# Color combinations **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 22, 2005, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/color-combinations/332228 "2005-11-22T10:58:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/color-combinations/332228/1 "2005-11-22T10:58:17Z")
Please give some examples of two-color combinations that have definite associations for you. Could be in the abstract, in graphic design, housepainting, clothing, or anything. Scarlet with gray - As far back in childhood as I can remember, this was a depressing color scheme for me, I don’t know what caused the association. Indigo with magenta - or either of these with purple - I find weirdly alluring. I like how the juxtaposition of these colors makes them seem to glow almost like black light or like bougainvilleas under the tropical sunlight. Black and pink - I can never see this without thinking of Good ‘n’ Plenty. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/color-combinations/332228/2 "2005-11-22T11:10:38Z")
**Blue and orange:** Lucille Ball, or Howard Johnson’s. **Blue and gold:** My grade school and high school sports uniforms. In fact, a lot of color combinations remind me of sports teams. ---
**Author:** ![nonacetone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonacetone/32/2819_2.png) [@nonacetone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nonacetone)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/color-combinations/332228/3 "2005-11-22T11:22:37Z")
Green and brown. My kitchen has hardwood floors, which are a beautiful, warm brown color and the kitchen walls are a forest green color. Makes for a very cozy room. We spend more time in there than we do the living room, which is a deep blue and ‘storm cloud grey’ color scheme. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/color-combinations/332228/4 "2005-11-22T11:26:22Z")
Imola yellow and deep marine blue with a gleaming white deck. My sailboat. I miss it’s graceful bow and slightly too wide hipped birth. ☹ In the house… I like rich earth and jewel tones. Monochromatic white and minimalist modern always leaves me feeling cold. ---
**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/color-combinations/332228/5 "2005-11-22T12:07:00Z")
Blue and purple = school uniform. Meh. Red, white and blue = worrisome. Red and green - bright, happy, jolly. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/color-combinations/332228/6 "2005-11-22T12:44:12Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > Indigo with magenta - or either of these with purple - I find weirdly alluring. As I was writing that, I looked up at my bookshelf. On the shelves where my feminist books are, I saw _Celtic Women_ (indigo cover) leaning on _Womanwords_ (purple). On the shelf below that I saw _Feminism & Islam_ (indigo) next to _What Every American Should Know About Women’s History_ (purple). Some say that purple is the lesbian color. I don’t know whether that’s because of Alice Walker’s book _The Color Purple_, or did it predate that book? Black with purple - elegant style. I wear mostly black, and purple is my favorite color accent for it. Any jewel tones involving some sort of red or blue are good for me too. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/color-combinations/332228/7 "2005-11-22T12:48:44Z")
Pink with purple - this brings up two different associations from my Catholic childhood in the late 1960s. One is the Advent wreath, the other is psychedelic swirly or paisely minidresses and poster graphics that so often combined pink with purple. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/color-combinations/332228/8 "2005-11-22T12:48:48Z")
I adore true red with khaki. Red is my accent color in my house. My furniture is kind of khaki. I also like chocolate brown with pale turquoise. It reminds me of a project I worked on in high school. ---
**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/color-combinations/332228/9 "2005-11-22T12:50:15Z")
OOh, yes, Khaki is good. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/color-combinations/332228/10 "2005-11-22T13:00:41Z")
Red + Yellow = fast food Red + White or Green = Christmas ---
**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/color-combinations/332228/11 "2005-11-22T13:11:24Z")
Alarming sort of orange = my scary Housing Association. ( And sometimes some very worrisome people who get madly concerned about the north of Ireland as well). Pink = generally revolting. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/color-combinations/332228/12 "2005-11-22T13:45:09Z")
> [@Celyn](#): > > Alarming sort of orange = my scary Housing Association. ( And sometimes some very worrisome people who get madly concerned about the north of Ireland as well). > > Pink = generally revolting. I have a screaming orange bathroom with turquoise and muted yellow trim/accents. It took a bit of getting used to, but now I just love it. My house is very dark (old farmhouse nestled in the woods) so whenever I decorate, I go for bright or light colors. Otherwise I’d have to just kill myself. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/color-combinations/332228/13 "2005-11-22T16:25:14Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > Scarlet with gray - As far back in childhood as I can remember, this was a depressing color scheme for me, I don’t know what caused the association. Scarlet and Gray, the colors of Ohio State University, have often been depressing for their football opponents. I’m not an OSU alum, by the way. ---
**Author:** ![susan\_foster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@susan\_foster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan_foster)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/color-combinations/332228/14 "2005-11-22T16:44:17Z")
When I see purple and green together, I think of my sister. She used to have a memorable purple and green bathing suit. She might still have it, for all I know. Susan ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2005, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/color-combinations/332228/15 "2005-11-22T16:53:50Z")
> [@AskNott](#): > > Scarlet and Gray, the colors of Ohio State University, have often been depressing for their football opponents. I’m not an OSU alum, by the way. _That_ explains it, I’m a native of Cleveland.