Color can affect the mood of an interior, as well as impact the way that we feel. Certain colors can relax us, while others can make us more productive or cheerful. Temperature of colors also make a difference, making warmer tones feel more welcoming and cooler tones more calming. 

While color-drenching may be "trending" these days, tone-on-tone color or monochromatic looks have been around for decades. Lately, however, I have really been drawn to the moodiness that mono-saturated looks create, especially in smaller-scale spaces such as a powder room, the end of the hall wall, or even a reading nook.

Different color hues can stir different emotional responses. Therefore, it is important to understand the psychology of color and how to apply it within your home. The colors you choose to incorporate into your rooms can influence feelings such as decision-making, health, productivity, and happiness, but they can also create feelings of restlessness, sadness, or aggression. 

As an interior designer, I understand how to create a home that looks wonderful while mirroring emotions. In this post, we’re going to explore how color psychology can impact the look and feel of your home…

Understanding Color Associations 

Color association can vary based on location. However, I'm going to provide you with a quick rundown of your basic color associations depicted by Western cultures. 

Red is generally associated with passion, love, and anger. 
Blue, with calm, strength, and trust. 
Yellow is said to bring out feelings of happiness, hope, and deceit. 
Green typically represents new beginnings, abundance, and peace. 
Purple is usually seen as regal, imaginative, and spiritual.

Similarly to art, color is subjective. This means that despite usual color associations, color is going to impact each person a little differently based on their personal preferences and experiences. 

My advice for exploring your own color preference is to break it down by room, analyze the vision, and then moderate by hue and pattern. This way, you can narrow down exactly what colors speak to you and ensure that they are going to provide you with the best color associations for your room.

Assessing Color Variations

If you are drawn to a color but are unsure about applying it to your home, the good news is that there is an array of color variations for you to work with. A tint is basically a dilution, a mixture of a color with white, which can lighten the color. 

On the other hand, to make a color bolder, you can add black to the mixture, which increases darkness, making it a shade. Tones, however, are created by mixing color with gray to make it more neutral. Tints, shades, or tones create different hues based on the saturation and light that the color is exposed to.

When working with my clients, I have them fill out an intake form, part of which asks about color and print preferences. I then like to go over their responses to get a better idea and really narrow down what their personal color associations are and the feelings that they want for their home to convey. It is always really important to factor in the client's lifestyle and preferred aesthetic too.

Creating a Personalized Whole-Home Color Palette

To present a pretty and personalized whole-home color palette, I recommend taking two to three colors that you really love and want to incorporate into your home and then using a color wheel to find about six similar neutral colors that flow. 

The most important consideration is how the client interprets and processes color so that the best proportion of each color throughout the home can be made.

Ideally, a color palette for your entire house should consist of about six different hues of a like color. Generally, this will include one to two dominant colors, about three secondary colors, a trim color, and an accent color. 

By breaking this down room by room, you will be able to better establish where in your space to feature each color and why. For example, in a nursery, you may want to have an accent color on the wall or in a dedicated area directly behind a crib and work out into the rest of the room from there.

To read more about choosing colors for your home, read How to Transform Your Home Using Color & Patterns.

So, our takeaway from today is that color and pattern are impactful. Not only can they directly influence the look and mood of your space, but depending on how you decide to apply them, they can also affect your brain, stimulating emotions based on the hue, tone, and shade. 

Selecting the right color palette for your home isn't easy, but it can ultimately enhance your daily life. If you find yourself stuck in design paralysis, you can always schedule a virtual consultation with me to get my help in creating a perfect whole house palette for you that will have people coming in saying "wow" in a good way.

Warmly,
Celeste