Color Claustrophobic?

Color is a powerful tool because it can make people feel a certain way. How do you want people to feel in your newly decorated kitchen? At ease? Comforted? Lively? You have the power to create a certain ambience in your kitchen and home…

It can be overwhelming because there are so many colors to choose from. First, you need to learn about color basics…

Here are a few questions to consider when in this color choosing process

1) What kind of emotions will the colors inspire?

2) Will the scheme be memorable?

3) How many colors do I really need?

4) Will the color scheme fit well with the architecture of the room?

 

 

First lets look at the basic types

1) Primary- red, yellow, blue
-There are different primary colors for light and pigments are different, but we will just stick with these for now for the simplicity

2) Secondary- orange, purple, green
- two primary colors make these

3) Tertiary- Red-violet, red-orange, yellow-orange, yellow-green, blue-green, blue -violet
- a primary color and a neighboring secondary color create these

 

 

 

 

 

Here is a little more vocabulary, even though some of you probably know them, it always helps.

1) Hue- pure color

2) Tint- hue mixed with some white to lighten it

3) Shade- hue mixed with some black to darken it

 

 

 

When comparing colors you can use these terms.

1) Chroma- describes the intensity of a color

2) Value- describes a color’s brightness

3) Temperature- describes color as being warm or cool

 

Now it is time to choose your pallette…

There are different color combinations, among them are some of the basic ones listed below

1) Monochromatic- one hue is chosen but different shades and tints of it are used

2) Complementary- two colors that are opposite of each other on the color wheel

3) Triad- 3 colors that are equidistant from each other on the color wheel

4) Analogous- 3 or more colors that lie adjacent to each other on the color wheel

 

(Look at the color wheel above and see if you can find these color combinations)

Go HERE http://colorschemedesigner.com/# to play around with some fantastic color.

This site lets you choose different combinations of color along with changing the value, chroma, tint, and shade!.

 

Let’s analyze some kitchens…

1) This kitchen (RIGHT) used complementary colors: purple and yellow. Using complementary colors make a strong statement in this kitchen. They also used a tint of purple and shade of yellow to balance each other. I think these colors next to white, give the kitchen a fun, summery feel.

 

2) The kitchen (LEFT) is using an analogous combination and uses red, orange, and yellow. The temperature of this room is definitely warm and seems very inviting.

 

 

 

 

 

3) The gray kitchen to the left is definitely monochromatic. It incorporates the grays of the pots, pans, and of the appliances into the color scheme. This space seems sophisticated and I’m pretty sure a professional chef lives there; one person wouldn’t need all those pans .

 

 

 

 

 

My ideal kitchen would like like the one below but with light purple or blue walls and flowers on the table. I love the white/creme antique cabinets. I think a monochromatic blue and white palette makes a kitchen really relaxing.

 

 

What color combination is in your kitchen? What is your favorite color combination?