How to pair colours at home: the colour wheel, warm and cool tones, and the 60-30-10 rule

What the colour wheel is, and how to read it for your home

The colour wheel arranges colours in a circle according to how they relate to each other. The usual wheel has 12 colours, starting from three primaries, which mix into secondary and tertiary colours. Colours next to each other on the wheel go together easily; colours opposite each other contrast sharply.

At home we hardly ever use the bright colours of the wheel as they are. We use versions mixed with white, grey or black, such as a muted blue instead of a bright blue, or sage instead of leaf green. The relationships on the wheel still work the same way; they're just less intense.

• Primary colours: red, yellow, blue
• Secondary colours: orange, green, purple (each made by mixing two primaries)
• Tertiary colours: for example red-orange, yellow-green, blue-purple
• A tint is a colour mixed with white, a shade is a colour mixed with black, and a tone is a colour mixed with grey

Warm and cool colours: what's the difference

Split the colour wheel in half. The red, orange and yellow side is warm; the green, blue and purple side is cool. Warm colours feel cosy and energetic and seem to bring the walls closer. Cool colours feel calm and relaxed and seem to push the walls further away.

In Thai homes, which are hot almost all year, many people like cool colours in rooms that get strong sun, because they make the room look cooler, even though the actual temperature doesn't change. In rooms you want to feel warm, such as the dining room or a corner for sitting in the evening, muted warm colours help a lot.

• Warm: red, orange, yellow, coral pink, brown
• Cool: green, light blue, blue, purple, blue-grey
• Neutrals: white, grey, beige, which lean warm or cool depending on their undertone

Colour schemes for the home: analogous, complementary and monochromatic

Designers have long-standing formulas for combining colours. None of them is right or wrong; choose by the mood you want. If you want a calm room, use a scheme where the colours sit close together. If you want a room with energy, use one where they sit far apart.

• Monochromatic: one colour at several depths, such as light beige, mid beige and brown; the easiest way to look calm and luxurious
• Analogous: three neighbouring colours on the wheel, such as green, blue-green and blue; harmonious and natural
• Complementary: such as blue with orange, or green with pinkish red; lively, and best with one colour as the main and the other as the accent
• Split complementary: one colour with the two colours either side of its opposite; softer than a straight complementary pair
• Triadic: three colours evenly spaced around the wheel; fun, but tone down the brightness when you use it at home

What the 60-30-10 rule is, and how to use it in a real room

The 60-30-10 rule is a proportion that makes a room look balanced. The main colour, 60%, is usually the walls and large surfaces. The secondary colour, 30%, is large furniture, curtains or a feature wall. The accent colour, 10%, is cushions, artwork or small objects.

Think of a plate of food: 60 rice, 30 curry, 10 dipping sauce. If there's as much sauce as rice, you couldn't eat it. Colour in a room is the same. A good accent colour should be small but clear.

This rule is a starting point, not a law. A minimal room might use 70-25-5; a room where you want to be bolder might push the secondary colour up. What matters is that one colour clearly owns the room.

• Bedroom example: beige walls 60%, sage green bedding and headboard 30%, brick-brown lamp and cushions 10%
• Living room example: soft white walls 60%, warm grey sofa and rug 30%, blue artwork and vase 10%

Undertones: the reason two colours don't go together

The undertone is the colour hidden beneath the main colour. A grey may lean blue, green or purple. A beige may lean pink, yellow or green. Put a blue-grey with a pink-beige, even when the names sound like they match, and the room looks strange in a way you can't quite put your finger on.

An easy way to see it is to put the paint sample on plain white paper, then compare it with several similar shades. The undertone shows up much more clearly when there's something to compare it with. And don't forget to compare it with the floor, the wood and the furniture you already have, because they have undertones too.

The direction of light in a Thai home changes the colour on the wall

The same colour in two rooms can look like two different colours, because the light is different. Thailand is close to the equator, and the sun is strong and intense almost all year, so the direction your windows face makes a big difference to colour.

The best approach is to paint a large sample on the real wall and look at it through the day. If you don't know which shade to start with, try Voqe's colour quiz to find the tones that suit your room first.

• North-facing: soft, even light that is rather cool; warm colours keep the room from looking dull
• South-facing: lots of light almost all year, so colours look brighter; muted or dark colours work comfortably
• East-facing: bright morning light; the room cools down in the afternoon
• West-facing: hot, orange afternoon sun; warm colours look very warm, so cool tones help balance it