When you walk into a room, what’s the first thing you notice? Its color.
The reaction we have to color is affected by factors such as age, gender, culture, personal experiences and associations, as well as climate and region.
“We have an innate reaction to color,” says Andrew Elliot, professor of psychology at the University of Rochester.
For example, many consider green relaxing because it is associated with growth and nature.
“Green ranges from old, traditional English libraries in a darker hunter green where you can sit down, concentrate and read to a spring-like yellow-based green, which symbolizes new birth or new growth,” Elliot says. “We’ve learned certain associations with color. Red makes the heart race because we associate it with fire trucks and ambulances, while yellow is associated with our dear grandmother’s kitchen.”
Sometimes there can be a disconnect between the color of a room and what the room is intended for, such as when a room meant for relaxing is painted red. To provide continuity between color and function, Neal Hauschild, interior designer and owner of Nth Degree Home in New Albany, suggests using cool colors such as blue and green for rooms meant for relaxing or quiet time.
“We generally associate those colors with serenity and calmness. However, if we want to create an atmosphere of energy or excitement, warmer colors like yellow and orange are recommended,” Hauschild says.
Color is key to how décor is perceived. New York interior designer Scott Sanders, in House Beautiful magazine, suggests using brighter, warmer colors in a big room to “bring the walls in,” and cooler colors to “push walls out” in a smaller room. Color establishes visual weight and balance and can affect the relationship with other decorative elements in the room.
“If you put a bold primary-based piece of art in a pastel room, it’s probably not going to seem quite right. Colors of art should balance colors of space,” Sanders writes.
Due to a lack of sunlight, those who suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder, a type of depression that occurs during winter but subsides in spring and summer, may want to rethink the color palette for their living and work spaces, particularly if that color is a predominantly neutral hue. The color brown may have a similar effect. According to color psychology – the educational discipline exploring how color affects mood – even though it is considered a natural color that evokes a sense of strength and reliability, brown can create feelings of sadness and isolation.
Splashes of color can bring relief, even if temporary, from those seemingly endless winter months.
“Add accent pieces and artwork with vibrant colors to liven a neutral color palette, change the wall color and/or install different lighting that can warm the tones of colors, such as yellow and tan,” Hauschild says.
Experts in interior design encourage experimenting with color, and not being afraid of dark colors. If you love a color, test it and follow your heart. Most importantly, when it comes to the color of your living and work spaces, pay attention to your intuition.
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Diane Schaefer is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at ssole@cityscenemediagroup.com.
