The best part of color theory is learning which colors naturally look good together. There are many different color pallets out there but if you look at them closely they usually fall into six different types of color palettes. There are two other color pallets that don't necessarily use color which are achromatic and a neutral pallet. Keep in mind it is unusual to use one color palette in interior design, most homes have two pallets per room.
Monochromatic
To get a monochromatic you pick one color at full chroma from the color wheel, and add white, black or gray to get the rest of your palette.
Complementary
Complementary color pallets bring us back to part one of this post. To create a complementary color pallet you will use two colors across from each other on the Color Wheel such as red and green. I find that the most popular colors to use in a complementary pallet are pink and green or orange and navy blue.
Split Complementary
Split complementary pallets are very similar to a complementary pallet. The main difference is when you're creating a split complementary pallet instead of taking the direct complementary color you use the two adjacent colors. This gives you three colors to work with instead of two giving you a bit more depth.
Triatic
A triatic color pallet uses three colors evenly spaced around the Color Wheel. The primary colors fall into the triatic color pallet category yet some people specify them as their own pallet. One trick I use for creating triatic color pallets is imagining an acute triangle placed in the middle of the Color Wheel and each point on the triangle points to your pallet.
Tetradic
A tetradic color pallet uses four colors. Most of the time a tetradic pallet would use evenly spaced colors from the color wheel but sometimes it doesn't. Just as the triatic uses a triangle to determine the colors chosen, a tetradic also uses a shape. Usually a square or rectangle is chosen. the colors that the corners of the square or rectangle point to are your chosen colors.
Analogous
An analogous color pallet uses 3-4 colors next to each other on the color wheel to create a cohesive palette. This pallet is slightly different than a monochromatic palette as it does not necessarily use black white or gray to get the color differences.
Achromatic
An achromatic color pallet isn't really a color pallet at all but rather black white and gray. Achromatic pallets are gaining popularity in the minimalist decorating movement. I find an achromatic pallet is the perfect addition to pair with any other pallet giving you much more depth to play with.
Neutrals
A neutral pallet is fairly self explanatory. By taking a variety of browns and beiges you build a simple pallet. Often browns can be used as an orange or red in another pallet depending on its undertones. Neutrals are also usually paired with another pallet.
Pairing Palettes
When pairing palettes it is most common to pair any of the color palettes with either an achromatic or a neutral palette. It is also common to see a (split) complementary palette paired with either a monochromatic or an analogous palette instead of the one or two complimenting color(s). I would not recommend pairing a tetradic with any other palettes as that could easily get too cluttered. When pairing I would recommend having an overlapping color between the two palettes. If you are using a lot of color and I would not recommend using more then 4-5 colors (not including tints/tones/shades, neutrals, black and white). Keep in mind the palettes are only a guideline if you are feeling lost in color once you gain experience it will become easier to get creative. Though most color pallets people choose tend to fall into one of these 6 they are not the only options, just the safe ones.
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