“Living without color is like living without love… It brings so much happiness and life and love to a space. Color is absolutely nothing to be afraid of.” — world-class interior designer Kelly Wearstler.
Colors can have a profound effect on one’s emotions. Invite color into your home and an affordable way to do it is with paint. Whether you’re painting the entire room, furniture, or just one wall, it truly makes a statement. While there are no solid rules for choosing colors for your home, these colors are often used in the following ways:
Choosing Colors for Your Home
Image from furniturechoice.co.uk
Red
- Inspires action and confidence
- Ignites passion or energy
- Stimulates your appetite
- Commonly used colors in the bedroom and dining room
Image from California Shutters
Orange
- Promotes social interaction
- Brings fun and warmth to a space
- Recommended to be used in the living room, dining, and kitchen areas
- Soft peaches and apricot tones can be used in the bedroom
Yellow
- Boosts communication
- Invokes feelings of warmth, joy, and optimism
- An overabundance of this color can cause anxiety, especially in kids
- Good color choice for your living room and dining
Image from Studio Duggan
Green
- Most refreshing color
- Promotes fresh ideas and helps in focus
- Helps induce feelings of relaxation and calm
- Good color choice for your home office and living room
Image from rejuvenation.com
Blue
- A favorite household paint color
- Light blue is good for people who are stressed as it’s mentally soothing. It is also believed to help prevent nightmares — making it a good color choice for the bedroom
- Dark blue helps in imaginative thinking and focus — so it is recommended in home offices
- Turquoise is great at energizing and waking up your body and mind — which makes it a good color choice for the gym or the living room
Image from Interior by Sarah Strath
Purple
- This is an uncommon choice for households but this color is associated with luxury, royalty, and magic
- Deep purples uplift and encourage creativity, making it a great choice for home offices
- Lavender is relaxing, making it a nice color choice for bedroom and kids’ rooms
Pink
- Soft pinks are good for those looking to bring feelings of love, warmth, and support
- This happy color is a good choice for kids’ room, nursery, and bedroom
Image: Stephani Buchman | Design: Rebecca hay Designs
White
- Looks clean and fresh
- Makes the room look bright and airy
- Allows other accent colors in the room to stand out
Image from porterbathroom.com
Black
- Gives the room a glamorous and elegant look
- Painting the entire room with this color can make the room small
- Apply touches around the room to make it look more modern and chic
Brown
- The color of the earth, this neutral color is typically associated with the seasons of fall and winter
- While sometimes considered dull, it also represents warmth, simplicity, and dependability
- Recommended to be used in the living area, a reading nook, or study area.
Unsure with what color to choose? Go into your closet. That way, you can have an idea of what colors you already like. Colors that make you look good, make you feel good. For example, if you have a lot of whites or blacks, perhaps you like colors that are muted, and neutral. If you have a lot of colors in your closet, try to pick some items of clothing that you like most and lay them out. Looking at these colors is going to tell you what you wanted to surround yourself with. If you are still unsure of what colors you want to be surrounding yourself with, start with the colors you don’t like to help limit your color options.
Colors can also affect the size of a space. For example, rich colors on opposite sides of a wall make the space look narrower and more intimate, while light colors on opposite sides of a wall make it look more spacious.
If you don’t feel like painting, you can still add color to your room with throws, rugs, frames, and even plants and flowers. Another thing to consider is the kind of finish on the paint as it can also have an effect on the look and feel of a room.
These are just general guidelines, but overall choosing colors that resonate the most for you will always make your home feel yours and a much happier place to be in. For more home improvement ideas, feel free to browse through our blog.
