Literally.
Every book suggested I have a solid understanding of colors before moving forward, so I spent about four hours reading everything I could find about color theory. I've never taken an art class before (save for "elementary school paper mache madness" a.k.a. 5th grade) so I was at a "Colors for Dummies" starting point. But I feel much more confident making decisions about color for my apartment now.
TigerColor is a great resource for learning about color schemes, because it not only explains how to group colors together, but also how to keep them from looking ugly. Apartment Therapy also explains color schemes really well!
Choosing colors off a palette is more than knowing how far apart they are on the color wheel--you've gotta figure out how dark, how light, what undertones, where to use them, etc. etc. Look at photos of rooms you like and see what patterns you notice! (I'm drawn to analogous schemes, but I'm going to see if I can pull off the triad instead.)
Some other tips on using colors:
- If you don't know where to start, use the 60-30-10 rule: 60% of your room should include a dominant color (in low saturation), 30% of a secondary color, and 10% of an accent (in high saturation, if you want)
- Include black pieces like picture frames, throw pillows, or lampshades to make the other colors in your room more vibrant.
- Go dark-to-light vertically--the darkest pieces should be closest to the floor, and the lightest closest to the ceiling.
Fun fact: Artists decided on blue, yellow, and red as primary colors because you can mix them to make all the other colors, but modern color theorists argue that magenta, cyan, and yellow are actually better primary colors because they give you the widest range of colors. (That's why we use them for printer ink.)
Cyan + Magenta = Blue
Magenta + Yellow = Red
(Nothing combines to make yellow.)
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