Choosing Color for Your Home-Part 1 of 4-Psychology of Color

March 20, 2012

Choosing color for your home can sometimes feel overwhelming. In this 4 part series I want to present the three aspects of color to consider when making your color decisions; the 4th part is how to actually select your paint colors.

The first step, and what I consider the most important step. is to understand how color affects you, your mood, and helps to create a feeling in your home. I’m speaking about the psychology of color.

We’ve all experienced walking into a space that makes us feel uneasy, revved up or plain uninspired! And, we’ve experienced feeling calm, happy or just plain at home.

Every color has a vibration and, depending on your personality, can determine how you will react in a space with that color. It’s a vast subject, so this is simply an introduction to the concept. The best source, and my favorite, is a web site by color expert, Kate Smith, called Sensational Color.

RED: it’s all about stimulation. So, don’t use it if you or anyone in your family has traits such as ADD or anger issues. And do, if you want to stimulate interaction, your mind etc!

PINK: it is the color of the heart and love; used for a feminine touch and to express innocence.

ORANGE: a close sister to red, but not as intense. Fun and enthusiastic; used to warm and activate a room, but not in a bedroom if you are having a hard time sleeping.

YELLOW: Warm, sunny, inviting and sparks creativity; yellow with too much green in it can make you look and feel sallow or sickly.

GREEN: the color of spring, new beginnings, nature, ecology, and money. Green can stimulate all that, but with too much yellow in it, it can also make you look and feel sick like a greeny yellow.

BLUE: cool and calming when light, brilliant when bright, and wise when dark, blue is a great color to help maintain a cool head and even body temperature. It’s not so good for people who are depressed.

PURPLE: regal and creative, light purples can also evoke youth and spark creativity. Cool when it swings toward blue, vibrant when it swings towards red. The undercurrent in the color determines the feeling it creates.

BROWN: in all shades has been THE neutral for the past 20 years. Earthy and warm, and all about organic, it’s negative effects can make you feel “muddy”.

GREY/GRAY/GREIGE: the new, again neutral. Warmer then before, it’s sleek, classic and the perfect compromise, balanced as it is between white and black. Too much can be overwhelming for someone who is depressed.

WHITE: on one end of the color spectrum, it’s pure, clean, and invites you to declutter. To much white can feel stark and cold.

BLACK: on the other end of the color spectrum, black can feel empty and void, it can also be cool and the perfect foil for every other color.

I was invited a week ago to talk about color at a local paint store, Sebastopol Hardware. I videoed it, but the sound didn’t come out very well. So, I re-did it, editing and dividing it into 4 parts. Below is the first part, more in-depth then what I wrote in this post.

PLEASE…bear with me, as I’m just learning to use my flip camera, and how to edit with iMovie! And boy, can we be our own worst critic. But it’s a start, and one of my goals for this year!

I hope that this information will help you to see how the colors you choose for your home can affect you and all who enter your home.

If you have any questions, comments or thoughts, I invite you to share them in the comment section below! I love all conversations about color.

And stay tuned for part 2 of 4 parts to come out next Tuesday. While part one is all about the color, part 2 is all about you. I hope to see you there.