Colour harmony is the idea behind why a certain
colour scheme seems to fit
the purpose of a room, a pleasant
combination of colours. This is based on
one or more of the following aspects:
-
tone is a harmony using whites, greys and black.
-
tone + chroma: used in a
monochromatic colour scheme by
varying the tone or chroma of one colour (different tints and shades of one
colour).
-
analogous harmony with a maximum of three adjacent colours in the
colour wheel. (e.g. using red orange and yellow).
-
complementary harmony is based on a good combination of two colors
diametrically oppisite of the colour wheel. An important aspect is the amount
of surface covered with the two colours: the warm colours (see
colour
contrast) are
advancing colours, whereas the cold ones (like green
and blue) are
receeding. When you have a orange - blue room, the
orange is the
dominant colour. To make the room not too freaky, the amount
of surface covered with orange has to be smaller than the blue objects, in a
ratio of about 3.5:6.5 to create the harmony.
-
light.
Light influences the colour we think we see: a an object we
call red actually absorbes the green
light waves of the
emission
spectrum, hence relatively more red waves are
reflected. There are four
types of light: direct
sunlight, North light,
artificial incandescent
light and
fluorescent light (emits just a few specific
wavelengths). By
manipulating the type of light used, you can alter the colour of
the object you see. Example: a room with a window facing north (northern
hemisphere) has the
natural North light, which is predominantly blue. To
create warmth in a room you use blue-ish colours, because those objects
absorb the blue, thuse relatively
emitting more warm orange-like
wavelengths; a balance in the "cold" room.
Back to
colour theory.