Right in the middle of daring, raging red and bright, sunny yellow, is orange – a colour associated with citrus, fast sunshine, and even royalty! Orange can range from the dramatic hues of sunset, to the muted tones of terracotta, to attention-grabbing traffic cones. The different shades of orange can easily convey different moods.
Do you want to make use of orange in your next project? Read on to find out what colours go well with orange!
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What Are The Colours That Go With Orange?
When looking for the best colour match for orange – or really, any other colour – it’s best to have a basic knowledge of the colour wheel. Think all the way back to your primary school years, this was one of the first lessons in art!
The colour wheel is the basis of colour theory, which is basically a scientific way of telling us what colours look good together, or have colour harmony. There are certain rules that you can follow to find different colour harmonies, here are some of them:
Complementary
One way to find colours that match with orange is to find its complement. This means looking to the opposite side of the colour wheel, which will bring you to a contrast colour. This will make your colour pop even more. The complementary colour of orange is blue.
Triadic and Tetradic
These colour harmonies are similar to complementary, but instead of just going straight across, by forming either a triangle (triadic) or rectangle (tetradic). These colours are equally spaced around the colour wheel, giving us colour harmonies like orange-green-purple, or orange-blue-violet-green.
Analogous
For a fairly simple way to find colour harmonies, simply look to neighbouring colours. If you’re looking at orange, then consider using red and yellow to help it pop!
Monochromatic
To keep it even simpler, keep it within the same colour! A monochromatic colour scheme simply makes use of the same colour, but in different shades – dark, bright, muted, and so on.
Colours That Match With Orange
1. Blue And Orange
Picture yourself vacationing on the beach, enjoying a drink as you watch the sun slowly set on the sea’s horizon – the dramatic, warm oranges of the sun contrasting beautifully with the cool blues of the sea. The contrast of cool and warm colours are incredibly pleasing to the eye. Play around with the saturation or intensity of colours to achieve different moods!
Use orange pieces to add a pop of colour to a blue room!
2. Orange And Green
Let’s go back to the original colour harmony: orange and green! After all, the colour takes its name from the fruit, which contrasts beautifully against the lush green leaves of the tree.
Burnt orange and forest green put together evokes a rustic charm, while still remaining incredibly stylish.
3. Red, Orange, And Yellow
This analogous colour scheme is powerful and vibrant, emitting lots of energy. These are the colours of fire and the setting sun, and when used too much, can be quite overwhelming. This combination is great for focal pieces as they will definitely draw the eye and call attention to themselves!
Steer clear of this combination if you’re going to a calm, relaxing vibe, but do consider toned down variations to add brightness and openness to a space.
4. Lime, Orange, Azure, And Violet
This triadic colour scheme makes for a fun, chic look! A trick for triadic and tetradic colour palettes is to focus on one main colour, while using the others mainly as accents or pops of contrast and colour. This particular colour scheme is bold without being an overwhelming eyesore!
5. Aqua And Orange
A sunny summer’s day, sipping orange juice by the pool – this fun and fresh image is what aqua and orange calls forth. Up the saturation for a bright, youthful vibe!
To tone it down, go for their more muted counterparts: teal and rust.
6. Orange And Brown
This combination can almost be considered monochromatic, especially if you go for the shades that have a distinctly earthy vibe. This combination can give off seriously cozy vibes with a touch of chic.
7. Gold and Orange
No matter the place or occasion, gold is that colour you go to for that touch of elegance! Depending on how it’s used, it can evoke fun and crazy birthday parties or an elegant wedding motif.
Consider using the various shades of orange: peach, tangerine, pumpkin, sherbet. Orange is a colour that’s traditionally associated with food so it’s a great decorative colour for events that involve a feast.
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