5 Types of Paint Color Schemes for Your Home – What to Choose?

A color scheme is simply a group of colors that can be chosen by painters or DIYers when painting their homes and different rooms.

 Ideally, these color schemes and combinations should be aesthetically pleasing and picked wisely to appeal to the viewer. 

When selecting paints for your home, you may struggle to decide what sort of paint color scheme you want to use.

Below, we will help you to get familiar with five of the most popular paint color schemes, so you can make a better-informed decision you will be happy with.

Different Types of Color Schemes

For painting different rooms in your home, there are typically five different types of color schemes you can choose.

These include:

1. Monochromatic

A monochromatic scheme is a single-color scheme that is made using various tones of exactly one color.

Monochromatic designs are used to make bold statements in a room.

Though many people are told to match similar colors to one another and keep the palettes in their homes diverse, monochromatic paint jobs are eye-catching, look intentional and stand out.

After you’ve picked a base color, you can use a color wheel to pick various hues in the same color, changing the tone and saturation of the base color to choose darker and lighter hues.

Monochromatic color patterns are among the best paint schemes for selling a house, as people often prefer mono-colored interiors when house hunting.

2. Analogous

This type of color scheme is made up of three different colors that sit adjacent to one another on the color wheel.

For instance, yellow, orange, and orange-yellow OR blue, green-blue, and blue-violet.

You will see color schemes such as these in trendy home interiors, and it is a trend that is continuing to rise.

Even if there has been an uptick in monochrome hues, there is still a large portion of people who prefer color combinations such as these.

They find them essential to the overall look and feel of the house, creating a more exciting appearance.

For those who enjoy a colorful setting, analogous patterns can be the perfect match.

In such color schemes, one color is the dominant color, while another supports it, and a third is incorporated as an accent color.

You can control how subtle or vibrant the effect is by changing the intensity and value of the colors in the scheme.

3. Complementary

A complementary color scheme includes two colors directly across from each other on the color wheel.

This type of combination offers a high-contrast look with high-impact coloring.

This color scheme’s simplicity makes it a popular one, and though it takes just two colors, there are virtually endless ways for you to mix and match them to create unique looks.

You do this by picking one dominant color and then bringing in a complementary one to accent it.

4. Triadic

In this sort of color scheme, the three colors on the color wheel located at the three points of a triangle with equal sides will make up what is called a Triadic color scheme.

Depending on the kind of color wheel you use, the colors can look quite different, which makes this just as versatile.

That said, the diversity of colors that are present doesn’t promise harmony. You must select them carefully.

5. Tetradic

Finally, you have tetradic, which is four colors spaced evenly along with the color wheel.

This color scheme is quite bold if you use one as the dominant color and treat the others as accents.

It takes a special eye to pull it off, but when you do, it has one of the biggest visual payouts.

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How to Choose a Color Scheme for Your Home?

When picking colors that go together in a living room, it is important to consider the existing decor and furniture.

Start by choosing colors that can work well together as accent colors or neutrals that can be incorporated into the overall scheme.

Most rooms will have at least one dominant color and then secondary colors that add interest and depth.

One of the best ways to choose a color scheme is to start with a piece of art or fabric that you love.

Look at the colors in the piece and then find other colors that work well together. You can also use a color wheel to find complementary colors.

Once you have chosen your colors, it is important to test them out before committing to them.

Paint swatches are a great way to do this. Paint a large piece of poster board or construction paper and then hang it in the room to see how the colors look together.

It is also important to consider the amount of light that the room gets.

A room with a lot of natural light will look different than a room with artificial light. Adjust your color scheme accordingly.

What Paint Colors are Heavier and What Weighs the Least?

Remember that the color of the paint does not affect its weight.

If it does, you might need to lighten your load by choosing a lighter shade!

But in all seriousness, the weight of the paint is determined by its density and pigments – not its color.

With that said, some colors tend to appear heavier than others visually. For example, darker colors like black or navy blue can give off the illusion of being heavier than they actually are.

In general, the colors of the rainbow are used to express their varying weights in a number of ways.

According to the chart created by Munsell, yellow paint color is naturally lighter, while blue and red are naturally darker and also tend to be visually heavier.

What is a Split Complementary Color Scheme in Interior Design?

Much like a triadic scheme, a split complementary color scheme is made up of three colors.

Begin with one color and find its complement, then use the two colors surrounding it.

The complement of blue-green, for example, is red-orange, and the split complement of blue-green is red and orange.

A few other examples of split complementary color schemes include:

• Yellow, blue-purple, and red-purple
• Red, blue-green, and yellow-green
• Purple, yellow-orange, and yellow-green

The Bottom Line

A color scheme can make or break the look of your home.

When painting, it is important to choose a scheme that complements your existing decor and furniture.

As we have seen above, there are many different types of color schemes to choose from, so take your time and experiment until you find the perfect one for your space.

Since colors can always be changed if you don’t like the way they look together, have fun with it and see what you can come up with!