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What colour you paint a room can have a huge impact on your mood, something a lot of people don’t think about when deciding on what colour to paint the walls; they just go with what they think will look best.
Here are some of the colour principles and the psychological effects they have on us.
It’s important to note the effects can vary from person to person, depending on age and location.
White
The ever-popular colour which creates a neutral modern space with light being bounced all around the room. White paint is a calming colour to have in a room which can create positivity and purity. Space will feel fresh and clean, which is why many hospitals use it. It can make rooms feel bigger, but can also make rooms feel sterile if not combined with other colours.
Red
Red can be a strange colour as it can convey varying emotions from love and passion, to anger and power. The colour red is often used to warn people of danger due to how our eyes pick up on the colour compared to others. This can have an effect on how we perceive the colour when used in a room.
It’s important to remember that people can have a different emotional reaction to different colours. Therefore, before painting a room red, think what emotions come to mind when you look at the colour.
Steve Dell of Steve Dell Hypnotherapy explains: ‘While there are many positive feelings associated with colours such as red, this bold colour can also make you feel more alert, on-edge and anxious. Therefore, this should be used carefully when using the visualisation technique.
‘This can also vary from person to person, as certain colours may have different memories attached. For example, red may make one person feel calm, due to a red bouquet they received from a loved one. However, a victim of a car accident may associate the colour red with danger and fear.’
Yellow
Do you want to add a touch of warmth to your room? Yellow could be the colour for you. It shares the same colour as the sun which brings many of us warmth and joy. Yellow can be a loud colour that grabs people’s attention; this can either be good or bad depending on the shade and how much of the room is painted in yellow.
Green
If you’re an outdoors lover, green could be the colour for you. Our brains connect the colour green with nature which is proven to help people with mental illness.
Green can also make you feel safe and relaxed due to its natural tone. Johnstone’s is a good option for green paint as they offer varying shades to suit your needs.
You can add green to your room through other means than just paint, such as having indoor plants. This way you can get the best of two colours combined into one room such as white and green.
Blue
Blue is a colour known to be stereotypically popular with men, but many women enjoy it too and for good reason. Blue is a colour a lot of us see every day when we look up the sky. Due to this, when using this colour in a room it makes us feel more tranquil, giving us positive vibes. It has even been linked to increased productivity which makes it a popular choice in many offices.
‘We sometimes use colour in hypnotherapy guided visualisation to help clients process their feelings and reduce feelings of anxiety or stress. Colours such as blue and white can help you to feel calmer, so visualising these colours can help to reduce any immediate feelings of panic or stress,’ explains Steve Dell.
Dennis Relojo-Howell is the managing director of Psychreg.
