Color Your World: A Guide to Color Psychology

Colors are powerful triggers in eliciting a particular emotional response or setting a particular mood.

Red is a color most often associated with passion and strength. It is impactful, inviting, and energetic. It excites by raising the heart rate. Red can stimulate the appetite so it is used widely in kitchens and dining rooms.

Yellow is bright and optimistic. It is the color of warmth, prosperity, and wisdom. Be judicious in its use, as yellow can sometimes be overstimulating. It is a great accent color that allows things to stand out. Paint your walls or ceiling yellow to simulate warm sunshine.

Orange is a nice option if you feel that red is too aggressive. It is fun and energetic, symbolizing courage, a sense of adventure, friendliness, and hospitality. This makes it ideal for use in children’s rooms, offices, and dining rooms.

Blue establishes feelings of serenity, order, clarity, and calm. Its calming effect is known to reduce blood pressure and heart rate. Use it to create atmospheres conducive to work and meditation, or to cool areas that get a lot of sun, light, or heat.

Green is the color of nature, good fortune, and abundance. It is calm, clear, and soothing to the eye, much like blue. A friendly color, green goes well with others, particularly with white, so it is used most often in living rooms, offices, and bedrooms.

Purple – the color of royalty and nobility. An aura that is posh and luxurious is easily created by this color. Purple is also associated with creativity and flights of fancy, giving off an air of mystery and serenity.

Pink is closely associated with all things feminine. It is soothing and comfortable, its different shades stimulating feelings of sweetness and freshness.

Brown, being the color of the earth, symbolizes security, stability, and timelessness. Shades of brown add layers of depth and dimension to a space, wonderfully creating a tasteful backdrop for living spaces and kitchens. Neutral colors become more welcoming when paired with brown.

Black is seen as formal, serious, and severe. Used smartly, black creates add a bold, dramatic, and elegant effect. It adds an air of sophistication and stands out boldly against light or neutral colors.

White symbolizes youthfulness, faith, and innocence. Use it to make your spaces feel larger, airier, crisper, and fresher. White has the added benefit of creating an illusion of height to your walls, furniture, or floors.

Now that you are aware of the impact colors have on our emotions, attitudes, and behavior, we encourage you to treat your home as a canvass. Paint it with all the colors you desire to create happiness and harmony that is uniquely and distinctly your own.