Reprint: Liven Up Your Interiors Using Colors
Color is an essential decorating tool. It’s what you notice first about a room and its interiors. The color scheme you use has the ability to change the perceived shape and size of furnishings as well as the perceived shape and size of the room itself. This is one important aspect of your decorating plan that’s both exciting and fun to work with!
The Psychology Of Color
One of the biggest factors that influence the human state of mind is color. The psychology of color and how it affects human behavior is a science in itself. Actually, color itself does not affect us; rather, it is what our perception of that color is, that does.
Looking around at restaurants, classrooms and offices, one can see that the colors they are painted in influences the behavior and mood of the people who frequent these places. Even consumer products are packaged in bright colors to attract attention.
If the use of colors is so important in places outside the home, why do people hesitate to use color inside their home? The first step is to understand the psychological effects that specific colors have on us. The color black, for example, may represent elegance to one person but, to another, it may represent death. If those two people were placed in a room with everything being black, the first would come out of the room feeling elegant. The second, however, would be depressed and upset. Though both were in the same room and saw the same things, they had different feelings about that room.
It is also essential to know what the general perception of a color is. For instance, red is known to stimulate the taste buds, so it’s an excellent choice for dining rooms. Green and blue are fresh and calming colors, and could be used for bedrooms. Yellow and orange are very cheerful, so can be used where you would like to feel energized, like the kitchen.
The Use Of Color In Interiors
Any color can work in a room, but the choice of exact colors can only begin once you ask yourself the following three questions:
What is my perception about this color?
What is the intended style of the room I want to use this color in?
What am I going to use this room for?
A good color scheme is the first step to having a beautiful home. A color scheme refers to a planned, pleasing, and interesting combination of colors for a room or a house. Considerations While Selecting A Color Scheme
The colors you and your family generally like.
Your existing furniture and accessories. These may limit possible color choices. For example, if you already have an existing color scheme, you would have to use colors that would not clash with it.
The shape and size of the room. If a room is smaller than 12 by 15 feet, using light colors will make the room look larger. Painting the woodwork around doors, windows, ceilings, and floors an identical color as the walls will give a spacious effect as well.
The shape and size of the furniture. For example, if the furniture is huge in size, it might be more in harmony with the room if it is covered in a fabric that is the same or similar color as the walls behind it. However, if you have furniture of a special shape or size which you would like to highlight, you could use a different color fabric or cushions for it.
Relationship of the room to adjacent rooms. If the door between rooms is going to be kept open most of the time, having a similar color scheme in the two rooms would be a good choice.
Brighten Up!
We are constantly enveloped in a wide spectrum of colors. By skillfully applying colors on the canvas that is your room, you can easily create a masterpiece of your own!