The Psychology of Colour in Your Home – 7 Colour Points to Consider
This guest blog was brought to you and written by Baytree Interiors.
When it comes to decorating or redecorating your home, you’re likely to choose furniture, accessories, objects, textures and colours which attract you. However, colour has a much deeper meaning and can be used as a tool to inspire emotions, moods, thoughts or create an atmosphere, illusion and space within a room. You don’t have to worry too much about trends to create a beautiful home, instead, staying true to you and choosing what reflects your personality best is the ideal way of creating a home sweet home. The number one trick is learning how to make these colours blend well together so it doesn’t look like a rainbow has just hit your home!
GIVE IT SOME THOUGHT
It’s important to choose wisely when it comes to selecting colours, they each have a psychological value so you should consider the way it makes you feel and how it influences emotion and atmosphere. Here’s a brief breakdown of what each colour can mean but the feeling is also personal and shades can vary:
- Blue: Blue is known to be calming and cool, it is very popular in-home interiors as it has a wide range of shades from cooler accents to warm ones.
- Yellow: Yellow reflects happiness, they often represent a modern space but as yellow can be quite an overwhelming colour we recommend going for a paler tone or a warmer mustard shade.
- Red: Red is the colour of confidence, it’s guaranteed to bring a feel of luxury and energy to a space.
- Green: The colour of nature. Calm, relaxing, energising and tranquil, it brings life to any room whilst maintaining balance too. With a multitude of shades to choose from, you could go for something full of vitality such as lime green or take a more subtle approach with an olive tone.
- White: White represents youth and is the go-to colour for many homes thanks to its timeless look which can be used across any interior scheme. Bright white suits a contemporary look whilst warmer shades help create a cosier space.
- Grey: Grey is classic, elegant and ultimately stylish. It works well with most colours but isn’t as bold as black, warm greys work well with other warm tones to create a lived in and inviting space.
- Brown: Different shades of brown represent an earthy feeling which is natural and timeless.
- Black: Representing elegance, mystery and glamour, this colour adds drama and sophistication to a room. Too much black can make the atmosphere low, consider using it as an accent colour or with other colours to bring up the energy.
- Pink: A delicate colour creating femininity and innocence, it is a tranquil colour that works in many rooms but looks especially great in bedrooms.
Consider what mood you are wanting to create and which colours will help you achieve this mood.
DON’T FORGET THE CEILING
The ceiling makes up a large part of a room but it often goes unnoticed and is only given a white colour coat. The rule to follow is that ceilings which are lighter in colour than the walls will feel higher whilst the darker the colour, the lower the ceiling will feel. However, this is not always a negative! Lower ceilings can make a space feel cosier but lighter walls make a room feel larger.
UTILISE THE FURNITURE
Don’t forget, colour isn’t just for the walls! Inject life all over a room in countless ways, from furniture to accessories to blinds to cushions and everything in between, once you’ve planned your colour scheme, you can use it wherever you like, not just on the walls.
CREATE ILLUSIONS
You can create the illusion of a larger space with brighter colours. If you want your home to look larger than it is, then use vibrant colours such as mustard, greens and whites to add space to any area. Tinted colours work best, even over white!
USE THE SEASONS
From winter through to summer, you can mix up your colours at home to create the atmosphere you want. Use deep tones during the winter such as reds, oranges, browns and yellows to create a warm and welcoming feel in your cosy home. Switch to summer and you must use cooler colours to create the right look. Cool colours, especially blue, will make your home refreshing and clean during the warmer months.
WORK FROM HOME?
If you work from home and need a little motivation in your home office then inject some green into the space. Green is known to inspire concentration, focus and motivation. Whether you add a beautiful green plant or paint a feature wall, green is the perfect colour for a home office space.
REVERT BACK TO NATURE
When all else fails, revert back to nature. Choose colours that remind you of nature, colours which appear in nature will naturally fit together and work within a home space. They’re also very on trend and stylish at the moment.
Colour is so important in a home; it makes up such a huge part of a space and can really impact the final look. Use what makes you happy and calm, because after all, your home is your space and where you can relax.
