What Goes with This Color?

[Max]

At MosaicTileSupplies.com, we get this question from our clients a lot. The answer isn't necessarily black and white, if you'll excuse the pun.

Sure, you can look at a color wheel, and say, "Orange is the perfect contrasting color for blue" or"Blue, blue-green and green always provide a pleasing scheme." But what if you hate orange, or just the idea of using orange in your kitchen makes you shudder? Okay, fair enough. The thing is, what most of us think of when we hear the word "orange" isn't the be-all and end-all of that particular color.

Based on standard color theory, any color, (even orange!) can range from a very pale tint (the color mixed with white) to a deep shade (the color mixed with black) or any value in between. One of the best ways to incorporate orange or yellow into a kitchen environment is the use of natural woods, which are often based on a value of yellow or orange, with less saturation of the actual color than we picture in our minds when we think of those particular colors.

For example, choosing a Golden Oak and Autumn Oak stain for your cabinets is a great way to incorporate yellow-orange into a kitchen design. Now that you've got the yellow-orange taken care of, feel free to have fun designing your backsplash with the blue-violet colors you've been longing for. You really don't have to find a way to make the standard hues work on the same surface. Nor should you, necessarily ; )

If you really want to use blue-green shades like aqua and teal in your kitchen, that's easy too. You just need to add orange as the perfect complement to those beautiful colors. NO, not Florida Orange Peel orange, but a shade of orange. Consider Cherry or Fruitwood stain for the cabinets, and you're on your way.

See a couple of palettes I've attached to this message to get a better idea of how to create great complementary color schemes.

Questions? Feedback? Suggestions? Color Emergencies? Go ahead, I'm waiting to hear them!

Best,
Max

"So Many Colors, So Little Time..."

[Randall]

Max,

Stainless steel has become very popular in kitchens, not just for appliances, but on backsplashes and work surfaces. Where does stainless steel appear on the color wheel (if it does)? More specifically, how does one incorporate stainless steel into the color scheme of the room?

Randall

[Max]

Randall,

Stainless steel would appear as a gray, which is a neutral shade that can be used with many colors. The undertone of the steel would determine what colors it can ultimately be combined with, but the traditional choices would be "cool" colors like greens, blues, taupes (gray-based browns) and lilacs, rather than "warm" colors like oranges, reds and yellows.

Having said that, I've seen some fantastic "non-traditional" combinations that effectively bring warm tones and silver-grays together. The architectural style of the building, as well as the personality of the owners, is going to determine whether a traditional or non-traditional combination of colors is better suited to that space, and it will take you a long way in choosing the best colors to go with stainless steel, or any other metals.

To answer your question about where gray "fits" on the color wheel, grays are achieved by lowering the saturation of any color on the wheel.

To demonstrate, I've attached an image showing Green, Blue, Red and Yellow at 3 stages of saturation, from brights down to their gray-scale variations.

Hope this helps,
Max