Color Your Mood!

We’ve all seen them; the disgruntled customers in the paint department choosing between green and blue.  We’ve all been there; pondering how this choice is going to affect our space and accessories. But have you ever wondered how that color is going to affect your mood? Yes, we all know that we associate different colors with different things. But not all of us are aware that we can use these associations to our advantage.  Let’s break this down, color by color.

It is difficult to find someone who does not enjoy the color red; this hue has the largest amount of personal associations related to it. Wherever you place this color, people will notice it; red is the attention grabber, the friskiest of all the colors. I like to think of the color red as Christmas…I love this holiday, it’s my favorite day of the year. But would I want Christmas to be every day? Absolutely not, I’d probably find myself in a sugar coma. It’s good in small doses, so it can be appreciated more. This is why red is one of the best colors for accenting. Choose the items you have that you really want to show off, and use this bold color to do so! Red is associated with things like love, anger, intensity and warnings. It’s easy to see why we’re all so interested in such an extreme color.

Orange is like the black licorice of the color wheel; either you love it or you hate it. Associated with energy, excitement and enthusiasm, this hue is perfect for areas of high social interaction. Not only does it stimulate energy and activity, it also increases appetite. It used to be that gatherings mostly took place in the living room, but nowadays one of the most social areas in a home is the kitchen. Orange can help liven up the activities that take place here!

Yellow is a tricky color, and when used properly, can be one of the most enjoyable. However, due to its complexity, used incorrectly, it can be your worst nightmare. We associate yellow with cheerfulness and warmth.  But did you know that this color is the most fatiguing to the eye? There is a large amount of light reflected with this delightful hue, and used incorrectly the result could be strained vision. This also makes yellow the most visible color, which is why you should be focused on the intensity of the swatch you decide on; a little bit goes a long way. A common faux pas made is painting a nursery a neutral color like yellow.  This color, as cheery as it may seem, has been proven to make people feel frustrated and angry, and therefore makes babies fussier. Looking for a neutral for your baby? Try green. Love the yellow? Try the kitchen, as it’s also been known to increase metabolism. Who doesn’t love that?

Do you ever notice how often you see the color green? How about where you see it? We are so conditioned to this color because of how often we see it outdoors; it evokes feelings we often receive from nature, such as tranquility, rejuvenation and health. The correlation of why you see green in hospitals, prisons and spas is probably becoming clearer to you now. People in each of those settings need to be calmed down for numerous reasons and green has been known to reduce stress and have a calming effect. While green can be that stress reliever you’ve been looking for, it can also (similar to orange and yellow) evoke feelings of hunger. No other color will make your food look as fresh…just what every kitchen needs!

If I were to ask you what your favorite color is, there would be a high chance that you would say blue. Blue seems to win the ‘most popular’ vote every time, especially among men. Perhaps we’ve been conditioning them at a young age? However, even though men prefer blue, this hue is by no means meant nor wanted by only one gender. A color that also has been known to relax, increase personal thought and increase productivity is a color wanted by all. The most beneficial places to paint blue would be in an office or a bedroom. I would seriously forewarn you against using blue in a kitchen. How often do you see blue naturally in food? I can think of blueberries and that’s about it. The only other times we see blue in food is when it’s too late and the food has spoiled. It has a tendency to remind us of food gone bad and therefore is an unappetizing color.

Purple is the color that we associate with royalty, wealth, spirituality and prosperity. This is because the effect that purple has on us. It stimulates our imagination as well as the part of our brain that we use while problem solving. This color allows us to get in touch with our deepest thoughts, and therefore would make a wonderful color in a room where you do a lot of self reflecting; a bedroom or sitting room perhaps? The issue with the color purple is that it has a tendency to take on qualities of either blue or red, depending on what your purple has more of. Purples with more red in them tend to be more stimulating whereas ones with blue are on the relaxing side. Finding a purple with the perfect balance of red and blue will help you to feel balanced as well.

So remember that when it comes to picking out colors, you shouldn’t just be looking for a color that catches your eye or the latest trend. Think of how you would like to feel in the room that you’re painting, and choose your colors accordingly because done correctly, all of the activities done in these spaces have the opportunity to be enhanced by the right color.