Undertones. Lets discuss.

10 years ago

I've been reading a lot about interior design
color theory and undertones.

I get that colors can have undertones related to the
Colors situated next to them on the color wheel, or close by.

I still can't always identify the undertones, especially
In neutrals, but I'm reading that takes practice.

I (think) understand clean vs dirtied or muddied or muted
Colors, and that you should use all clean or
All muted.

Here's where I'm completely stumped. I'm reading about the importance
Of using the same undertones when choosing paint
Colors for your home to make it more cohesive. Then I
Come across a blog where a designer pairs certain
Colors together. He chose a dark gray (bm kitty gray) with
Amber waves (or wheatfield as an alternative). He specified
That if he used the same yellow undertone of the gray next to the yellow,
It would look dirty.

So here he's saying DONT use the same undertone.

What am I missing? When do we and when do we not apply
The rule of same undertones when choosing paint colors?

So if I had to choose a red with a yellow for example, am I looking
For the same undertone or the opposite? I keep reading the importance of choosing the right
Yellow to coordinate with reds, but no other detail.

Same undertones. ??? (Doesn't always work)
Clean with clean.
Muted with muted.
Use yellow with green undertones only with clean colors as it looks more
Sophisticated.
Use yellows with orange undertones with muted colors.

I can't tell you how many professionally designed
Spaces I see on houzz where I see muted colors
With a clean yellow on the walls. Designer preference?

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Comments (4)

PRO
Lori A. Sawaya
10 years ago
I've typed three responses. . . none of them are fit to share publicly.
mlweaving_Marji
10 years ago
LOL, funcolors!

Domino, go over and read quite a few of the topics on the Paint thread, which is where the real color gurus hang out, including Funcolors.
I've learned a lot just reading there.
You may not come out less confused, but you'll at least understand Funcolors response.
Annie Deighnaugh
10 years ago
I'll try to be helpful and hopefully not incur funcolors' wrath.

If you go to the ben moore color preview chips, they use shades of the same color along the chip, so if you are looking at a pale color you can look down the chip to see what it's made of...be more blue or more green or whatever. Also on those color chips, you will see that if you go down the same number of steps on the color swatch, the colors tend to play nicely together as they have the same intensity. (This is not true on all color strips, but it is on the color preview.)

The ben moore color gallery on line will also try to help you as when you pull up details they show you shades of the color as well as different colors that are similar but with different undertones. They also recommend colors that work with the one you selected.

Or you can just select ben moore affinity colors which are all designed to play nicely together. I've recently worked with them in my GFs DR and LR to great success.

You can also go to a quality ben moore store and talk to a color consultant who can help you select colors that work together well.

Another approach to take is with an inspiration piece, say a piece of fabric that has colors in it you like. There the fabric artist has already done the color mixing for you and all you need do is work with the colors you like from the fabric.

But what is most important is that the colors you select look nice in your room. The light reflected in each room is so different that it will make the same paint look very different...even the same paint at different times of the day and night. I used the exact same paint on the wall in my DR as on the ceiling in my library and they are open to each other...yet the color looks completely different in each room.

So forget about the rules. I can't tell you how many times I have seen different decorators swear by their rules that are exact opposites. Forget about them and do what works for you in your house.
PRO
Lori A. Sawaya
10 years ago
The usual zen, wise, and uber intelligent Garden Web ladies vibe has soaked in and I think I can talk about this now - at least from a 'just the facts' POV. :)

I get that colors can have undertones related to the
Colors situated next to them on the color wheel, or close by.

This is overtone, not undertone. Overtone describes a secondary hue bias. Could say Color Raspberry Red has a violet bias while Color Vermillion Red has an orange bias.

If these two colors were plotted on typical 12 hue family color wheel:

- Hue Parent Red would be at 12 o'clock
- Color Raspberry Red at 11 o'clock closer to Hue Parent Violet, and
-Color Vermillion Red at 1 o'clock closer to Hue Parent Orange.

If you've ever seen color wheels with an added clock or degrees format, it's (partly) to address the secondary hue bias, overtone thing.

For every yin, there has to be a yang. The laws of natural dualities dictates if there are undertones, there must be overtones. And so it becomes really important to understand how each is defined, not confuse the two.