over form, meaning that the eye perceives color first. Color is also highly affected by light, so good lighting is essential for effective color planning. Working with color is fun and creative, yet complex. This post aims to provide tips and insights into how color planning looks for an interior designer.
Image courtesy of Engelska Tapetkompaniet (color by Farrow & Ball)
How do you create a balanced color scheme?
There is no universal right or wrong in color and interior design; the main goal is for the room's users to be satisfied. Regardless of project size, it's always a good idea to start with the color scheme. This is typically presented using what is known as a color scheme or palette. If you frequently use Pinterest, you've likely seen numerous examples of color palettes there. It's a convenient way to gather inspiration and create boards for planning your color scheme.
Creating a 'balanced' or 'harmonious' color scheme - what does that mean?
Of course, the answer is subjective and thus complex, but there are many tools and principles to help achieve this goal. We will provide some tips here, but there are many more. It’s no coincidence that there are professional roles dedicated to color planning, as there is much to learn in this area.
In all types of design, it's important to conduct a thorough needs analysis based on relevant questions, such as:
What emotions do you want to feel in the room? How do you want to feel? Each color has psychological aspects that could be interesting to explore. There might be deeper, albeit subconscious, reasons why someone is drawn to a particular color.
How will the colors look throughout the day - when do you spend most time in the room, and how do you want the color to appear then?
Which color should dominate? Do you prefer a dark or light experience?
Image courtesy of Klint and their wall paint 83 – La Roux
Color Distribution and Formula
Besides choosing colors, the distribution of these colors is crucial. It's common to talk about a base color, a complementary color, and an accent color. The base color should dominate the room, usually on large areas like walls, floors, ceilings, or large furniture. The complementary color supports the base color and is present in smaller amounts, e.g., on an accent wall, curtains, carpets, or smaller pieces of furniture.
The accent color is the "icing on the cake," the focal point in the room, and can be found in decorations, lampshades, cushions, etc. What makes up each category can vary; what matters is the proportion of each.
For those who like mathematical terms, here's a successful formula for color distribution in interior design:
Base color 60%
Complementary color 30%
Accent color 10%
It is recommended that the accent color appears in at least three places in the room to achieve a harmonious effect. You can work with several accent colors, but one or two is usually best.
Using Color Scheme Principles
To the above distribution formula, you can add a 'color scheme principle' for help!
Creating color combinations can be more "free," but if it feels difficult to rely on intuition, it may be helpful to use these tried-and-true aids to ensure balance and harmony.
To further facilitate the work, we use a color system called NCS, which communicates color through codes. Now, it gets more technical! The code tells us about the amount of blackness, chromaticity, whiteness, and color tone in a color. Here's an example of a code:
S 1040 - Y90R
This code tells us:
S = an NCS standard color
10 = 10% blackness (first pair of digits)
40 = 40% chromaticity (second pair of digits)
Y90R = The color tone consisting of 90% red (red) and 10% yellow (yellow)
The sum is always 100%
Whiteness = 100 - blackness and chromaticity (the difference between 100 and the sum of blackness and chromaticity)
In the case of the above code, the whiteness is 50%
The first four digits (i.e., blackness, chromaticity, and implied whiteness) together tell about the shade, also referred to as the "first name" in the code.
The characters after the dash always stand for the color tone. This can be 1 to 4 characters long and is referred to as the "last name" in the code.
Where can you find this NCS code?
You may have seen that there is often a color code on a paint sample. This might be the manufacturer’s own, but often an NCS code is also included. If the NCS code is not included, it can usually be found using an NCS tool (e.g., NCS index, NCS color pin). Paint stores often have these tools to help. Ask for help in the store!
It's important to emphasize that what you see with your eye is ultimately most important - and you may find that colors fit a certain principle even if the codes differ somewhat when measured with a tool. So don't get fixated and blinded by codes if you SEE a color combination that looks harmonious.
Color scheme principles are meant to help, not hinder. You may also find that a color scheme follows a certain principle even if the codes differ slightly in percentage - the deviations might be so minor that the eye doesn't notice, and then the goal is achieved regardless.
Tone-on-Tone / Similar Hue
A color scheme principle that works very well if you have ONE favorite color is 'tone-on-tone' or also called 'similar hue'. This principle is based on a color that has the same hue, i.e., the same last name, but different shades, i.e., first names. Remember that codes are only meant to guide and assist.
Such a color scheme could be built up, code-wise, according to the following example.
Take your favorite color. E.g., S 2030 -Y50R
Focus on the last name, i.e., Y50R (consisting of 50% yellow and 50% red), and base the entire color scheme on this.
This is just an example and can of course be done based on any color tone in the color wheel, e.g., a blue, green, etc.
You can also have multiple shades as complementary colors and more as accents.
If you want additional "excitement," you can choose an accent color that deviates from the hue. The dominant color scheme principle will still be similar hue in the above example.
The "deviating" accent color can be any color, but if you also want a code-wise 'guideline', it could be a color on the opposite side of the color wheel. To clarify the terms now; colors that are on opposite sides of the color wheel are called 'complementary colors' BUT should not be confused with 'complementary colors' named in the above formula. The former refers to complement in dominance in color distribution, while the latter is a well-established concept within color theory. Green and red are each other's complementary colors, and blue and yellow are each other's. Complementary colors enhance each other and are therefore often successful to play with to create accents and contrasts.
In the above example, you could replace S 2070-Y50R with any shade of the color tone B50G, which is exactly opposite to Y50R (in the color wheel)
We could take S 2050- B50G, and then the color scheme would look like this:
Shade-Similar Color Scheme
Another color scheme principle that works very well if you want multiple colors, without it feeling disjointed, is called 'shade-similar'. This principle is based on different color tones that have the same shade, i.e., the same first name.
Such a color scheme could be built up according to the following example.
Choose a base color. E.g., S 1020-Y10R
Focus on the first name, i.e., S 1020 (consisting of 10% blackness, 20% chromaticity, and 70% whiteness), and base the entire color scheme on colors with the same shade.
This is just an example and can of course be done based on any color.
The accent color can also deviate from the color scheme principle and still be dominantly perceived as shade-similar.
Pick colors from an image/pattern/wallpaper
Another very effective way to create a successful color combination is to start from something that appeals in terms of color composition, such as a pattern or wallpaper. It could also be an image or photo, of anything, e.g., nature, an interior, a piece of art.
Creating a successful color scheme is largely about finding the right composition and distribution of the colors involved. A wallpaper, pattern, or photo is often composed harmoniously and is therefore a good starting point. Note that sometimes the goal may be disharmony or asymmetry - and then you can use these tips but in reverse.
This image could inspire a color palette with this distribution.
Image courtesy of Engelska Tapetkompaniet (wallpaper by Långelid / Von Brömssen). Color palette created by Nordic Design Institute.
Dare to color even when you don't want colorfulness
There are many factors to consider in color planning and choosing color combinations, including the time and money involved in remodeling, as well as the environmental impact. With these considerations, it's important to think carefully about needs and try to think long-term. Long-term doesn't mean that there shouldn't be parameters for variation, but they should be feasible changes over time, relative to the circumstances.
The most important thing is to truly think inward - what do the users think about the room? Don't just follow quick trends without really feeling for them - feel for what feels right. This can sometimes be the hardest part of the entire interior design process - to truly find out what the genuine preferences are. In a digital society where there are influences and inspiration available around the clock, it's easy to lose oneself - something that is a deeper issue than this blog post can address. But it's important to emphasize the need to feel and dare to color. Color evokes emotions and can have a significant impact on our well-being. If you find it difficult with color and want to choose something very neutral to "play it safe," there's a significant risk that it won't provide the feelings you're after.
If you want "color" without being "colorful," the tip is to keep around 5-7%, max 10% in chromaticity (i.e., the second pair of digits in the code) so that it will be perceived as color without being extreme.
Always Test Paint!
This is worth mentioning in all discussions about color. Always test paint. A color sample in a paint store or on a computer screen is never the same as the color will be in the room where it's painted.
Every room has its conditions in terms of the direction it faces and daylight entry, other surface finishes, possible color transfers, etc. It's often a better investment to buy sample pots than to paint an entire room and realize it wasn't what you intended.
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