How color palettes work
31 January 2022
How to choose a colour combination for the kitchen — basic rules and nuances.
Key Facts
- Main tool for developing a colour schemefeatures
- The colour wheel
- Rule for choosing complementary coloursfeatures
- Colours that sit opposite each other on the colour wheel
- Primary coloursfeatures
- Red, yellow, blue
- Secondary coloursfeatures
- Purple, green, orange
- Main ways to use the colour wheelother
- Two — complementary colours and choosing a scheme
The first step in developing a colour scheme is understanding how and why certain colours complement each other. Don't worry — it's not as scary as it sounds.
The biggest secret of great design is fairly simple — the colour wheel. You might think it's only for primary-school classrooms, but the colour wheel is great for understanding which shades work well together.
The two main ways to use the colour wheel for choosing a scheme:
Complementary colours
The most direct way to use the colour wheel is to pick two colours that sit opposite each other, since they are known to complement one another. Beyond the primary colours (red, yellow, blue) and secondary colours (purple, green, orange), there is an unlimited range of complementary colours to choose from.