Colours with Great Manners

Did you know that colours have good manners when in good company? It's true. Well, its not literally true but definitely it is whimsically true. Complementary colour schemes are colours that work well together because they are opposite each other on the colour wheel (and they are also colours that say nice things to each other like, 'My what a lovely hue you are today'...).

Complementary colours are usually the most dynamic scheme you can employ in a room because they are both equally intense and therefore challenge the eye for attention (but in a good way!).

Here's a fun little colour wheel chart showing the comraderie of each hue:



For our current project (the basement) I have decided to go with a colour scheme in the main room that relatively matches the upstairs (beige neutrals with cool blue accents) but plays well with the bright orange and grey of the adjacent music room. So, it has come to my attention that Navy and Mustard Yellow play very nice together!



They are best friends. Their love affair only intensifies when you group them with a soft beige neutral to tone down the intensity.



Like the picture above, I am planning to use a deeper navy as the main accent (think, one large wall and a great sectional) and the yellow as the secondary accent (maybe an upholstered ottoman? I DO have a lot of National Geographics I could shelve nicely).

What's your favourite polite colour duo?