Color theory is one of the most important aspects of interior design. When we select colors we need to consider three different things:
- Emotion given by each color
- Color schemes
- Reflections given by each color and material
Each color is associated to a different emotion. For example Orange recalls energy and Blue and Purple bring calm and peace.
Source: Canva
Matching colors together is not easy and if is done in the wrong way we can create an unpleasant result, like an out of tune song.
Source: Canva
In art color matching started to develop throughout the centuries, where colors used where carefully selected so that they can create a balanced image; now in movies a lot of attention is given to color scheme, depending on the emotion that the director wants to bring.
And of course, in interior design and architecture this is one of the most important things.
Source: Canva
Not only the choice of color is important, but also how each color reflect light and the type of material where the color is applied.
Yellow for example reflects 60% of light, think about car plates in UK, while pink only 20%. If we want to create a pleasant environment we need to be careful with light reflection.
Different materials reflect light and colors in a different way. In a living room, white matt surfaces tends to reflect outside colors, and we can play with that with internal colors. Shiny metal surfaces tends to make an object disappear, for example think about this image showing how the pillar disappear at the Acqua Shard in London.
Source: Canva