red, pink, and orange (color, demystified)
Tuesday, August 28, 2012 at 11:26AM This is part five in my Color, Demystified series. If you'd like to read the previous installments, you can see them here:
Because it's been a while since we've discussed color in this way (sorry about that, I've been a titch busy with a newborn), let's recap some of the most important color rules.
1. Colors don't have to match. They have to GO. When colors go together, they enhance each other in a way that matching can't. Colors that enhance each other are inherently more interesting than colors that match each other.
2. Dynamic color choices separate the mediocre from the great. You can see it in the work of master painters, decorators, and knitters. When you're investing your precious time and hard-earned money into a project of any kind, a great finished product is always better than a mediocre one.
3. Start with a color you love and add small pops of a complementary color. Complementary colors are found opposite each other a color wheel.
4. Green is a neutral color. Nature knew what it was doing when it put green with everything. Don't try and argue, unless you want to call Mother Nature a liar.
5. No one looks better in beige. Beige can bite me.
So, today we're going to talk about an analogous color grouping. Analogous colors are next to each other on the color wheel.
When we last left the color red, it was the most energizing and motivating color of the visible spectrum -- it quickens the pulse of the viewer, and evokes strong emotions. Few people feel indifferent about red -- they are either attracted to it, or they aren't.
Pink is technically a light red, but more youthful and sweet. Bright pinks are flirty, tropical, and sensual.
Lighter pinks evoke feelings of nostalgia, confections, and innocence.
Orange is a comeback kid. Once relegated to the vinyl covered booths of fast food restaurants, a shade of orange is Pantone's 2012 color of the year. Tangerine Tango:
Orange is zesty, joyful, fun-loving, and warm. At the terra cotta end of the spectrum, orange is earthy and associated with abundance.
Peach is inviting and modest.
And, my personal favorite, melon, is cheery and flattering without being too brazen.
When used together, red, pink, and orange have a juicy vitality that's palpable.
. Source: english-wedding.com via Yarnista on Pinterest
Source: whatiwore.tumblr.com via Yarnista on Pinterest
Source: mmrinteriors.com via Yarnista on Pinterest
So what does this mean for your home, your wardrobe, and your knitting projects?
Here are my red, pink, and orange suggestions:
1. Use all three together when you want to look effortlessly chic and in the know. Be prepared to stand out from the crowd.
Source: chictopia.com via Yarnista on Pinterest
2. Choose one color to focus on and use the other one or two as accents. Here, a soft pink is set off with deeper reds and melon orange.
Source: theslightlyobsessivebride.blogspot.com via Yarnista on Pinterest
The designer in this room started with a neutral ground, add liberal amounts of bright orange, and then sprinkled in bright pink and red.
Source: 4.bp.blogspot.com via Yarnista on Pinterest
3. Warm hues like these look modern when combined with white.
Source: google.com via Yarnista on Pinterest
4. Layer hot colors with cooler ones. I love pale blue or leafy green with red, pink, and orange.
Source: indulgy.com via Yarnista on Pinterest
Picnic Blanket:
Source: design-seeds.com via Yarnista on Pinterest
Here are some color combinations for you to try within this palette.
Cherry Ginger Ale and Watermelon Chiffon
Bountiful and Mulled Wine
Brigitta and Spoonful of Sugar 
Fiona and Fondant Pink
Cosmo, Orange Crush, and Creamsicle
Are you naturally attracted to this palette, or is this a push outside your comfort zone? What questions do you still have about using these colors together? Leave me a comment, and I'll be sure to answer.
If you'd like to see more inspiration using his palette, visit the Pinterest board I created dedicated to Red, Pink, and Orange. You don't need to be a member to see it, but becoming a member is fun. If you need an invite, just use the Contact Us link in the upper right, and I'll send one over!
Reader Comments (14)
i love pink
I am most definitely attracted to red, pink, and orange. I LOVE your color sense.
My den at home is a deep terra cotta, and my kitchen is an orangey gold and dark red. They are warm and cozy.
I am about to get my very own yarn room... and I am trying to decide what colors to paint it. I want to paint 3 walls a neutral and one with a POP of color. I was thinking light aqua and deep turquoise, and then last night was thinking about a dark pink instead. What would you paint such a room? It's going to have one long wall that is floor to ceiling diagonal shelves filled with yarn.
It is so hard to pick colors, I love them all. :-)
Brigitta & spoonful of sugar make me very happy :D
I'm not a huge red fan but since L came along peaches, pinks and little pops of red have worked their way into my daily life ;)
Janet, a deep honeysuckle pink would be beautiful with the rest of your house -- I don't think you can go wrong!
These posts are so incredibly interesting. I LOVE reading about your color knowledge. Wow. And Janet, a yarn room? Where you can just go and look at all your wonderful yarn? Yeah I'm jealous.
I adore pink and orange (and red) together! I especially love them with my personal neutral, pale grayish blue.
Mmmm....red. My favourite colour. Orange is runner-up. What does that say about me?
Love it - thank you! You've given me some great ideas for some of those two and three color shawl patterns that are popular right now.
Sandy, I think it says you are strong, vivacious, and that you go after what you want in life. :)
I wish I had read this before I started the current shawl I am knitting. I am always so scared of color. I like the way it looks when I see pictures (like yours), but can't imagine wearing such bright colors.
This is a touch outside of my comfort zone but here's why. I love to knit, and to knit sweaters. But my brain just has no idea how to take that wonderful pattern and use more than one color at a time with it! Boggles me for whatever reason!
In my defense, I drive a car with a paint color called Mango Tango and my house has everything from American Blue, Nile Green and Teal Bayou. I love color. But more than one at a time loses me. I wish I could break that!
Thank you so much for the great lessons on color. I'm still a nervous nellie when it comes to color, but I'm becoming a bit more relaxed and brave thanks to your wonderful insights and lessons, the pictures are a huge help too.
love your colors - I want you to be my decorator and put color in my house!
love all that you do.
I love orange and pink together (and individually too!) but I hate red. I'm trying to embrace red a bit more and maybe now that I know I can mix it in with pink and orange it'll be a tad easier.