Choosing a colour scheme for a room with a colour wheel

Here is a straightforward look at this topic for UpdateSee.

A colour wheel arranges colours in a circle so their relationships are easy to see, and it takes much of the guesswork out of decorating. Neighbouring colours, such as blue and green, create a calm, harmonious room. Colours opposite each other, such as blue and orange, create contrast and energy, and work best when one dominates and the other appears in small accents.

A colour wheel arranges colours in a circle so their relationships are easy to see, and it takes much of the guesswork out of decorating.

A useful starting rule is to divide a room roughly into sixty percent main colour for walls and large surfaces, thirty percent secondary colour for furniture and textiles and ten percent accent colour for cushions or artwork. Always test paint samples on several walls and look at them in morning and evening light, because colours shift considerably during the day.