Room Color and How it Affects your Mood

Intro

While most of us may not spend a lot of time thinking about room color, it affects every day of our lives. Room color can influence our mood and our thoughts. Colors affect people in many ways, depending upon one’s age, gender, ethnic background or local climate. Certain colors or groups of colors tend to get a similar reaction from most people – the overall difference being in the shade or tones used. So it’s important to choose wisely.

colors wheel

To have a beautiful home, you do not have to worry about trends. Color trends will come and go. The people who live in a home make it beautiful by choosing colors that reflect their likes and their personalities. The trick is to blend those colors you like into a pleasing combination. Choosing color combinations is one of the most intimidating steps for beginners. Color has the power to change the shape and size of furnishings as well as the shape and size of the room itself.

Selecting colors is not difficult if you equip yourself with some basic information about color and its effects, so let’s find more about room colors, and how these affect your mood.

Let’s begin …

When selecting color for a room, keep in mind that each color has a psychological value. Think about how those colors make you feel. The main color of your room can have an effect on your mood. These colors can make you feel anything from tranquil to rage. So when trying to create peace and harmony in your home choose your colors wisely. Some colors in large amounts will have just the opposite affect on you and your loved ones’ moods.

What mood do you want to create? Which colors will help you achieve that mood?

Find clear answers to these questions. If you find this task quite difficult try to look at magazines, decorating books, blogs and websites for ideas, or let your fabric be your guide. In fact, this is a good approach to take even if you’re starting from scratch. Fabric, carpeting, furniture and tile are available in a more limited range of colors than is paint, so choose them first and then decide on your paint color. Once you’ve found what you where searching for limit the number of colors in a room to no more than three or four. Too many colors can make a room look busy or cluttered.

Paint is a fairly inexpensive and transforms a room more quickly than anything else you can do so you can afford to experiment a little.

Room Colors

Understand that colors behave in three basic ways : active, passive, and neutral , and you can easily match every room’s colors to your personal desires and taste and to the room’s purpose. Light colors are expansive and airy, they make rooms seem larger and brighter. Dark colors are sophisticated and warm; they give large rooms a more intimate appearance.

Now let’s find more about some colors.

red colorRed raises a room’s energy level. It’s a good choice when you want to stir up excitement, particularly at night. In the living room or dining room, red draws people together and stimulates conversation. In an entryway, it creates a strong first impression. Red has been shown to raise blood pressure, speed respiration and heart rate. It is usually considered too stimulating for bedrooms, but if you’re only in the room after dark, you’ll be seeing it mostly by lamplight, when the color will appear muted, rich, and elegant. Red, the most intense, pumps the adrenaline like no other hue.

Crimson can make some people feel irritable. With red invoking feels of rage and hostility is a color that should be avoided as the main color of a room. Sitting for long periods of time in a room this color will likely breakdown any peace and harmony you are striving to create in your home. Ancient cultures used the color red to stimulate the body and mind and to increase circulation.
yellow colorYellow captures the joy of sunshine and communicates happiness. It’s perfect for kitchens, dining rooms, and bathrooms, where happy color is energizing and uplifting. In halls, entries, and small spaces, yellow can feel expansive and welcoming.Yellow although is a cheery color is not a good choice in main color schemes of a room. People are more likely to lose their tempers in a yellow room. Babies also seem to cry more in a yellow room. This color tends to create feeling of
frustration and anger in people. This color is the most fatiguing on the eyes.In chromotherapy yellow was believed to stimulate the nerves and purify the body.

blue colorBlue brings down blood pressure and slows respiration and heart rate. That’s why it’s considered calming, relaxing, and serene, and is often recommended for bedrooms and bathrooms. Be careful, however: A pastel blue that looks pretty on the paint chip can come across as unpleasantly chilly when it’s on the walls and furnishings, especially in a room that receives little natural light. If you opt for a light blue as the primary color in a room, balance it with warm hues in the furnishings
and fabrics.

To encourage relaxation in the rooms where people gather family rooms, living rooms, large kitchens consider warmer blues, such as periwinkle, or bright blues, such as cerulean or turquoise. Blue is known to have a calming effect when used as the main color of a room. When going with blue go for softer shades of blue. Dark blue has the opposite effect. Dark blue evokes feels of sadness. So refrain from using darker blues in your main color scheme. Stay with the lighter shades of blue to give you and your loved ones a calm effect.

green color

Green is considered the most restful color for the eye. Combining the refreshing quality of blue and the cheerfulness of yellow, green is suited to almost any room in the house. In a kitchen, a sage or medium green cools things down; in a family room or living room, it encourages unwinding but has enough warmth to promote comfort and togetherness. In a bedroom, it’s relaxing and pleasant.Green also has a calming effect when used as a main color for decorating. It is believed to relieve stress by helping people relax. Also believed to help with fertility this is a great choice for the bedroom.

purple.jpg

Purple in its darkest values (eggplant, for example) is rich, dramatic, and sophisticated. It’s associated with luxury as well as creativity, and as an accent or secondary color, it gives a scheme depth. Lighter versions of purple, such as lavender and lilac, bring the same restful quality to bedrooms as blue does, but without the risk of feeling chilly.

orange.jpgOrange evokes excitement, enthusiasm and is an energetic color. While not a good idea for a living room or for bedrooms this color is great for an exercise room. It will bring all the emotions out that you need when jumping into your fitness routine.In ancient cultures orange was used to heal the lungs and increase energy levels.

black-white.jpgNeutrals (black, gray, white, and brown) are basic to the decorator’s tool kit. All-neutral schemes fall in and out of fashion, but their virtue lies in their flexibility: Add color to liven things up; subtract it to calm things down. Black is best used in small doses as an accent , indeed, some experts maintain that every room needs a touch of black to ground the color scheme and give it depth.

To make the job easier, you can rely on the interior designer’s most important color tool: the color wheel.

Something about Ceiling and Walls

The ceiling represents one-sixth of the space in a room, but too often it gets nothing more than a coat of white paint. In fact, for decades, white has been considered not only the safest but also the best choice for ceilings. As a general rule, ceilings that are lighter than the walls feel higher, while those that are darker feel lower. Lower” need not mean claustrophobic: Visually lowered ceilings can evoke cozy intimacy.

Dark walls make a room seem smaller, and light walls make a room seem larger.

Conclusion

These general guidelines are a good starting point in your search for a paint color. But remember that color choice is a very personal matter. You’re the one who has to live with your new paint color, so choose a hue that suits you, your family and your lifestyle.And after investing time to select just the right color, make sure it continues to look that way long-term by investing in a top quality paint.

P.S – If you’ve found this article useful, you should also read “Things You Should Know before Buying a New Bed”

You should follow Freshome.com on - facebook, twitter, rss or e-mail

126 Responses to “Room Color and How it Affects your Mood”

Pages: « 3 2 [1] Show All

  1. 50
    namrata Says:

    excellent

  2. 49
    5 Tips for Fooling The Eye and Making a Room Look Bigger « Blogged! Says:

    [...] time ago I’ve wrote an article where I’ve discussed about room colors and their influence on our moods. Today you’ll learn how to use colors to make your room look bigger. Cream colors and icy blues [...]

  3. 48
    5 Tips for Fooling The Eye and Making a Room Look Bigger « Hug the Sky! Says:

    [...] time ago I’ve wrote an article where I’ve discussed about room colors and their influence on our moods. Today you’ll learn how to use colors to make your room look bigger. Cream colors and icy blues [...]

  4. 47
    Clarence Smith Says:

    This one makes sence “One’s first step in wisdom is to kuesstion everything – and one’s last is to come to terms with everything.”

  5. 46
    5 Tips for Fooling the Eye and Making a Room Look Bigger Says:

    [...] time ago I’ve wrote an article where I’ve discussed about room colors and their influence on our moods. Today you’ll learn how to use colors to make your room look bigger. Cream colors and icy [...]

  6. 45
    Indoor Vegetable Furniture at Home Inspiration, Furniture, Bed, Sofa, Chair, Table, Gadgets and More for a Better House Says:

    [...] green color, because green is considered the most restful color for the eye, as you might know from Room Color and How it Affects your Mood. – Via – Moco [...]

  7. 44
    Michael Says:

    jessy – read this post, and decide what do you want for your studio, how do you want to feel, what do you want to create.

  8. 43
    jessy Says:

    i need help paiting a small 2 story studio apartment. any ideas?

  9. 42
    Room Color and Your Mood Says:

    [...] is contributing to your sour attitude or conversely the reason why you can’t relax or sleep. Room color effects your mood much more than you think. Home & Dininghome amp, sleep room, conversely, [...]

  10. 41
    Soapbox » Room Color and Your Mood Says:

    [...] is contributing to your sour attitude or conversely the reason why you can’t relax or sleep. Room color effects your mood much more than you [...]

  11. 40
    Room Color and Your Mood Says:

    [...] is contributing to your sour attitude or conversely the reason why you can’t relax or sleep. Room color effects your mood much more than you think. Home & Dining Share and Enjoy: These icons link [...]

  12. 39
    Link Karma: Life in Color. « Lemonade Stand Says:

    [...] “Room Color and How it Affects your Mood” on the freshome blog tells you what psychological value colors have and how, beyond home decor color trends, you can select colors for your house that truly speak to you. Are the colors in your home or work environment capturing the right mood? Red raises a room’s energy level. Yellow captures the joy of sunshine and communicates happiness. Blue brings down blood pressure and slows respiration and heart rate. [...]

  13. 38
    Ardie Says:

    The article is a good start, but its incomplete.

    Red and pink tend to trigger sharp emotions. Those who are already edgy will get pushed over the edge. More arguments happened when a company switched their fluorescent lights from the traditional blue-ish ones to a “cheerful” pink light.

    Orange tends to stimulate the appetite. (Red does too, if exposed for short periods of time.) Look at the interiors of McDonalds, Wendy’s Carl’s Jr., Burger King, California’s In-and-Out Burgers, and so on. They tend to use red or orange as their accent color for some odd reason :-) “You want fries with that?”

    Darker blues are the “authority” color. Blue suits, blue accents, dark blue in the floor tiles. You’ll see it a lot at the FBI and local law offices, too.

    Pale green and light blue are supposed to be restful and relaxing. There’s another reason why the talk shows actually have a “green room” for the wating guests before they walk on stage.

    Ardie

  14. 37
    Daily Links | Akkam's Razor Says:

    [...] Room Color and How it Affects your Mood at Home Inspiration, Furniture, Gadgets and More for a Bette… Room colors and mood (and could it relate to experiences online). (tags: color design home decorating psychology paint inspiration reference) [...]

  15. 36
    Charles Wilson Says:

    Hmm, my office is all white. Not too sure what other colours can I use for it.

    I am looking for colours to increase the productivity or the morale of the people. Any advice?

  16. 35
    Jason Says:

    Hayden Fry, former football coach at the U of Iowa, had a lot of fun with this notion–he painted the visiting team’s locker room pink, and his successor, Kirk Ferentz, took it even further. Pink urinals! Regardless of whether that color had the effect he claimed to be seeking, it certainly got under the opposing teams’ skin a lot of the time.

  17. 34
    How Room Color Affects Your Mood - lifehack.org Says:

    [...] Room Color and How it Affects your Mood – [FreshHome] digg_url = ‘http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/how-room-color-affects-your-mood.html’; ( function() { var ds=typeof digg_skin==’string’?digg_skin:”; var h=80; var w=52; if(ds==’compact’) { h=18; w=120; } var u=typeof digg_url==’string’?digg_url:(typeof DIGG_URL==’string’?DIGG_URL:window.location.href); document.write(“”); } )() Author: Craig Childs Posted: Thursday, April 26th, 2007 at 1:00 pm Tags: color, emotion, environment, environments, painting Share This [...]

  18. 33
    Move.com Local Jacksonville : Celebrating Jacksonville, Florida » Blog Archive » Color Me Happy! Says:

    [...] room; one that isn’t too dark or too light or too bright or too anything else. According to Freshome, “Colors affect people in many ways, depending upon one’s age, gender, ethnic background or [...]

  19. 32
    Color Me Happy! : Behind the Walls : sharing stories about home renovation Says:

    [...] room; one that isn’t too dark or too light or too bright or too anything else. According to Freshome, “Colors affect people in many ways, depending upon one’s age, gender, ethnic background or [...]

  20. 31
    Am Says:

    I do believe color does or can affect mood. Actually, when I am dealing with a client that wants to paint a small room dark blue, I try to figure more about what she/he is really trying for first. They may use terms like “warm” and “comfy”. Not only are they going for a look, but often speak in terms of mood.

  21. 30
    nežinau.lt » Įrašų archyvas » Aplinkos spalvos ir produktyvumas Says:

    [...] bendrąjį gyvenamųjų erdvių spalvos poveikį galite paskaityti Freshome straipsnyje, tačiau jame atskirai neišskiriamas jų poveikis darbui. Jį, surinktą iš įvairių, kartais [...]

  22. 29
    Rachel Says:

    I wanted to write to clear up some widely-believed myths about color that are unfortunately being perpetuated in this article. I am a color consultant, and associate member of the IACC (International Association of Color Consultants). If curious, you can check out the website here: http://www.iaccna.org/
    Studies have actually -not- shown that babies cry more in yellow rooms. Also, I think it’s important to steer clear of formulas and recipes for using color. Statements such as, “So refrain from using darker blues in your main color scheme” are too generalized. These pre-conceived ideas are both subjective, and incorrect.

  23. 28
    Bohemian Revolution » Blog Archive » Room color and mood Says:

    [...] If you’re thinking about painting rooms, you might as well read up on how color affects mood. [...]

  24. 27
    This Week’s Del.icio.us bookmarks 2007-04-24 | ABlueStar Says:

    [...] Room Color and How it Affects your Mood at Home Inspiration, Products, Furniture, Gadgets and More f… Color can influence our mood and our thoughts. Colors affect people in many ways, depending upon one’s age, gender, ethnic background or local climate. Certain colors or groups of colors tend to get a similar reaction from most people – the overall diff Tagged as: color, design, home, decorating, psychology [...]

  25. 26
    Papa Mike’s Blog » Blog Archive » How Room Color Affects Your Mood Says:

    [...] maintain that every room needs a touch of black to ground the color scheme and give it depth. Source.   [...]

  26. 25
    niharika Says:

    its eally very interesting, can u tell me more about the colour effect through our clothing and atmosphere at work.

  27. 24
    Dollie Says:

    The bit about the ceiling color is interesting. I have VERY low ceilings, but instead of just leaving them a boring old white, I painted the entire ceiling in my bedroom with the same color as my walls, just 2 shades lighter. It gave the room the airy effect of a light colored ceiling while still allowing me to liven it up a bit. (Using 2 shades of the same color on the walls and ceiling also did wonders to tie in the rest of the decor in the room because it gave me a base color scheme to work with!)

  28. 23
    Charles and Hudson Says:

    Room Color and Your Mood…

    Are you feeling blue? It may be the color of your room that is contributing to your sour attitude or conversely the reason why you can’t relax or sleep. Room color effects your mood much more than you think…….

  29. 22
    This Week’s Del.icio.us bookmarks 2007-04-20 | ABlueStar Says:

    [...] Room Color and How it Affects your Mood at Home Inspiration, Products, Furniture, Gadgets and More f… Color can influence our mood and our thoughts. Colors affect people in many ways, depending upon one’s age, gender, ethnic background or local climate. Certain colors or groups of colors tend to get a similar reaction from most people – the overall diff Tagged as: color, design, home, decorating, psychology [...]

  30. 21
    Linda Says:

    As adults red is stimulating for us, however if you follow Rudolf Steiner’s Anthroposphical views, he indicates that it is the opposite for children. For children it has a claming effect, if you give a ‘rowdy’ child a pot of red (only)paint, the action of painting will calm him/her. Also if a child wears red clothing will also have a calming affect on them.

  31. 20
    Hobbies » Blog Archive » Use Paint to Affect Your Mood Says:

    [...] other than “apartment white.” Home blog Freshome has some good tips with a post titled Room Color and How it Affects Your Mood. As the article says, When selecting color for a room, keep in mind that each color has a [...]

  32. 19
    Chris Pietschmann Says:

    Interesting… The walls surrounding the office where my cube and all my co-workers cubes are is dark blue.

  33. 18
    Jennifer Says:

    (ahhh! One of the emotes I made chopped off my first comment!)
    Thanks for the advice on colors! I currently live in a “Neutral” space. Actually, every room in this apartment is a neutral white color. So I can’t wait to eventually get my own place and color the walls! When that time comes I’m definitely coming back to this article!

  34. 17
    Jennifer Says:

    Thanks for the advice on colors! I currently live in a “Neutral” space. Actually, every room in this apartment is a neutral white color. So I can’t wait to eventually get my own place and color the walls! >__

  35. 16
    Leeann Says:

    Just wanted to tell you that I appreciate the info. It not only applies to room color, but personality. When I was younger, I was more drawn to red and black, more energy and lots of stimulating conversations. Now that I am older, I have found more time to be creative and do things that I have always wanted to do. So now, my favorite color is purple. Interesting.
    Thanks.

  36. 15
    Afrikaans, Kuier Saam in Afrikaans Says:

    [...] http://freshome.com/2007/04/17/room-color-and-how…; [...]

  37. 14
    Kolz Blog » Blog Archive » Choose a room color to influence your mood Says:

    [...] Room Color and How it Affects your Mood [Freshome] [...]

  38. 13
    blue ideas » Blog Archive » colors and your mood Says:

    [...] Room Color and How it Affects your Mood at Home Inspiration, Products, Furniture, Gadgets and More f… Explore posts in the same categories: Uncategorized [...]

  39. 12
    links for 2007-04-19 « Jet Grrl Says:

    [...] Room Color and How it Affects your Mood at Home Inspiration, Products, Furniture, Gadgets and More f… (tags: HowTo Blog) Posted by seahawk Filed in Uncategorized [...]

  40. 11
    heh at tomatolounge Says:

    [...] How colors can affect mood [...]

  41. 10
    Josh Says:

    What the hell this doesn’t even make sense. Yellow is supposed to convey happiness yet it has been known to invoke anger and rage in people? Lol

  42. 9
    Star 104.5 - Omaha's Favorite Mix - KSRZ-FM Omaha, Nebraska Says:

    OTST – See Melinda Doolittle perform!!!…

  43. 8
    Techzi » Blog Archive » Choose a room color to influence your mood Says:

    [...] your next paint job. Share your own mood-altering color advice in the comments. —Rick Broida Room Color and How it Affects your Mood [...]

  44. 7
    Gene Says:

    Very interesting! How about the colors that we wear everyday? Same ideas?

  45. 6
    Choose a room color to influence your mood at SoftSaurus Says:

    [...] your next paint job. Share your own mood-altering color advice in the comments. —Rick Broida Room Color and How it Affects your Mood [...]

  46. 5
    Maalausurakka edessä at Hopeapuu Says:

    [...] Room color, and how it affects your mood. Julkaistu keskiviikkona, 18. huhtikuuta 2007 aihealueena Elämä [...]

  47. 4
    De qué color pintar qué cuartos en el hogar? Says:

    [...] Link [...]

  48. 3
    Michael Says:

    You feel them, but you are not aware of them. :) Just spend some time in a room, and study the effects.

  49. 2
    CIB3R Says:

    Good post! My old room in my mothers house it’s painted in blue and the room on my actual house it’s painted in white. Anyhow I don’t feel any difference between one and other one.

  50. 1
    meneame.net Says:

    El color de la habitación y como afecta a tu humor…

    Post explicativo indicando la relación existente entre el color de tu habitación y tu estado de ánimo o humor. Así que si estás pensando en pintarla, léelo y después escoge el color que más te convenga. En inglés….

Pages: « 3 2 [1] Show All

Leave a Reply