Decorating
Tips: The Meaning of Colors
by Kathy Burns-Millyard
Colors
have many different meanings. Have you ever been in a blue room,
feeling calm and relaxed, and then walked into a red room and
you began to feel chatty and excited? The change in your mood
wasn't just coincidence - it was an actual psychological and physiological
response to the colors of the rooms. When you are planning to
decorate your home, the colors of your rooms should be one of
your first considerations. You want to choose colors that you're
not only comfortable with, but also colors that will create the
right types of moods for both you and your guests in each room.
Let's
start with some of the more common colors: Blue is a calming,
relaxing color. The color is good for bedrooms but can destroy
the mood in a dining room as it serves as an appetite represent.
Combined with green, blue exudes a natural atmosphere in a room.
For centuries, green has been representative of life and birth,
but on the flip side, it has been known for jealousy and inexperience.
Like blue, green is a relaxing color. The color symbolizes a certain
harmony both in the world and in life.
Red
on the other hand, is an appetite and conversation stimulant.
Red is a fiery color that at times represents both hatred and
passion. Red also represents power; thus the use of it for celebrities
on the red carpet and red ties for powerful executives. Yellow
is also a powerful color. Since yellow is the color of sunshine,
it has a happy, uplifting aura. However, yellow can also be the
color of melancholy and cowardice. Carefully pick the hue of your
paint and decorations, noting the feelings you get in the presence
of those colors.
Pink
is a soft color often used in the decorations and room decor for
little girls. Psychological studies have actually shown that this
color causes physical weakness in people. Orange is a mixture
of red and yellow, so it has all the warmth and comfort of those
colors. Some oranges - such as the color of pumpkins and fall
leaves - is a stimulant and good for use in the dining room. Purple
has always been a special color, representing royalty and spirituality.
Purple is known for stimulating creativity in small doses, but
large amounts of purple can cause depression and moodiness.
Considering
the meanings of the different colors is an important part of decorating
your room. You should consider both the way the colors make you
feel - for example, if you fell in a vat of yellow paint when
you were little, yellow is probably not a cheerful color for you
- but you should also take into account the way that it will make
your guests feel. Using blue in your dining area will likely suppress
your
visitors' appetites, and despite how much you may love the color
for your dining area, you should consider their needs and desires
as well.
©
Kathy Burns-Millyard
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