Color theory architecture tips an architect must know
When your clients choose a color palette, they are confused. Disagreement between colors can ruin even the best designs. So, if you are an architect, you have to know some color theory concepts. Here are some readymade color theory architecture tips.
Warm and cool colors.
Take a look at the color wheel. Red, yellow, and orange colors are warm colors. Blue, green, and purple are cool. The color of a room decides its feel. Warm colors and cool colors represent opposite meanings. Warm colors represent energy while cool colors represent tranquility.
So, offices and rooms where people relax can have cool colored walls. While, areas where people party should have warm halls. Sounds obvious? Then scroll down.
The choice of colors can make a room look smaller or larger!. Warm colors seem to come closer to the viewer. Cool colors seem to recede away. So, if a shop or restaurant is small, it could rely on the blue or green colors to appear larger. Bedrooms and areas where you want to feel cozy can have orange or red walls.
What about white, black, grey, and brown? They do not appear on the color wheel. Sure they don’t! After all, they are neutral colors. You can use them with any warm or cool color.
And, you could also use warm and cool colors to create an illusion of depth.
First box: The box is blue (cool color). On that, we have green text (cool color).
Third box: The box is red (warm color). On that, we have yellow text (warm color).
So, these two boxes look pretty two-dimensional.
The second box has a green background (cool) and a yellow text (warm). So, it appears that we have embossed the yellow text on the green background. It is illusion of depth.
Blue has a level of sophistication. So, we find blue offices. But, can you use red as a cool color? What if your client loves red and you are confused about how to make the color schemes match?
Use magenta instead of pure red. You can use a warm color with a cool undertone. You could also use a cool color with a warm undertone. Here is a chart.
Warm and cool neutral colors
Even if you use neutrals like black, white, or grey, they too have warm or cool undertones.
Warm and cool white paints
Here are the undertones of white color. Had I not put these biased white circles on a pure white background, you would not be able to tell their biases. So, if your client prefers white, you could allow some undertones of whites. It will help you define a subtle feel to the room.
Warm vs cool black
Blue and brown together make black.
Warm and cool greys
The cooler the color with which you mix your grey, the cooler the grey you get. And the warmer the color with which you mix your grey, the warmer the grey you get.
I mixed one part grey with one part light blue. I got a cool grey.
Light blue (cool) + grey (neutral) = cool grey
Yellow (warm) + grey (neutral) = warm grey
To get a color temperature between the above two, I mixed warm green and cool green respectively with grey.
Transition colors bridge the gap between friend and enemy colors
Remember that green is a transition color. We mix yellow (warm) and blue (cool) to make green. If you add more yellow than blue then you get a warm green. If you mix more blue than yellow then you get a cool green.
Similarly, purple is a transition color. You mix red (warm) and blue (cool) to get purple. If you add more red than blue then you get a warm purple. If you mix more blue than red then you get a cool purple.
So, if your clients want to keep a uniform color scheme then you could play with various biases of purple and green. Use a warm purple for their bedroom and a cool purple for their bathroom. The same is true for green.
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