subject: Combining Paint Colors: A Tricky Endeavour [print this page] Imagine how a discussion about color combination would have sounded like 40,000 years ago when our ancestors were getting ready for their cave paintings. After all, all they had to choose from in terms of raw materials for their paints was reduced to minerals such as limonite or hematite for nuances of ochre, charcoal from the fire for black or burnt bones. Things would get a tad more complicated when it came to making up the binder, which holds the pigments together and fixes the paint on the walls. Blood, urine, animal fat or water and albumen; these were more or less their options. And despite these less romantic details, nobody today would dare doubt their artistic virtues.
But things have come a long way since. Tastes have evolved, paint choices have multiplied and only a handful of eccentrics and anthropologists would go back to dirt and spit to get the perfect colors for their home. When people decide that their house looks dull and boring the easiest and least expensive way to jazz it up a bit is to repaint the walls. Easier said than done, though! Getting the right color combination is not a piece of cake and many can be disheartened when embarking on such an endeavor on their own. Paint stinks and this is why you need all the help you can get when re-vamping your home. For many a handy solution would be a color wheel. This is a disc that arranges colors round a circle to make it easier to see the primary, secondary or complementary colors.
When re-vamping your home, few people would paint their walls in one color. But combining colors can be a tricky endeavor. Getting carried away and splashing the first colors that come to mind just on the spur of the moment could be a mistake that later you will come to regret. Harmonizing colors create a sense of order and ownership. And because arranging colors is so important, most people use a color wheel to help them decide on the right paints.
In general, when choosing colors people refer to a color wheel. It helps in the sense that it shows clearly the primary, the secondary and the complementary colors. There are certain ways to achieve color harmony. One is to pick colors that are next to each other on the wheel, which are called analogous colors. One example would be yellow-green, yellow and orange-yellow. Or you can turn to nature for help. The way colors are arranged in the natural surrounding can be very inspiring. For more contrast, go for complementary colors. You will find them opposite each other on the wheel.
More hi-tech inclined people can resort to software to help them choose house paint colors. It is a tool that everybody in the house can enjoy parents and children alike. But this comes nowhere near the expertise and the trained eye of a professional.
