When furnishing your home, one of the main concerns is colour matching. The choice of colour is undoubtedly a subjective matter, but it conveys particular objective feelings. On the other hand, each colour has its own meaning and each shade gives a different atmosphere. In addition, it should be borne in mind that some colours are more likely to be used in certain environments, others not at all.
Therefore, in order to avoid living in a disharmonious and optically chaotic house, it is advisable to follow a colour scheme that can give a pleasant image to the environment.
The Itten circle
Are you familiar with the Itten circle? Well, if you're not, I'll explain what it is.
It is a tool invented by Swiss painter and designer Johannes Itten, which is very useful for creating a good harmony between different shades. The colour circle is made up of a central triangle which highlights the three primary colours: red, yellow and blue and from whose fusion we obtain the secondary colours, placed around the main triangle. In the outermost part, there is a circle made up of tertiary colours, the combination of a primary and a secondary colour.
Basically, according to this scheme, you have to match the complementary colours, i.e. those that are diagonally opposite (yellow - purple; blue - orange; red - green).
Another fundamental point for matching colours is their temperature. There are warm colours that give a feeling of warmth and are obtained with a majority of yellow or red, and cold colours that are reminiscent of water, obtained with blue. Again, this requires a combination of warm tones that complement the cold ones.
Don't forget black and white, which are not really colours but shades and are used to create different shades of a given colour.
Every furnishing space has its own logic and colour scheme.
Apart from personal taste and complementary colour combinations, the structure of the room and its functionality must also be taken into account. In fact, colour is an excellent ally for visually transforming spaces. For example, a small room prefers light colours that give brightness and optically enlarge the room. Conversely, to make a large space more intimate, it is necessary to opt for a dark colour for the back wall and light colours on the other walls.
In a bedroom, a place for resting, it is better to choose relaxing and soft colours such as green, shades of blue and purple. In the kitchen, on the other hand, you can experiment with brighter colours, while in a study it is better to opt for a colour that stimulates concentration, such as white.
The living room, on the other hand, does not have a particularly suitable colour. The living area is where we relax, where we welcome guests and where we play with our children. The advice is not to exaggerate with bright colours on the walls but to opt for neutral tones such as white, dove grey or beige and to indulge in more lively furnishing elements.
As for the bathroom, the most suitable colours for this area are white, which recalls purity and cleanliness, and shades of blue and green, which recall water and nature.
Basically, to make an environment harmonious it is necessary to have a balance between the background colours (walls and floor) and those of the furnishings: if the furniture and furnishings have bright colours, it is better to opt for a white, beige, dove grey or grey wall, and a parquet, porcelain stoneware or white marble floor. On the other hand, if the decor is minimalist, you can liven up the room by focusing on walls in bright colours, wallpaper, mosaics, etc. Be careful not to mix too many colours and patterns!
To simplify the choice of colours and to be sure of the result, simply follow the three-colour rule: 60% of the scene is characterised by one colour, the predominant one, which we can define as the primary colour; 30% is characterised by a second tone and the remaining 10% by an accent colour which serves to reduce distraction from the background.
