Decorating Your Home Based on Color and Psychology

Decorating Your Home Based on Color and Psychology

Decorating your home has typically been based on what your eye sees as aesthetically pleasing or simply what looks good. Having a beautiful happy home isn't always based on trends — as trends come and go — but rather based on your personality and preferences. Color is a major part of that. Most people don't often spend a lot of time thinking about room color, but we view it and it affects us every day. Certain colors used in a space can help dictate the mood or "feeling" of that room. Since different colors give off different moods, it could be beneficial to decorate each room of your home based on the feeling the color evokes and what works best with your personality and lifestyle.

Purple/Violet historically has been associated with luxury. Mysteriousness and sensuality are also great qualities of purple. Darker hues of purple can be sophisticated and dramatic. It has a restful quality that works nice in bedrooms without the risk of feeling "chilly" like its blue counterpart.

Blue give off a calming, relaxing and healing energy. It has been noted that blue can bring down blood pressure and slows heart rate. These colors work beautifully in a bedroom or bathroom. People tend to be more productive in a blue room so decorating offices can be beneficial as well. Dark blue however may have an opposite effect, evoking feelings of sadness. Mix your darker blues with warmer colors to balance the mood.

Green is one of the most harmonic colors promoting health and good luck. Like some cooler colors such as blue and violet, it works great in a bedroom as it is believed to relieve stress, stimulate fertility, and give off a refreshing vibe.

Yellow stimulates the mind, encourages creativity and is energizing and uplifting. Yellow can increase metabolism so it's a great choice for kitchens, bathrooms, and even dining rooms. However, it is recommended to be used in smaller doses. In larger amounts, it has been shown to create feeling of frustration and can lead to visual fatigue like staring at a screen for too long. So it's not ideal for possible places of stress.

Orange is known for its ability to heal the lungs and increase energy. It’s traditionally an odd color to use in bedrooms or main living areas as it can make you feel hot, however its spiritual and enthusiastic qualities make it a great color to use in an exercise room or gym.

Red is perhaps the boldest, most intense color on the wheel. It is the color or anger and agitation. When overdone, rooms with red as the primary color can evoke feeling of hostility. However, red is also the color of lust and intimacy so it makes a great choice when looking for a color that will stir up excitement.

A good thing to note: lighter colors will open up a space, while darker colors tend to make a space seem smaller. Family and communal rooms work great with a lighter color. Use dark furniture to ground the space. Darker colors for studies and bedrooms are nice as it creates an intimate cozy feeling. Use this blog more as a guideline than a rule, because ultimately the colors you choose must make you happy and work with your lifestyle.

September 5, 2016
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