PostersByColor

How to find matching color art prints and posters

Mon, 10 May 2010 00:00:00 EST

While contrasting colors in art prints and posters can brighten up a room, matching colors or monochromes can create a very consistent “theme” and give a “designed” look.

Here are some tips for matching art prints and posters:

1. Decide on a color. Think about whether you want the room to look cool (darker blues and greens, grays) or warm (reds, oranges, yellows), or airy (lighter blues, greens, tans, off-whites).

2. Think about whether you’d like very consistent shades of the same color, or a monochrome range of shades. For example, the city-scapes below all have similar skies, whereas some of the other examples have many shades.

3. Use the PostersByColor app to find art prints and posters that match your selected color tones.

Example #1: Dusk city-scapes

I think cities might just look their best around this time…

Example #2: Warm abstracts and semi-abstracts

Here, a small range of warm colors (burnt red and orange) is combined. The use of abstract and semi-abstract art prints and posters creates an overall effect rather than focusing on the details.

Example #3: Shades of green in nature

Hold on a minute. One of these isn’t found in nature…

Designing with bright, contrasting colors

Wed, 05 May 2010 00:00:00 EST

If it matches your sense of style, nothing livens up a room like some contrast. High-contrast art prints and posters stand out; it’s no good using them for subtle background decorations. But if you want a bright and vibrant look, here are some suggestions. Find more using the PostersByColor application.

Tips for decorating with earth tones

Mon, 03 May 2010 00:00:00 EST

When you decorate with earth-tones, the result can’t help but tug at our memories of the outdoors. Soil, clay, trees, lakes, and the sky are all represented in this palette of mainly browns, tans, greens, blues, grays, off-whites, and certain rich reds.

Browns and other earth tones

Browns are the most stable- and secure-feeling of the earth tones. They call to mind, literally, the ground we stand on. They’ve also become associated with luxury items such as coffee, which has only boosted their popularity in home decor.

Earth-toned prints with nature subjects

Nature, the outdoors, and pastoral scenes are what might first come to mind when you think of earth tones. These prints

Earth-toned prints with urban and active subjects

Here’s an interesting contrast. These prints are not quite earthy in subject matter, but they convey that appearance at first glance through their use of earth tones. So you get one impression, then another.

What is complementary color?

Sat, 01 May 2010 00:00:00 EST

Imagine a room with invigorating, energetic colors. You might think of warm colors, like reds or oranges. Or you might think of bright blues. But one way to make colors really pop is to use them in specific combinations, called complements.

Complementary colors are those of the “opposite” hue. When placed next to each other, they tend to appear brighter than they are, and they produce pleasing contrasts. Often they are thought of as those that are across from each other on a color wheel. That isn’t the technical definition, because of course it depends on the color wheel being ordered properly, but it’s useful to remember.

Complementary color is not the last word when it comes to contrast. Many contrasting color combinations are not complements. But complements are a mainstay of the way that artists and designers look at color.

Here are some popular complementary color combinations:

Blue and orange

This is a very striking and popular color combination because in addition to being complementary, blue and orange also represent very cool and warm colors. This leads to a brilliant contrast.

Blue and orange art prints and posters can be found to match many themes, because these colors are common in nature as well as urban areas. They are also very common on movie posters.

Decorating with blue and orange art prints creates a striking room that does not overwhelm with either warm or cool tones.

Yellow and violet

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Red and green

In Western society, red and green together has a “Christmas” association, but this is avoidable by not using a bright red with an “evergreen” color. There are lots of other shades to choose from, for example:

Here’s an example of using low saturation colors to get around the popular association of red and green. Some people argue that complementary color only applies to high-saturation colors, but we can fudge a bit:

Another tactic is to head away from the direct complementary pair, in both directions. Moving the red a touch toward violet and the green a touch toward teal means you’re no longer looking at a complementary pair, but it can work without having any holiday association:

White and black?

Technically, white and black aren’t even colors, so they can’t be complementary colors. But when we’re talking about decorating, what matters is how things look, rather than the exact science, so it’s useful to include white and black because of their extreme contrast.

In conclusion…

Decorating with only complementary colors is not the only way. Many popular and attractive color combinations are not complements, including orange and green, red and blue, and blue and green. And neutral tones are mostly left out of the picture when it comes to complementary colors. Still, understanding complementary colors can help you create a strikingly designed room.