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Understanding colour

From the Resene colour choices booklet

Light, stimulating the retina of the eye, is what creates our perception of colour. Without light there is no colour, and light reflects how we see colour.

Because colour is so powerful we tend to look for rules for its use, but there are no hard and fast rules. How you use colour is a very individual and creative choice, but understanding how colour works will help you use it more effectively.

Using pops of colour in a neutral space
The walls are papered in design RD3360 from the Resene Wallpaper Anaglypta Collection, then painted in Resene Albescent White. The floor is Resene Double Biscotti, the sideboard is Resene Desperado, the peg stools are Resene Rumour Has It and Resene Entourage, the bowl on the floor is Resene Ayers Rock and the vases are Resene Calibre and Resene On Track.

How to make a room appear more enclosed

Use a strong colour on the lower part of the walls, from picture rail down, and a lighter colour above and over the ceiling. This will make the room appear more enclosed.


How to visually lower the look of ceiling

Lower a ceiling visually by painting the ceiling and the walls above the picture rail in a deep tone. Paint the walls, from the picture rail down, a light colour.


How to change a room's proportions

A dark colour on ceiling and walls down to dado height, with a lighter colour on the lower part of the walls to match the floor, changes a room’s proportions.


How to make a room feel airy and spacious

To give the feeling of airiness and space, paint the walls to match the floor and use pale, cool colours.


How to make a room look wider

Make a room look wider by painting the floor and ceiling in a similar colour and the walls in a lighter colour.


How to make a long room appear more proportioned

A warm, deep colour on short end walls with a lighter colour on the adjoining longer walls will help make a long, narrow room appear more evenly proportioned.


Create colour harmony with a colour wheel

The best way to create colour harmony is with a colour wheel. The wheel was developed from the colour spectrum and helps decorators and designers co-ordinate colour and develop different types of schemes. The twelve hue wheel is divided into the three colour areas below:

1. Primary colours

2. Secondary colours

 

Resene colour wheel

Colour wheels are available for purchase from your Resene ColorShop or our online store.

 

3. Tertiary colours

Monochromatic colour scheme - diagram

Monochromatic
A one-colour scheme can incorporate several values of that colour to keep it from looking monotonous. Various textures can help enhance the single colour scheme.


Related/analogous colour scheme - diagram

Related/analogous
This scheme uses three to five colours and includes one of the three primary colours. The related/analogous colours are the colour segments showing on either side of the primary colour. Varying the value and intensity of the colours is beneficial.


Complementary colour scheme - diagram

Complementary
These schemes use colours that are opposite each other on the wheel, such as blue green and red orange. The result is usually vibrant and lively. It works best if one colour dominates and the other serves as contrast.


Triadic colour scheme - diagram

Triadic
This scheme uses three colours that are equidistant on the colour wheel, such as red orange, yellow green and blue violet. One colour can be used as the dominant colour and the other two as accents.


Slit complementary colour scheme - diagram

Split complementary
This scheme is one that uses any colour from the colour wheel in combination with the two colours that are directly on either side of the colour opposite the one chosen, such as blue and violet with yellow orange.


Achromatic colour scheme - diagram

Achromatic
These are colours in the white through to black range. Achromatic schemes are restrained and sophisticated.


 

Understanding Resene Total Colour System codes

The Resene Total Colour System codes follow a format of B63-084-258, enabling specifiers and decorators to make direct comparisons on three attributes between multiple colours. The first letter or letters tells you what colour group the colour is from:

B = Blue O = Orange
BR = Brown R = Red
G = Green V = Violet
M = Metallics Y = Yellow
N = Neutral    

The first digits denote the colour’s luminance, with 0 being approximately black and 100 being approximately white.

The second set of digits denotes the saturation of the colour or how far from grey the colour is. That is, the lower the number the more grey in the colour, the higher the number the cleaner the colour is. For example, Resene Black (black) has a value of 000 while Resene Turbo Y84-198-087 (bright yellow) has a value of 198.

The last set of digits tells you where the colour sits on a wheel of colour of 0 to 360 degrees. This allows you to place multiple colours into a sequence and determine the relative positioning of colours.

By comparing multiple colours using the Resene Total Colour System codes you can establish whether a colour is greyer or cleaner, brighter or darker and where they sit on a colour wheel.

Total colour system codes

 
R (Red) = 357-39 inclusive
O (Orange) = 40-69 inclusive
Y (Yellow) = 70-90 inclusive
G (Green) = 91-204 inclusive
B (Blue) = 205-284 inclusive
V (Violet) = 285-356 inclusive
N (Neutral) = Saturation of 0-8
BR (Brown) = Luminance of 0-39, saturation of 4-10 or luminance of 40-80, saturation of 4-25
M (Metallic) = Colours derived from metallic tones

Luminence

Greyness/Saturation


Resene colour choices booklet
Choose colour with confidence and creativity

Confidence with colour  |  Understanding colour  |  Using colour  |  Colour by compass  |  See the light  |  Colour contrast  |  Colour personality  |  Common mistakes  |  Colour technology  |  Decorating blog

 

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Welcome to our World of Colour!™
Colours shown on this website are a representation only. Please refer to the actual paint or product sample. Resene colour charts, testpots and samples are available for ordering online.   See measurements/conversions for more details on how electronic colour values are achieved.

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