If These Walls Could Talk

  Have you ever noticed that there are some rooms you just love to go into and others that you find unsettling?  Without realizing it colours affect our moods and the way we function. Interior decorators have known this for years and use it in their offerings on a daily basis but you don’t have to be a professional to learn how to use colours to your benefit.

How we react to colour is usually on an unconscious and almost instinctual level and that reaction is purely our own.  You may love the colour blue because you find it soothing and calming whereas I may find that same colour unsettling and a little disconcerting.  There is no right or wrong reaction to any given colour but there is scientific backup to show how the use of colour affects our moods.

Try this little quiz to see if you can tell which colour belongs to which effect:


1.  blue ...........................A.  energy, vitality, excitement

        2. orange........................ B.  harmony and balance

3.  red.............................C.  dramatic, sensual, sophisticated
 
4.  yellow.........................D.   truth, serenity and harmony

5.  green..........................E.   intellect, used for mental stimulation

6.  purple.........................F.   social and exuberant, warmth

7.  black..........................G.   purity, innocence and joy

8.  white..........................H.   suppressive

9.  pink............................I.    restful and calming

10. grey.......................... J.    powerful, aloof, intimidating

You might be hard-pressed to try to figure out which is which although some are fairly obvious because again we react to them on a subconscious level.  I’ll give you a hint: pink is restful and calming and is the colour of equilibrium.  That is why delinquent children and even adults placed in pink holding cells had fewer outbursts when it was tried in the state of California.  Conversely, couples fought more and babies cried more in a bright yellow room.  These are the kinds of things you need to consider when painting and decorating your home.  Green is a restful colour and will help you sleep so it would be a good choice for bedrooms.  This might be ringing some bells for you as you recall colour schemes that were wrong for the atmosphere you were trying to create in a given room.  Perhaps your yellow and white bedroom looked beautiful in the daylight but was unsettling when you were trying to relax and fall asleep.  Keeping this knowledge in mind can help you enormously when you are ready to redecorate.

Start with determining what the room is going to be used for.  Do you want to use warm colours that stimulate activity or warm colours that create a more tranquil mood?  Check out www.littlemonkeymurals.com for more information on colours and great ideas for decorating.

Colours not only enhance the atmosphere of a room but they can also visually change the dimensions of a room.  The use of warm colours makes things like doors seem to stand out more and cool colours tend to recede or withdraw.  You have to be careful though as there is a fine line between a colour being aggressive and that same colour being cosy.  Usually, the difference lies in the tones used.  Walls, like our waistlines, appear longer and taller with vertical stripes.

Did you know that colours could help with weight management too? Using the colour orange in your place settings or tablescape stimulates the appetite whereas the colour violet suppresses it.  Darker hues are said to slow our eating and brighter colours make us eat faster.  Think McDonald’s.  They use the brightest of the primary ccoloursto get you in and out fast. 

Colours affect our moods and feelings and can even evoke physical reactions. There is research to show that fertility is increased in a blue room (this can work for you or against you). Even though the temperature is the same, people feeler cooler in a blue room and warmer in a red room.  With all the research and studies done on our color personalities and what the predicted effects of color should be on us, we have to remember that color is still a very personal choice.  What works for one will not work for another so when redecorating and getting a “professional” opinion it is important for you to be honest with them.  It doesn’t matter what combination works on their palette or in the showroom, it has to work for you.  Make every room inviting using the colors that evoke that feeling in you.  Surround yourself with the colors you like.




Answers:

1-D, 2-F, 3-A, 4-E, 5-B, 6-C, 7-J, 8-G, 9-I, 10-H   How did you do?