Window coverings are as much a style choice as they are a functional one. You want light control and privacy, and you want it all to look good! So how do you pick the look that will work the best for you? What colors of shutters go with gray siding? You know how that saying goes, give a man a fish, or teach them how to fish? This time on the Budget Blinds of Scottsdale blog, we’re going to teach you how to fish– er, about color theory and how to use it! That’s better.

Color Theory and the Color Wheel

The color wheel is a diagram of colors, providing an easy and fast way to identify what colors match. Believe it or not, the first color wheel was made by Sir Isaac Newton (yeah that Isaac Newton!) back in 1666! The color wheel is divided up into the following colors:

Primary colors: red, blue, and yellow. These are the colors that cannot be mixed using any other colors.

Secondary colors: Green, orange, and purple. These colors are made by mixing primary colors in different combinations.

Secondary and tertiary colors: Yellow-orange, red-orange, red-purple, blue-purple, blue-green, and yellow-green. These are created by mixing a primary color with a secondary color.

How to Use the Color Wheel

When colors create a pleasing effect they are considered to be matching, also known as color harmony. The primary colors red, yellow, and blue always harmonize with one another. The colors are bold, catch the eye and since they are the primary colors they never really go out of style. You can use color harmony to create pleasant combinations easily, whether you’re just trying to match your outfit or wondering what color shutters go with gray siding the principle is the same!

Note: Colors have subconscious associations. The primary colors are traditionally associated with young children, activity, and action like sports. Using all at once (yellow, red, and blue) will give the effect of a child’s playroom but going into light or dark shades of these colors and using just one or two is a sure way to make it feel more sophisticated. It’s important to recognize those traditional associations and work around them

So, how do you choose other colors to match, exactly? There are two methods: finding complimentary colors and finding analogous colors.

Finding Complementary Colors

Look at the color wheel and pick a color, any color. Now look to the color just opposite. These two colors are “complementary colors.” When you place them next to each other, they help each other stand out and the combination looks appealing.

Complementary colors of the same brightness will always work together well. Some of the more popular combinations of complementary colors are blue & orange, purple & yellow, and green & pink. Bet if you think of those you can think of a sports team for each of them right off the top of your head! (okay, maybe not green & pink)

Finding Analogous Colors

Analogous colors are going to be colors that are next to each other on the wheel, being in the same family of colors. Like blue and indigo, or red and violet. The idea behind analogous colors is that by staying within the same family it achieves a kind of harmony, a more nuanced color palette that is also pleasing.

Understand Warm and Cool Colors

This isn’t crucial for picking good matching colors but it can further hone that new talent you’re developing (that’s what we’re doing right here!) Warm colors are yellow, orange, and red and they’re on one half of the color wheel while the cool colors such as blue, green, and purple are on the other.

It can be beneficial to pair warm colors together rather than warm and cool. By staying in the same ‘temperature’ let’s say, you can easily coordinate colors together.

What about Earth and Neutral?

Ok, ok, at this point you’re probably asking “alright, that’s all well and good, but what about gray! I asked about gray!” You’re looking at the color wheel and seeing that it’s not represented on the wheel at all.What color of shutters goes with gray siding? Most! Consider whether your grey is more warm or cool, does it have any other colors mixed into it? Is it more of a blue-grey? Stick to cooler colored shutters in that case.

Alright that might have been a bit different from what you expected but hopefully, you learned a little something about color theory, and with that burgeoning know how you can being finding the best matching colors for your home style!

Still, need some more help? Want to see what possible window covering options are available to you? Give us a call and schedule your free consultation today! Here at Budget Blinds of Scottsdale, we will show you sample colors, fabrics, and prints to be sure that you’re getting the look you want!