Color Fundamentals
A gentle introduction to color at home
A plain-language starting point for color at home, covering what color does to mood and space, how light changes it, and how to begin with a small palette.
The collection
Color Fundamentals
The core ideas behind color at home: hue, value, saturation, undertones and the warm or cool temperature that makes one shade feel different from another.
Color Fundamentals
How the color wheel helps you choose room colors
A color wheel shows which hues sit side by side and which face each other. Learn how to read it, use its schemes and translate the wheel into real paint choices.
Color Fundamentals
Hue, value and saturation: what each one does in a room
Hue, value and saturation are the three properties that describe every paint color. Learn what each one changes in a room and how to use them when comparing samples.
Color Fundamentals
Warm and cool colors: how to tell them apart at home
Warm colors lean toward yellow, red and orange while cool colors lean toward blue, green and violet. Learn how to sort tricky shades and decide when mixing them works.
Color Fundamentals
What undertones are and why they change a paint color
Undertones are the faint hidden hues beneath a paint color. Learn how to spot warm or cool undertones, how room light affects them and how to match them across a room.
Color Fundamentals
Why neutrals are rarely plain white or gray
Beige, gray and white almost always carry an undertone. Learn where those hidden hues come from, why a neutral shifts between rooms and how to pair one with accent colors.