When burnt or rusted, orange teeters on the brink of sensuality. Think a Mediterranean sunset or a plate of roasted squash and bell peppers. When sparkled or fruit-flavored, orange gets in your face. Think glow in the dark Halloween safety strips or bright, blossoming persimmons. Choosing which twin suits your mood is no great feat, but finding colors to match may require a little insight. Remember that orange is a hue commonly adorned by food, making it hunger-stimulating. Pairing it up with other delicious, nature-profuse colors like pink or brown is a sure bet, as are complementary, appetite-squandering shades, like blue.
peachy keen
A soft yellow and peach palette is as winsome as an androgynous baby-room color swatch and as sweet as a double scoop of citrus sorbet
creamsicle
Still riding on that sugar rush, try a creamsicle-inspired theme with a simple but bold tangerine and creamy white décor. The model frozen dessert defines care-free, cloying summers days spent tossing Frisbees and picnicking on the waterfront. Treat your wedding to its out-there hues for a little added sun.
orange crush
Stay hot with shocking pink complimented by a coral tinged, girlish orange. The combination is unexpectedly beautiful, echoing twilight’s watercolor of diffusing light. Chocolate brown will flatter and nicely shade the vivid scheme.
greyscale
Tone all sunrise hues down to dusk, with earthy, ashier versions. Let orange have top billing, leaving pink and yellow to serve as mere accents. But do give an unglittered silver just as much prominence, bringing an unpredicted wallop of strength and fervour to an otherwise mellow, hazy palette.
autumnal colors
Black and orange may sound as silly and circumscribed as a drugstore witch costume, but the autumnal pair need not be Halloween-y. De-saturate the colors, leaving your black bordering on dark brown and your orange burnt (pumpkin’s still kosher, as long as it’s not cartoonish), bordering on light brown in some places; subdued yellow in others.
shades of puckered
Go with citrus fruit-inspired colors like orange, green and yellow. When it comes to actual décor, you may want to drop the “inspired,” and embellish plates, vases and bouquets with real fruit, creating a fresh, organic design.
gold digger
Orange is as good as gold when glittered, so try an iridescent amber combined with its metallic counterpart. Sneak in a natural shade or two, like green and or/brown, to help underwhelm and humble the flashy palette.
foodies
Salmon, apricot, orange and champagne may sound like a recipe for a bad stomach, but color-wise, they could not harmonize more naturally; more beautifully. Each shade is subtly different from the next, slowly making its way from pink to orange, and from dusky to downright pale.
