Color Schemes
It's one thing to understand the makeup of individual colors, but quite another to appreciate how (and why) different colors work together in an aesthetically pleasing fashion. For that, it helps to be familiar with four basic types of color schemes: These color schemes are combinations of colors based on certain relative positions on the color wheel that have proven to work well for many people.
Monochromatic Color Schemes
Monochromatic color schemes consist of only one color. They can and often contain two or more hues of one color — light, medium and dark green, for example. This type of color scheme is usually (but not always) subtle and conservative; it can also be very sophisticated. A monochromatic approach is often a safe place to start for people who are just beginning to experiment with color, or for those who live in conservative neighborhoods where bold paint colors or color combinations are not very popular.
Complimentary Color Schemes
Complementary schemes employ colors that are opposite each other on the
color wheel. One example would be red and green. See the our picture of
our color wheel. As you might expect, complementary schemes tend to
have a great deal of contrast. Consequently, these treatments can be
very lively. To keep them from being too lively, it is best if one
color is dominant, with the other serving as an accent. Triadic color schemes
Triadic color schemes involve three colors that are equidistant on the
color wheel — red-violet, yellow-orange and blue-green, for example.
The simplified color wheel at right offers examples. These are
typically highly complex color treatments that take an experienced eye
to compose in an aesthetically pleasing palette. Adjacent color schemes
Adjacent color schemes (also known as analogous or related schemes)
employ colors that are next to, or near, each other on the color wheel.
An example from the color wheel at right would be green, blue-green and
blue. Typically, one of the three colors would be dominant, probably on
the siding, while the other two would be accent colors. Although
visually complex, adjacent color schemes are typically not as difficult
to create as triadic treatments, since there is inherent harmony in
colors that are adjacent on the color wheel.