the color guide: why neutrals “read” a certain way

We were standing on the back porch before the big remodel had even begun. While I told my friend about the shed {and the outhouse that it once was}, I told her I was so glad we would eventually tear it down. “Can you believe it’s purple?” I mused, amongst other things, like… why it was once an outhouse. “What were they thinking?”

But all she saw was grey. 

That’s purple to you? She replied, just as awed as I was, over the purple.

Uh, yes. Definitely purple. But this isn’t supposed to be the white and black or blue and grey or whatever combo dress you may see, debacle of 2018… here’s a quick shot of it before we restored the pool. It’s still there, in all its purple glory.

What color do you see? Team purple or team gray?

Maybe for me, the green pool was definitely pulling out the cool undertones of the gray, and making me see purple? Maybe it’s gray, and the sun changed it? Either way, ew… and we’re so glad the pool has been brought back to life.

So for this installation, we’re discussing why colors read a certain way. AKA why we’re pretty sure we see purple in our grays, pinks in our taupes, and more. And complicating the matter more, why they appear differently, to different people. Neutrals… and why the read a certain way. 

But first, if you haven’t checked our our first installation  do so here. And our second one, {how to approach using color in your home}, and our third: {FAQ’s!} here. 

Today we’re diving in with why neutrals read a certain way! 

It all starts with play doh. 

No really. We covered the color wheel in the first post, and now I think a great way to illustrate it again, is with a play-doh color wheel. Yes, we really are breaking it down this simply. We have a really easy kids art lesson, and I think reading over it really helps establish how colors are made. Here’s the short version, and you can hop over later, to read more. 

• The rainbow is also called a spectrum of color. It’s always seen in the same order : Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue and Violet. If you were to make a color wheel, a color wheel is that spectrum of color bent into a circle. It is a useful tool for organizing colors. 

• Primary Colors : (Red, Blue + Yellow) The main colors from which all other colors are made. They can not be created by mixing other colors.

• From the primary colors, secondary colors are created.
• Secondary Colors : (Orange, Green and Purple) Are made by mixing primary colors. Red + Blue = Purple. Red + Yellow = Orange. Blue + Yellow = Green.

Tada! These are your secondary colors.
• Notice the colors that are right across from each other on the color wheel?
• These are called complementary colors. Yellow + Purple, Blue + Orange, Red + Green. They are opposites of each other.

• What is left on the color wheel that has not been filled in? Our intermediate colors.- These are also called tertiary colors. 
• This basically means they are the third group of colors.
• They are made by mixing a primary color with a secondary color.
See: Red + Orange = Red/Orange. Red + Violet = Red/Violet… etc.

Again, that was a speedy quick topic. One for kids that adults also find oddly amusing. Slowly but surely, all the colors are blended {from play-doh or in this case, real life with colors. I think once you understand how colors are made, you can start understanding why neutrals read a certain way.

In other words, why that gray shed looks purple. 

If you understand the color wheel, then you can understand Chroma. 

We’ll keep it simple, because this was a college course in my design classes for a reason: Chroma is the high intensity of a color. And neutrals are essentially made from lowering a color’s chroma. Picture that same play-doh, and starting with blue. Or red. Then slowly mix the blue downward, in a scale until it reads as a neutral. Because this time I was short on play-doh, I made a quick illustration of the chroma scale. 

Just like you can have blue-based grays, you can also have red based grays, yellow based grays, Green based grays and purple based grays. Need we keep going? So no neutrals are ‘pure’ and devoid of a certain color. Because they essentially originate from color. You can see a more thoroughly detailed version of all things chroma and color theory in this chart, here.  – It can become complicated quickly, if you let it.

And based on the intensity of the color, this is what you may or may not see when it’s in your house, or on your walls. 

There’s definitely a science to it all. There are so many millions of combinations, and that’s what makes color so interesting. It can feel downright overwhelming, which is why we kept it so simple and basic in this post.

But what we love is how you can have so many options. 

Good story, bro. But why does it look different to different people in different times of the day? 

Because the temperature of the light in a room, can affect why colors look a certain way. And why they change at different times. This is why choosing colors can be more complex than we mean for them to be. 

The elements around the colors can also influence how they look. For instance, putting a red-based gray next to a red item can really warm it up. Or trying out five or six paint samples on a neutral wall can suddenly send the one you thought you were picking into the doubtful zone, just because you’re not seeing it on the entire wall, and the existing color transforms it. There’s a reason your grey sofa can look “off” next to another grey wall. One is based on a totally different color than the other, with influencing undertones in warm or cool hues. 

So, how do I pick a neutral?

Colors can be complicated but choosing one for your home shouldn’t be. {Even though it usually is.} In fact, choosing neutrals, for us, can be a much more complicated process than choosing a full on color. And it’s because of the aforementioned science behind it. Here are a few things we recommend: 

• Once you have a little bit of knowledge as to why things are the way that they are… it goes a long way. {There’s a reason we wrote this post, after all.} So if you’re starting here, and getting a good basic background knowledge on the color wheel, it’s a great place to start. 

• We say the absolute easiest way to pick a color, is from a paint swatch. If you love a color, Nike slogan the thing and just do it. We think simply painting and then living with it is the best way. But if you’re super picky or really want to narrow it down on a tricky color, follow these simple steps below so that you don’t get overwhelmed:

• Pick three – we say narrow your colors down to three or five from the samples in the store. Don’t allow yourself to carry home twenty. Study up on what you like through basic paint swatches. Then, start researching them on Pinterest and other sites by searching for the name. Why? Because you can study colors all day long, but they’re always going to look different based on your screen’s monitor settings, and a lot of other factors. We do however, think that you can get a good impression of which colors will be your fave, by a well-rounded study and finding them in images.You can actually do a good bit of whittling down by studying up ahead of time.

• Once you’ve whittled them to three {ideally} have some paint samples mixed. This is where I may get a little weird for you. But if you can, choose a white wall. If you paint on a taupe wall or a blue wall or anything else, those colors will change faster than you can blink. We don’t think this is a good impression of the actual look of a color. If you want to truly study the colors, paint them on a clean slate. But see how large of a paint swatch you can add to your walls, and then add them. Study them in different times of the day.

• Finally, when you’ve decided on your color, {you’ll know from there which one you like best, and if they’re both pretty close, we say it’s a win/win} go for it. 

We hope this helps you get started on all things neutrals if you’ve been a little torn on wall colors and paint, and why those things can read a certain way. As always, let us know if we can answer any questions. 

Anything you’d like to add? We try to keep it simple on a complicated topic, so we’d love to hear what you have to say, from neutrals you love to advice you’d like to share. We’d love to hear! Have an inspired day!