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Split Complementary, Tetrad, Triadic and Clash Color Schemes for Decorating

Check out how to decorate your home using split complementary, double split complementary, tetrad, triadic and clash color schemes!

How to decorate with tetrad and triadic colors.

I’m sharing another part of my color theory series today. I’m going to be sharing examples of split complementary, tetrad, triadic color and clash color schemes.

You definitely don’t have to decorate like this but if you are curious as to what colors go together, this is a foolproof way to do it.

To give you an overall of the color harmony groups again, I’ll list them here. Click my post on color theory to read more about it.

color harmony groups

Achromatic – colorless scheme (no hue) using black, white and grey only

Accented Achromatic – an accent color added to an achromatic color scheme

Analogous – using 2-4 colors that are adjacent to each other on the color wheel (yellow-orange / yellow / yellow-green)

Accented Analogous – using analogous color scheme and adding the complimentary color to the central color (yellow / yellow-green / green / violet)

Clash – one color and another that is directly to the left or right of its compliment (green / red-violet)

Complementary – using 2 colors that sit directly opposite each other (red / green)

Split Complementary – using any color along with the color either side of its complement (blue / yellow-orange / red – orange)

Double Split Complementary – using a combination of 4 color that contain 2 sets of complements (blue / green / red / orange)

Monochromatic – using a tint, tone or shade of just one color (1 color)

Tetrad -using a combination of 4 colours that are equally spaced on the color wheel (green / blue / yellow / red)

Triadic– using any 3 colors that are equally spaced from each other on the color wheel (green / violet / orange)

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.

Click to buy your own inexpensive artist’s color wheel here.

Artist's color wheel.

After doing a post on color theory, another one specifically post on complementary colors and another one on achromatic, analogous and monochromatic colors, let’s finish off this series with the rest of the color harmony groups!

The colors can be a different shade, tone or tint. You don’t have to deal with heavily saturated colors. Pastels work just the same way!

I’m going to be using wallpapers so we can easily see how a room can be decorated around these contrasting colors.

Clash

Instead of a complementary color of blue and orange, it would be one color to the side, green and orange. Just like this wallpaper called Buttermere.

Clash color scheme wallpaper from Wallpaper Direct.

Split Complementary

A split complementary color scheme consists of a main color like blue and instead of its complementary being orange it’s the two colors on either side of orange (yellow-orange and red-orange).

Light green, light pink and light orange looks very pretty in this wallpaper as a split complementary color scheme.

Split complementary wallpaper from Wallpaper Direct.

Double Split Complementary

A double split complementary is two sets of complementary colors (like green and red with blue and orange).

I found a wallpaper in the same colors but in the pastel version.

Double split complementary by Wallpaper Direct.

Tetrad

Not to be confused with double split complementary, a tetrad color scheme is made up of 4 equally spaced colors around the color wheel. It also includes two sets of complementary colors.

Blue, red, green and orange would make up a tetrad scheme like this wallpaper called Portofino.

Tetrad wallpaper by Wallpaper Direct.

Triadic

A triadic color scheme consists of 3 colors equally spaced out on the color wheel.

Blue, yellow and pink makes a triadic color scheme like this wallpaper called Verdaccio.

Triadic wallpaper from Wallpaper Direct.

I hope you found the last part of my color theory series helpful and learning more about clash, split complementary, double split complementary, tetrad and triadic color schemes!

Be sure to check out all the posts in my color theory series below!

click in case you missed:

How to Use a Color Wheel for Decorating

Decorating with Complementary Colors

Decorating with Achromatic, Analogous and Monochromatic Colors

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