Neutral Colour Scheme

What is a colour scheme

Firstly let’s ask a question what is a colour scheme? Typically a colour scheme consist of colours that work together harmoniously to enhance the space in which they are applied to. It is a guide to the selection of all future purchases in the house and an overarching principle to select only items that suit that scheme.

Today we are looking at one of the most classic and timeless colour schemes – neutral. The neutral colour scheme consists of different shades and tones of white, black, grey and beige. It has cool or warm undertones. Therefore the number of variations of this scheme is vast and adding different textures gives a different feel and dimension to the space it’s applied to.

Benefits of neutral colour scheme

Choosing the colour scheme is one of the first tasks in creating an interior design project. The colour scheme will act as a guide and it will set the tone for the future of the design. As mentioned in my previous post about the ‘One mistake that we all make when coming to our home decoration’ creating a cohesive colour scheme that you can live with for several years is going with the best time saver in the world. Therefore, when you get your base right everything else just falls into place. It acts as a blank background and if needed you can add pops of colour with furniture or accessories.

Let’s look at how colour in our space is affected. The factors that influence colour are:

the light that is in the space
adjacent colours and textures
size of the surface
Proportions of colours used in space

Tonal variations of a colour, such as warm and cool undertones work best if they are used consistently throughout the scheme. When creating a neutral colour scheme there are a few colour harmony groups that are a base for the scheme:

1. Achromatic – colours used: white, black and grey

2. Accented Achromatic – colours used: white, black and grey and one choice of another colour

3. Monochromatic – colours: using a tint, tone or shade of one colour, so for example different shades of beige.

A neutral colour scheme is a supporting act to our interiors and can help create a harmonious and balanced design. It is a complete colour scheme on its own, as it carries simplicity and timeless features, but can be mixed with different tones and shades of light and dark colours which creates depth to the environment it’s applied to.