Sir Isaac Newton first invented the color wheel in 1666. Designed to make relationships between colors easier to visualize, the wheel is useful in determining color harmony. When decorating your home, a basic understanding of the color wheel can help you pick out the right colors to bring about a sense of unity to all the different design elements in a room.

To develop your interior color scheme, the color wheel is a good place to start, but it’s only one of many tools you can use. Learning how colors are created and what effect they have on you can also be useful in choosing the right colors for your décor. In addition, the right color scheme will vary depending on the eye of the beholder – you.

Hue, tint, shade and tones

With millions of variations in color available, choosing a decorating scheme can seem overwhelming. But when you start to break down how different colors are created, the choice may seem a little more clear.

Colors, in their clearest and truest form, are referred to as hues . Hues are bright, bold, and exciting.

If you add white, you soften the hue and cool it down, otherwise known as a tint. Tints are softer, more delicate and soothing.

If you add black to any hue, you deepen and darken the color, which is known as a shade. Shades are perceived as powerful, rich, and sophisticated.

A tone is composed of a hue to which is added black and white, or grey. These neutral colors are more relaxing and comforting.

Color and mood

Keeping the effects of hues, tints, shades and tones in mind, colors have the power to stimulate or energize you, to relax or soothe you. The mood and feeling created by color is largely due to how much color you use and where.

The main color: To choose a main color for your décor, think about how you want to feel when you’re in the room. A stimulating color such as red is terrific for entertaining areas, while a room built for relaxing such as a bedroom may be better suited to a restful blue tone.

Accent colors: Whatever you choose as your main color, you can punch it up or tone it down by putting other colors around it. Really accent the main color by using its complementary color. If you use the main color’s similar shades and tints as accents, the room will feel more toned down.

How to use the color wheel

The color wheel can be helpful in designing a room by providing an easy visual of colors that go together.

Colors next to each other on the color wheel are called analogous colors. They always look good together because they share a common hue.

Colors that lie opposite each other on the wheel are complementary, meaning that each makes the other appear more vivid. When using these colors together, it is best to use one as a highlight color to avoid too much contrast in the room.

Split complementary colors use one color and the two colors surrounding its complement. Using these three colors provides a more toned-down color scheme that provides for a greater sense of harmony than using a color’s direct complement.

Any three equally spaced colors on the wheel are called triads. Triads compose a colorful and lively yet balanced combination, but are best used when one color is dominant and the other two are accents.

Designing a room around the color wheel

Start by choosing the color family you want based on your favorite hue, such as royal blue. Imagine the whole room done in your color. You will probably find that the hue is too intense.

Next, imagine only your walls painted in royal blue. Still too intense? That’s your cue that you need to tone the color down for a larger space. Choose whether or not you want the color on the walls to be dark or light, and that will tell you whether or not you want to go in the direction of a tint or a shade. Now, imagine your room again in the color you’ve selected. More pleasing this time? You can further lighten a room by painting your doors, trim and crown molding a soft white which will make any wall color pop.

Now think about the mood you want to set in the room. For a more energizing and exciting contrast, choose accent items (pillows, throws, window treatments) in the orange family, blue’s complementary color. To relax the room, add in analogous colors, different shades of blues or greens.

The beauty of color theory is that you can use almost any color you wish in a home, if it’s appropriate to the room’s purpose and in the right amounts. You don’t have to give up your favorite bright color. You may simply find that you enjoy your favorite color more in smaller doses, such as on accent pillows and window treatments.

Of course, your personal preference will be the biggest factor in determining your room’s color scheme. But using the color wheel will help you pick a palette that will bring harmony and unity into the room.