Some color advice for re-painting a room in your home...

“What is the color of happiness?” by John Pompeo

Harness the emotional power of color in your home décor!

Have you ever been to a restaurant or entered a room that you felt really uncomfortable in and you weren’t even sure why? It may have a lot to do with the color scheme. Color affects people emotionally on subconscious levels, and some people are more sensitive to these emotional influences than others. That is why most offices and new construction is painted in “neutral tones”. Most people think that means that the carpet won’t “clash” with the drapes, etc. That is a safe but not very creative way to think about it. Subconsciously, beiges and taupes are emotionally neutral…ie. they don’t have a strong emotional pull in any particular direction and therefore don’t offend anyone. For that same reason they can seem boring in residential décor. Your house is not an office, it is your sanctuary from the world, and is the perfect place to express who you are and how you want a room to “feel” through interior design! One of the most effective ways to do this is through creative use of color. It is one of the most misused and under-utilized elements of design, but can have enormous influence on whether or not a design is successful in communicating the feel and mood that was intended by the designer.

As humans we cannot help but be attracted or repulsed by color. It is sewn into our psyche with the threads of our DNA! It is how early man determined which berries were poisonous or which animals to stay away from. Whether it’s the pinkish blush of a cheek or the orange-glow of the moon, color helps us read and understand our world.

We process color on both an individual level and on a societal level. A color may remind you of something from your childhood or have a very personal meaning to you. Perhaps you have an affinity for the color red and as an adolescent used that color either consciously or unconsciously as a design element in your bedroom. At the same time that color means something to you based on your cultural upbringing and nationality. For example the color red is a strong symbol of luck in Eastern Asian cultures, especially in Chinese culture. As a result it is a major design element in Chinese décor and both interior and exterior architectural design. The same red would be considered too bold to use on every wall of an interior in most western cultures, and is used primarily as an accent color.

You make choices on a daily basis that are influenced by color, from the clothes you wear to the foods you eat to the stores and businesses you patronize. Advertisers and marketers take full advantage of the psychological influence of color on consumers. It is not an accident that McDonald’s restaurants chose the combination of red and yellow. That combination has been shown to stimulate appetite.

If you were trying to describe the color blue to a color-blind person, what adjectives would you use? Lonely? Cold? Pensive? Pure? Marine? Here are some adjectives commonly associated with specific color palettes. It can be very helpful to keep them in mind when choosing paint colors or general color palettes for interior design. These associations are especially useful when decorating a child’s bedroom or playroom as children are more sensitive to color stimulation than adults.

• Lavender: imaginative, fantasy color, romantic

• Purple: spiritual, passionate, visionary, royal, (assoc. with kings), creative, rare (gems, dyes). While many adults dislike it, it is a good color to use in children’s play areas because it stimulates imagination.

• Pink: compassionate (breast cancer ribbons), faithful, feminine, innocent

• Magenta (red-purple): inventive, outrageous, imaginative, creative

• Indigo (blue-purple): knowledge, powerful, integrity

• Light Blue: peaceful, cool, sincere, affectionate, masculine (for babies)

• Turquoise: refreshing, cool, imaginative, tranquil

• Aqua: motivated, active, dynamic, tropic

• Blue: calm, intuitive, intelligent (IBM), trustworthy (ie. uniform, navy), masculine, pensive, cold, pure (Virgin Mary), deep. It suppresses appetite so would not be the best choice for kitchens or dining rooms.

• Green: growth, abundance, vitality, life, earthy, natural, cool, relaxing, restful, serene, organic

• Brown: stable, reliable (UPS), earthy, common

• Orange: happy, successful, courageous, (assoc. with harvest), abundance, cheerful, warm, balance

• Gold: illuminating, wise, wealthy, distinguished

• Yellow: enthusiastic, playful, optimistic, friendly, welcoming (caution: bright yellows can cause anxiety in infants and young children).

• Red: energetic, stimulating, determined, passionate, hot, romantic, bold, lucky (Chinese), (most common color in advertising). It evokes a sense of excitement and can elevate blood pressure and energy levels. It stimulates the appetite and is often used in restaurants and dining room décor.

• Black: sophisticated, elegant, modern, luxurious, formal (tuxedo or black dress)

• White: pure, sterile, cool, modern, clean, angelic or heavenly

Nationality / Ethnic / Regional associations to color:

Red: Chinese, Oriental, Indian, Russian

Yellow/Gold: Egyptian, Roman

Orange/browns: Moroccan, Spanish, Mediterranean

Purple: Indian, Moroccan, Persian

Green + orange: Irish, Scottish, Italian

Blue + white: Greek, Jewish

Pastels: Caribbean, Miami, Bermuda