One way to link a house and garden is to use paint colors that can be repeated in foliage or flowers. For my house, I chose a silvery moss green accentuated by a burgundy trim. I knew that these colors would suit my home’s charm and provide a fitting background for the garden I envisioned.
Creating a Calming and Energizing Piece of Art with Purple, Blue, Green and Gray
When it comes to furniture art, color plays a crucial role in creating an eye-catching and appealing piece. A well-chosen color palette can add depth, texture, and energy to a piece, making it truly stand out. In this blog post, we’ll explore how a deep bold purple called Love Potion, a vibrant blue called Baroque Blue, a neutral green called Olive Hue, and a soft gray called Silver Fox can work together to create a calming yet energizing color palette for furniture artists.
Love Potion, a rich shade of purple, can be used as an accent color to add bold depth of color to a piece. When paired with the vibrant bright and fresh hue of Baroque Blue, these two colors create a beautiful contrast that leaves you feeling energized. Either color would make an excellent choice for the base color or to highlight furniture details.
Olive Hue is a versatile color that can be used to balance out the boldness of Love Potion and the brightness of Baroque Blue. Olive is a neutral tone that is versatile and complements almost any color, making it a great choice for bringing balance to a piece. The soft gray of Silver Fox can also be used to create a calm and soothing atmosphere. This color is also a versatile neutral that can serve as a beautiful backdrop for the other colors in the palette, or the reverse using it as subtle accents to tone down the other colors boldness.
When used with decoupage papers and transfers, these colors can add even more depth and texture to a piece. Love Potion and Baroque Blue can be used as the base colors for the decoupage papers and transfers, while Olive Hue and Silver Fox can be used as accent colors or switch it up and do the opposite. This color palette works well with vintage, shabby chic, and bohemian styles, adding a touch of elegance and energy to any piece.
In conclusion, Love Potion, Baroque Blue, Olive Hue, and Silver Fox create a calming and energizing color palette that is quite pleasing to the eye. When used together with decoupage papers and transfers, these colors can create a truly eye-catching and appealing piece. So, if you’re a furniture artist looking for a unique calming yet energizing color palette for your next project, consider these colors and see how they can transform your piece into a beautiful work of art.
You can find the colors in this post here.
Blue Green
A simple analogous color scheme would be made up of three adjacent hues on a twelve hue color wheel. An extended analogous color scheme could include up to five adjacent colors, however, usually only the three adjacent colors are used.
These are known as the primary color, the intermediary tertiary color, and the adjacent secondary color. So when looking at an analogous combination of blue-green colors, blue would be the primary color, blue-green (sometimes called teal) would be the intermediary tertiary color and green would be the adjacent secondary color.
A fourth color – yellow-green would also be allowable and in an extended analogous color scheme, yellow would be the fourth color then used.
A great example of a simple blue-green analogous color scheme would be the ocean. This color scheme provides a sense of calmness that can be reproduced in your living room decor or your business website.
Incidentally, blue is one of the most commonly used colors in corporate logos.
Analogous Color Schemes
When deciding which analogous color schemes you would like, it is simple. First, choose your main color and then you know that you must use the colors on either side of it on the color wheel.
Analogous color schemes are often used by designers to emphasize an expression in their designs. Designers may incorporate analogous colors as they can be used to convey themes like nature, luxury or romance, depending on the color set they use.
There are many emotions, feelings and experiences that can be expressed through an analogous color scheme and they provide designers with a unique way to connect with their intended audiences.
Analogous Color List
There are 12 analogous color combinations. As mentioned previously, a basic color scheme is a group of 3 colors, with each group made up of a section of the color wheel. In order to get a better understanding of what colors are organized into each of these groupings, take a look at the analogous color list below:
- Yellow – Yellow-green, yellow, yellow-orange
- Yellow-Orange – Yellow, yellow-orange, orange
- Orange – Yellow-orange, orange, red-orange
- Red-Orange – orange, red-orange, red
- Red – Red-orange, red, red-violet
- Red-Violet – Red, red-violet, violet
- Violet – Red-violet, violet, blue-violet
- Blue-Violet – Violet, blue-violet, blue
- Blue – Blue-violet, blue, blue-green
- Blue-Green – Blue, blue-green, green
- Green – Blue-green, green, yellow-green
- Yellow-Green – Green, yellow-green, yellow
Varying your planting colors
The green and burgundy of my house make good backdrop colors for planting schemes. As the predominant color of nature, green serves to unify any landscape. Red is the complement of green—its opposite on the color wheel—and thus offers strong contrast. However, the subdued form of red I chose—a ruddy burgundy—paired with a silvery moss green creates a complementary scheme that soothes rather than shouts.
Subdued neutrals in front
In our front-yard cottage garden beneath the canopy of a Norway maple, greens with silver-gray foliage brighten the scene. Key plants include silver-leaved lavender cotton (Santolina chamaecyparissus, USDA Hardiness Zones 6–9), silver sage (Salvia argentea, Zones 5–8), and a silver-gray juniper (Juniperus virginiana ‘Grey Owl’, Zones 3–9). Plants with hints of burgundy include Sedum spurium ‘Dragon’s Blood’ (Zones 4–9), bugleweeds (Ajuga spp. and cvs., Zones 3–9), and Heuchera cultivars (Zones 3–8).
Dynamic contrast at the side
Purple and yellow are the key colors in a sunny, south-facing border between the driveway and the house. From spring’s golden daffodils and mahogany and yellow tulips through the fall spectacle of purple asters, goldenrod (Solidago rugosa ‘Fireworks’, Zones 5–9), and Rudbeckia ‘Herbstsonne’ (Zones 3–9), there’s always an interplay of contrasts. Two dark-leaved woody plants—a purple smoke bush (Cotinus coggygria ‘Royal Purple’, Zones 5–9) and a purple beech (Fagus sylvatica ‘Purpurea Pendula’, Zones 4–7)—repeat the trim color and anchor the far ends of this border.
Bright highlights in the back
White draws the most attention and should be used with care. I look to white primarily for a focal point or to unite a space. In our back garden, which surrounds a patio, I use this potent color sparingly and as a connector. The repetition of the white blooms of hosta (Hosta cvs., Zones 3–9) and other plants throughout the season is offset by sprinklings of violet-purple flowers and accents of burgundy foliage.
How to work with white
White is a strong color that draws the eye and is the last color visible in the fading light of evening. When I design a garden for a white house, I use white as a repeating element. I weave drifts of white flowers, white-variegated foliage, and white garden structures throughout the space to link house and garden.
The repetitive use of white in the landscape also works well for pastel houses and for those with white or off-white trim. Or you may prefer to use white as a dramatic accent; a mass of white petunias can lead the eye to your front door.
For houses painted in dark shades, stark white may offer too much contrast. White is too shrill against my somber green house. I use it sparingly; I often use creams and yellows to provide the brightness of tone needed for contrast.
I approach garden design in the same way I choose jewelry and accessories to accent an outfit. Most of all, I have fun with the process. My goal is to imaginatively link a house and garden to create a lovely ensemble.
For common house colors, which planting colors look best?
You don’t need to repaint your home’s exterior to create a pleasing scheme with your garden. Work instead with the existing colors of your house, and choose plants that coordinate with them.
If possible, repeat the color of the trim or roof throughout a garden. I recommend the use of white or off-white plantings as accents or unifying elements with any house that has white or cream in its paint scheme.
To spur some ideas for palettes, I’ve selected several potential planting schemes for each of six popular house colors.
Beige or green
Neutrals are the easiest colors to plant against because flower and foliage colors are needed only for contrast. Repeat roof or trim colors in plantings. A classic color scheme would include violet blue, soft rosy red, lavender, and yellow plantings. Avoid using too many bold colors.
White
An abundance of white or pastel blue, yellow, and pink plants will unify the house and landscape. Avoid only dark, rich colors because they will look harsh against white. It’s fine to use darker colors sparingly, as small, sharply contrasting details. Foliage that is blue, silver, or variegated also makes a good accent.
Yellow
Almost any color goes well with a yellow house. Contrasting plantings of lavender and purple, which is yellow’s opposite on the color wheel, will make a dramatic statement. Use golden- or cream-variegated foliage to add more yellow to the landscape.
Brick red
Hot colors—oranges, yellows, scarlet—are naturals against brick, as are the more mellow peach-pinks and soft yellows. Violet-blue flowers or burgundy leaves make good accents. Avoid cool purple-reds and lavender-pinks because they may clash with brick.
Brown
Many soft colors work well against brown. Using pale and deep pinks and yellows, along with burgundy, will create a rich and mellow look. Purples or reds may not show up well against brown but may be fine as accents.
Blue
When planting against a blue house, take a strong cue from the color wheel. Choose blue’s color-wheel opposite—soft orange, golden yellow, copper—for an energetic look, or choose neighboring colors—lavender, blue, purple—to cool down the scene. Silver or blue-green foliage makes a subtle accent. Burgundy may be difficult to integrate well.
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