We often use color to describe emotion. You can say someone is green with envy, red with anger, blue with sadness or rosy with optimism. Without a doubt there is a psychology of color. Research confirms that different colors stimulate emotional and physical reaction in people. Color can impact our mood, our appetite, and our energy level. Years of color response research has shown that certain colors elicit specific – and often strong – responses in people. Therefore, it is important to keep in mind that each color has a psychological value when choosing colors for your home.
Energetic Warms
Colors in the red, orange and yellow families are referred to as “warm” colors since they evoke images associated with heat, like fire or sunshine. As a result they make us feel warm in a psychological sense.
Red
Red is among the most psychologically stimulating colors. It is warm, bold, stirring and energetic. This powerful color often increases blood pressure and heart rate. It often produces feelings of intimacy, energy, passion and excitement. It also stimulates the appetite and is often used in restaurants and is an excellent choice for dining rooms in the home. For a deep, intense setting, use other colors sparingly in a red room. The eye is drawn to red, so it also makes an eye-catching accent color on exteriors.
Orange
Like red, orange warms a room but in a less dramatic and intense way. The mood and attitude of orange is more cheerful than bold, more bright than stimulating. It symbolizes balance, warmth, enthusiasm and vibrance. Orange works well in living rooms and family rooms and is also a good choice for children’s bedrooms. Use orange when you want to brighten a dark room.
Yellow
Yellow grabs attention and catches the eye like no other color. That is why people use yellow highlighters. It represents happiness, optimism, inspiration and light. In poorly lit foyers and hallways, yellow shows the way. Use yellow in bedrooms to lift your mood. But bright yellow can be too strong and may actually cause anxiety in infants and young children.
Calming Cools
Blues, green, violets and their intermediates are considered cool colors because of their reference to pastoral landscapes and ocean vistas. These colors elicit feelings of peace, tranquility and relaxation.
Blue
Blue is calming and cool. It is the most popular color because it symbolizes the sky and heaven. Soothing blue walls can make a south- or west-facing room feel cooler. It is an ideal bedroom color choice for adults and children. But the same blue that lulls us to sleep also suppresses appetites, so try to keep it out of the dining room. The spectrum of blue is wide in terms of what different shades of blue can do to a space. For example, a turquoise can create a retro look but a teal has a darker, more sophisticated look.
Green
As the dominant color in nature, we are at home with green anywhere in the house. It is a pleasing, organic, fresh, calming, and restful color. Light greens work well in baths and living rooms; mid-range greens are a great accent color for kitchens and dining rooms. Create a sense of serenity with green in any room where you want a relaxed and fresh atmosphere.
Purple
Purple is lush, regal, and passionate. It is an intense and highly emotional color, partly because it straddles the line between the warm red and cool blue. Despite the favorable response violet elicits in children, many adults dislike purples, with rosier shades of violet being somewhat more appealing. Children’s bedrooms and play areas are a good place to experiment with this color because purple is also known to stimulate imagination.