Guest post: Walls everywhere but what about colour?
Have you ever noticed that when you get home and the house is messy, it puts a damper on your entire mood? On the contrary, when you get home to a nice clean house, don’t you just feel a little bit better about everything? (At least you don’t stumble over things and that can be nice). What is more, I remember one of my friend’s old apartments – it was all pale beige, with furniture black or brown. Bathroom: tiles in the colour of ‘sand’. Kitchen: eggshell. Carpets: brown.
While some of you might argue (and you have the right to), that living room of hers was a real downer, because whether or not a room is clean isn’t the only thing that has an influence on how that room will make you feel, the influence of colour and the things that surround us also have a huge impact on our overall moods. I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about this, which lead to a fair amount of research, because I wanted to design the perfect rooms for my home that would encourage creativity, peacefulness and an overall positive atmosphere.
Different rooms serve different purposes in the home. Also, different people use their rooms differently. One person may love to relax in their bedroom in the evening while reading a book, calmly. Someone else might spend their night working out in their bedroom. Let’s take a look at some of the different rooms in the home, and the effects that the colours in those rooms can have on somebody.
The Kitchen
The kitchen is a room where things happen; it’s a room of action. Darker, warm, calm colors can offset the panic of a busy kitchen. Earthy tones can add to the natural feeling of a kitchen, and some people have even suggested they can encourage you to eat a healthier, more natural diet. Whether that’s true for you or not will depend, but a warm, inviting kitchen wins out over a cold, sterile environment like you would find in a restaurant’s kitchen.
The Living Room/Den
When I say living room I think of relaxing, entertaining guests, watching TV, reading – a good amount of time is spent here. A neutral theme is a great way to keep your living room looking timeless, simply bring in accent pieces that will fit your current mood and modern styles. If you don’t want a neutral style for your living room or den, lavender makes a great choice as it calms the nerves and promotes relaxation.
Child’s Nursery
A child’s nursery is where some of their first memories are going to be made. This is the first place that’s “theirs”, and it’s nice to give your kid some options about how they would like their room to look. Wall-stickers and other types of art are a great way to personalize a room in a non-permanent way, leaving it open to change as your little ones grow up and their tastes change. There is a variety to choose from: from trees to animals, alphabet to clouds and butterflies. As far as the colours go, green is the colour of health, so keep that in mind. Blue and pink are the typical nursery choices, but that doesn’t mean they’re the best.
Popular colours & emotions they can evoke
Before we finish off, I want to share some of the most common colours that you would find around the home and to briefly describe some of the most common emotions for those colours to evoke.
Orange – This is a colour that creates excitement and enthusiasm! It brings out the energy in you, so it’s a great color for a fitness room, but not for somewhere that you like to relax.
Red – Red is great for dining rooms, it promotes a healthy appetite. However, studies have suggested avoiding using red if someone is suffering from cardiac issues.
Blue – This is one of the most soothing colours, some even believe that it can help a patient to deal with pain. (I also read somewhere that classrooms painted blue influenced the children generally prone to burst outs to become calmer.)
Green – Green represents jealousy, but it also represents nature, being mindful of the world around you, and a certain peacefulness. If green walls would be too much for you, why not consider at least some pieces green?
Yellow – Certain cultures believe the colour yellow can cleanse and purify, and even stimulate the nerves of the body.
Final thoughts on the psychology of colour
Hopefully these insights help you to better understand the effects that different colours can have no our moods, our minds and maybe even our health! However, there is no universal rule, and your home should definitely entail the things you feel most comfortable around. There is one thing I know: although many consider it refined, beige is the colour my walls will never see!
Bio:
Rachel Reef has been looking for some decorating ideas and she discovered the whole psychology behind colour. It is always fascinating to discover how simple things can make our lives pleasant.
