The saying goes, “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet," but would a house of a different color be as inviting?
Whether you realize it consciously or not, color is fundamental to the world around us: in nature, in fashion, in your loved one’s features, and at home. Choosing a hue can be powerful because of our personal associations with colors and how subjective our perceptions are. If you ever disagreed about the color of an object (maybe a certain dress is blue/black or white/gold), you know what we mean.
Just as your taste in clothing and type of car reflect your personality, so do the colors of your house and the rooms inside. Color psychology has the power to affect your mood, energy levels, and that of your guests.
Before you break out the brushes, ask yourself: What mood do you want to create? Explore below.
How Colors Impact You
The following is a list of popular colors and the moods they symbolize. Would you use these same colors in your space? Let’s find out.
Full-bodied Red
Red is an intense hue that raises a room's energy level and stimulates conversation and creativity. Red works as a pick-me-up, kind of shocking the system, meaning it can also drain your energy; we recommend using this color in a productive environment, like the office, rather than the bedroom.
Energizing Orange
Orange is like red’s more light-hearted cousin. It, too, increases excitement and promotes activity, making it best reserved for areas where you want to raise energy levels, such as a home gym.
Orange can be a little jarring if you’re not in the mood for it. Many choose to limit it to an accent color or skip it in their home decor.
Uplifting Yellow
Yellow is a happy, youthful color, full of hope and positivity. It promotes feelings of togetherness and comfort, making it perfect for a communal environment, like the living or dining room.
Remember that yellow’s intensity can be draining; we recommend paler tones or limiting pops of bright yellow to smaller areas. Avoid yellow in your nursery if you want your baby to get a good night’s rest!
Cheerful Pink
Even though pink is a tint of red, it has a totally different effect on your mood. It is linked to innocence, hope, and optimism. It represents positive aspects of traditional femininity, like nurture and kindness.
Pink reduces aggression. In fact, it is such a calming, non-threatening color that some football teams have resorted to painting the visiting team’s locker room pink to reduce their opponent’s effectiveness on the field.
Consider this calm but cheerful hue for your home office or bedroom.
Soothing Green
Greens have a mind-clearing and restorative effect on moods. Both restful and refreshing, it’s an excellent hue for almost every room in the house.
However, much like blue, green is counterproductive in an environment that is meant to be energetic. (So maybe skip the green home gym!)
Reassuring Blue
The color of the sky and sea, blue, is a soothing and fundamentally calming color. It lowers your blood pressure! Think of blue walls as a glass of red wine for your home. Blue is ideal for almost any restorative area in your home, like a bathroom, bedroom, or cozy reading nook.
*Notice how blue is the opposite of orange in mood and on the color wheel.
Dynamic Purple
Purple is luxurious and inspiring. Its elite status stems from the rarity and cost of the dye originally used to produce it; at one time, it was available only to the aristocracy. Purple is ideal for the kitchen, a playroom, an office, or an art studio. It will inspire you to work with your hands and think outside the box.
Crisp White
Whites are versatile, timeless, and have the power to make a room feel spacious and fresh.
More than any other color on this list, white paint works in tandem with lighting, accents, furniture, and artwork to assert a level of coziness, minimalism, and/or anything in between. White walls highlight architecture, making them a great choice if you love the bones of your home. Consider white for an area whose structure you want to highlight.
However, remember that white can be very unforgiving, exposing every imperfection or smudge.
Bold Black
Black is a confidence-boosting color that encourages focus, making it a perfect choice for an accent wall in your office or bedroom.
It is chic, classic, and easy to pair with other colors.
Exquisite Gray
Gray is a calming, versatile color perfect for almost every wall. Designers are especially partial to gray, an easy alternative to neutral white for your home. Gray can feel peaceful or dramatic, depending on your personal styling. From near-black to pale silvers, there's a shade of gray to fit any space from the dining room to the bedroom.
Grounding Brown
Brown is often seen as solid, much like the earth, and it's often associated with resilience, dependability, security, and safety. It’s an excellent choice for a space you want to make cozy and inviting, like a living room, study, or den. Due to its tremendous range, brown can take on many different moods. Depending on what it is paired with, brown walls can be warm and enveloping, earthy and natural, elegant and sophisticated, or full glam.
Once you’ve selected your dominant shade, the fun really begins! Your next steps will be to complete your color scheme.
Below are a few terms to familiarize yourself and help your house-painting journey.
Color Glossary
Accent Colors: A shade used in small quantities in space to add impact and interest.
Primary Colors: Red, Yellow, Blue
Secondary Colors: Combinations of any two primary colors - Green (yellow + blue), Orange (red + yellow), Violet (red + blue).
Cool Colors: Green, Blue, Violet
Warm Colors: Red, Orange, Yellow, Pink
Color Scheme: An arrangement or combination of colors. The three basic kinds are Monochromatic, Analogous, and Complementary.
Monochromatic: A color scheme using one color or several values (shades or tints) of one color. This color combination can be calming.
Analogous: Any three colors side-by-side on the color wheel (example: orange, red-orange and red). Analogous colors are often found in nature and can be very pleasing to the eye.
Complementary: Two colors opposite each other on the color wheel (example: orange and blue). Complementary colors, as the name implies, complement each other, enhancing each other’s saturation. Orange next to blue makes the blue look “bluer” and vice versa.
Saturation: The intensity of a color.
Value: The lightness or darkness of a color. Paint color samples (showing a color from lighter to darker) are a perfect example of changing value.
Colors are an easy way to give your home new life and set your ideal mood. Now that you've done your homework, it's almost time to pop open the paint and start. Remember, you can't always just jump into painting. There's a bit of prep work to do first.
Working with a home remodeling company like Maverick Home Remodeling, Inc. provides a one-stop-shop for all the planning, preparation, and painting phases–streamlining the process. So go ahead and give your new paint job the green light! The best part about having a team like us is we will guide you through the entire process. Give us a call to get started today: 303-978-0602.
Serving the Metro Denver area for almost 20 years, our home remodeling company helps homeowners renew their kitchens, bathrooms, basements, and beyond! With a focus on collaboration, our team makes home improvements while keeping the importance of the property’s return on investment in mind. Make an appointment with Maverick TODAY by calling 303-978-0602 or contacting us below.
