Figure 1
As Interior Designers, we typically learn about Color Theory in school. During my Master of Interior Design program at the Boston Architectural College, I took a three-credit course called Color Theory for Interiors, and I thought it was as fascinating and challenging as a Design Studio. Here are some basic concepts I would like to share.
People typically know of three pigment colors: red, blue and yellow, that cannot be mixed from other colors. For this reason, they are called primary colors. Light colors may typically come from mixing only these three primary colors. However, the same is not true for paint colors.
In order to be able to mix a wider variety of paint colors, we may need to use a 12-color wheel of pigment hues [Figure 1]. This system is just one of the many models that explore color combinations. In this color wheel, the primaries red, blue and yellow mix to create the secondaries orange, green and violet, and the tertiaries are the result of adjoining primaries and secondaries.
There are three parameters to describe the variations of colors: hue, saturation and value [Figure 2]. Hue is the term we use to identify a color and its origins. For example, red-orange is a hue generated by the combination of other two hues: red and orange.
In a 12-color wheel, mixing equal amounts of two opposite hues creates a neutral/achromatic gray, and it is shown at the center of the color wheel. Opposite colors are also called complementary colors, and when different amounts of two complementary hues are mixed, a chromatic gray or muted hue will be generated. Saturation is the degree of chroma in a color, so saturation lowers as the color combination becomes muted or grayer. Saturation is also referred to as the purity or intensity of a color.
Now, value, also referred to as the brightness of a color, is the amount of black [darkness] or white [lightness] in a color. Mixing black to a color will make it darker and create a shade of that color. Adding white to a color will make it lighter and create a tint of that color.
Moreover, there are psychological and physiological effects associated with color. Take the common associations with warmth and coldness, for example. Reds, yellows and oranges, the colors of fire or the sun, are often considered warm [Figure 3 and 4], while blues and greens are commonly associated with the cooling effects of water or tree canopies [Figure 5].
Physiological research actually endorses these associations. Under red lighting, our bodies produces more adrenalin, increases our blood pressure, and consequently, rises our body temperature. In the other hand, blue and green lighting slow down our heartbeating, lowering the body temperature and relaxing our muscles.
Due to the stimulation described above, warm colors may be great to energize socializing niches, but in the opposite end, they may cause fatigue in focus areas. Also, time tends to be perceived as passing more slowly in spaces designed with warm colors, and more quickly in spaces designed with cool colors.
In addition to colors’ psychological and physiological effects described above, a designer may take in consideration symbolism when selecting colors for a project. In a space designed to gather people from different cultures and backgrounds, for example, a wider variety of associations may play off the project’s color scheme. Green for example, may be associated to health in the U.S. [Figure 6], however it may be associated with disease in Malaysia or Godliness in Muslim culture.
Figure 6: Common patient room palette in US 
Figure 7: LINKIT office in Utrecht, Netherlands
Here are some other associations with color:
- Shades/tints of the same color combined with a small amount of neutral gray tend to be perceived as a relaxed color scheme [Figure 7].
- Dark colors may be perceived as heavier than lighter ones.
- Humans tend to feel more comfortable when the darkest surface is underfoot and the lightest is overhead.
Color-selecting strategies in Interiors may vary from designer to designer, but here are some points that a designer may take in consideration:
- Add color to complement the flow developed in space planning.
- Layer the colors of all architecture features, fixtures, furnishings, equipment and accessories to achieve a balanced composition.
- Use color to creates emphasis.
- Use color in harmony with other design elements, like shape, mass, texture, light and pattern.
At the end of the day, there are no rules to apply color in interiors. Designers will often take artistic licenses to create color schemes, but the real magic may lie on creating color narratives that speak to the client’s vision while taking it a step forward to the unimaginable.
-Andy
PS: Here are some other examples of color use taken to the next level.
Figure 10: Cinque Terre, Italy 
Figure 11: Kip’s Bay Decorator Show House 2018
Images taken from:
Figure 1: https://qph.fs.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-c7720a5596462c4a30602af712467f77
Figure 2: http://www.paintbasket.com/munsell/munsell_print.jpg
Figure 3: https://d4qwptktddc5f.cloudfront.net/10.jpg
Figure 4: https://i.pinimg.com/564x/60/18/27/601827e1c1bf139ccd1680cdfca00b7d.jpg
Figure 5: https://officesnapshots.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/VOIDinterieurarchitectuur.SP2016-Linkit-4-HiRes-700×467.jpg
Figure 6: https://i2.wp.com/www.furnitureteams.com/server12-cdn/2016/06/04/hospital-room-on-door-desk-office-hospital-isolation-signs-for-doors-4e7d9f705befb97b.jpg?w=736
Figure 7: https://officesnapshots.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/VOIDinterieurarchitectuur.SP2016-Linkit-3-HiRes-700×1050.jpg
Figure 8: https://d4qwptktddc5f.cloudfront.net/8.jpg
Figure 9: https://thumbor.forbes.com/thumbor/1280×868/https%3A%2F%2Fblogs-images.forbes.com%2Fgracebanks%2Ffiles%2F2018%2F11%2FScreen-Shot-2018-11-09-at-11.58.06.png
Figure 10: https://www.ft.com/__origami/service/image/v2/images/raw/https%3A%2F%2Fs3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com%2Fhtsi-ez-prod%2Fez%2Fimages%2F8%2F6%2F0%2F0%2F960068-1-eng-GB%2Fmain_60e5fccb-4dee-45e6-84f5-87a0d00cf14b.jpg?height=930&dpr=1&format=jpg&source=htsi
Figure 11: https://blog.wellappointedhouse.com/wp-content/uploads/Sasha-Bikoff-photo-credit-Nickolas-Sargent-3.jpg
