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Interior Design vocabulary · Colour & Colour Schemes

Undertone

Meaning in interior design, with examples

/ˈʌndətəʊn/nounCommon term

In interior design, undertone means: The subtle colour that sits beneath the main colour of a paint or material, such as the pink, yellow, green or blue hidden in a white or a grey.

In Turkish: alt ton

How it is used

The main reason a paint looks different on the wall from on the colour card. Designers compare samples side by side to reveal undertones and match them across walls, floors, stone and fabrics.

Example sentences

  1. This grey has a blue undertone, so it will feel cold in a north-facing room.

  2. The marble has a warm undertone that goes well with the brass taps.

Common collocations

  • warm undertone
  • cool undertone
  • pink undertone
  • green undertone
  • neutralA calm, muted colour such as white, beige, grey, taupe or greige that goes well with most other colours; also used as an adjective, as in a neutral scheme.
  • warm coloursColours on the red, orange and yellow side of the colour wheel, which feel energetic and cosy and seem to come towards you; blues, greens and violets are cool colours.
  • swatchA small sample of fabric, paint colour, wallpaper or another material, used to check how it looks and feels before ordering.
  • colour paletteThe limited set of specific colours selected for a project, often shown as samples or paint codes, from which every surface and item is chosen.

More terms: Colour & Colour Schemes

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