You may not realize the extent of how colour influences us everyday. This is something that should be considered when decorating your home. Colour not only changes the illusion of a room’s size and shape, it can have a profound affect on our mood. For more information and tips on choosing your paint see our post on Choosing Interior Colours.
What Mood Are You Trying To Create?
Determine which colours are going to create the mood you desire. For examples look through decorating websites, magazines and paint company brochures. When decorating a room it’s usually best to limit the number of overall colours that will be in the space. Including your furnishings, wall colour and other accessories try to keep it down to 3 or 4 colours at most. You can have various shades of these different colours to create interest, but by keeping the number of different colours down it creates a sense of continuity or harmony in the room. Otherwise it can look too busy.
The feeling desired in this bedroom was a sense of calm and warmth. The relaxed feel has been achieved by limiting the amount of different colours and using various shades of the same colours. The warmth has been created by the medium depth of grey that was used on the walls.
How Room Colours Affect A Space And Us
Light colours tend to make a room feel more expansive and airy and brighter. Darker colours create a feeling of warmth and can make a space feel more intimate.
This person wanted a light and airy feel to their living space for a number of reasons. In the near future another townhouse will be built within very close proximity to the side. It will block out a large amount of their natural light coming through the windows. They also own a large amount of artwork and wanted a neutral background to display it on.
Reds – Red colours create energy in a room, it can stimulate conversation and gives a strong impression. It is a colour that needs to be used carefully, it may be too stimulating for use in some rooms. It can increase blood pressure and heart rate. It is generally best to use as an accent colour. The right tone of red, like a more muted or earthy red or brown/red can create a feeling of comfort and coziness.
Oranges – Orange is associated with action and can create excitement and energry. It can be bright and cheerful. It’s said to be the best colour to paint a fitness room.
Pinks – Pink colours can reduce anger. Pink can be comfortable colour. It’s often said to be able to reduce anger.
Yellows – Yellow can emit a feeling of sunshine and happiness. It can be uplifting, welcoming and somewhat energizing. Yellows that are too intense like sunflowers can be hard to live with. More muted or softer shades of yellow are best to use if it’s going to be painted throughout an entire room. Yellow tends to be a love it or hate it colour for many people.
This kitchen does not receive a lot of natural light. The customer wanted it painted a cheery yellow colour to brighten it up.
Neutrals – Colours such as blacks, greys, whites and browns are considered neutrals. They are the colours that offer the most flexibility in decorating. If you have a neutrally painted space you can liven it up with bolder coloured accents and furnishings or calm it down by using shades of the same colour for these items. Black can be a very strong colour and is best used in small doses as an accent.
Greys – grey can enhance creativity which is probably why it’s used a lot in offices as an exccutive colour. Grey colours tend to be easy to live with and provide a neutral background for many decorating styles. Greys can be used to create a very modern look or a cozy and laid back feeling like that of a beach house.
Browns – Brown colours can be very comfortable and soothing. Depending on the shade of brown it can act as a background neutral. Brown can be used in interesting colour combinations like with a pale blue or pink. It can be a good colour choice for a room that people spend a lot of time in like a family room.
This kitchen has been remodeled in preparation to sell the home. The colours used are considered neutrals, but it’s certainly not boring. A darker brown/grey was used as an accent wall with a lighter grey on the surrounding walls. There’s a nice contrast between the cabinets and the darker accent wall. It all ties together nicely with the back splash and counter tops. It’s neutral enough that it should appeal to a wide range of potential buyers. If they want to inject some of their own personality with a splash of colour they can do so with dish towels and decorative accents.
How Colour Has An Effect On Walls And Ceilings
In general ceilings that are lighter than the walls feel higher and those darker than the walls feel lower. Dark walls usually make a room feel smaller and light walls make it feel more spacious and larger.
The ceiling in the area of this home goes up quite high. The darker colour on the lower levels of the tray help to bring it down. The rich depth of the colour creates a luxurious warm feeling that suits the architecture of the space.
