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Colour is around us everywhere we go, it affects many decisions in our day-to-day life, so it’s only natural that it will affect your mood too. Choosing the right colour for the rooms of your home is very important to ensure you find something that keeps you in the right frame of mind, sets the scene perfectly for a warm and welcoming atmosphere for your guests and coordinates perfectly with the existing pieces you own.
Blue
Blue is considered peaceful and serene as it is associated with calm waters and relaxation. Sky blues and pastel shades are recommended for bedrooms to encourage restful sleep, whereas more vibrant hues such as cerulean or turquoise are ideal for bathrooms to draw parallels with the ocean. Blues in all shades are purifying and a deeper shade will help to cut through clutter in your home and life.
Darker blues including navy are trickier as they can invoke sadness. They can however bring masculinity and solidity to an otherwise airy room. Use these as a sophisticated accent colour by choosing pieces of furniture or an accent wall in darker blue shades contrasted with crisp whites.
Green
Green is a fresh and earthy colour, symbolising nurture, new starts and health. Rooms that open up onto outdoor spaces or have a lot of natural life will benefit from an energising yellow toned hue of green, but it is a popular colour for living areas and kitchens in all shades: sages and mints will keep a room cool and harmonious.
Green is also a big symbol of wealth with fresh starts and prolific growth that encourages you to take action; it is rejuvenating and encourages emotional wellbeing. It is also believed to encourage fertility, so add a few green accents to the bedroom if you’re so inclined!
Neutrals
Grey is the new neutral that can be chosen in warm or cool undertones to suit your mood. It is considered an elegant colour choice that represents stability.
Black is heavy, but used sparingly as an accent can add grandeur and luxury. It’s sleek and mysterious, yet sophisticated and chic.
White represents purity and simplicity and can look sleek and modern, but if used to excess can appear cold and clinical.
Neutrals are ideal to use in the home as they can be mixed and matched together and with any other shades to create a contemporary look.
Purple
Lavender and lilac are romantic and feminine, perfect for a warm and relaxing atmosphere in the bedroom. Many experience the paler shades of purple as friendly and compassionate so it’s an ideal colour for rooms that will be used by guests, friends and family alike. It is best suited to English country homes with its reminiscent and quaint qualities.
Richer purple shades such as plum are traditionally powerful and regal but can be overpowering. Use these in combination with lighter shades for cosiness and depth in your colour scheme, bringing elegance and sophistication to areas often frequented such as a living room.
Yellow
Yellow is the colour of optimism, happiness and creativity. It can be a fun colour for children’s bedrooms or play areas, but don’t just confine it to the kids’ rooms. Splash accents of this confident shade around your home with yellow cushions against a neutral grey sofa or accessories in the kitchen. It is said to energise, increase metabolism and enhance mental agility, so it’s also a good choice for a home office or study to maintain focus on work while still remaining playful in decor.
Red
Red is often avoided in the home as it can represent anger. As a “stimulant” colour, it also symbolises love and passion though, boosting strength and fearlessness, and is said to encourage appetite – have you ever noticed how many food brands use red in their advertising?
For the home, choose red for a dining room to encourage guests to enjoy your cookery and to inspire interesting conversation, but avoid using too bold a red that could cause a heavy atmosphere and incite arguments.
Brown
Brown is an earthy colour that is both steadfast and sophisticated. As the natural colour of wood, it suggests stability and nature making an excellent backdrop to a room with all the drama of black but without the heaviness, highlighting classic design elements.
Choose accent walls in paler shades for a rich and warm toned room to relax in, think about the beige and bronze colours often used in luxury and restful spas, or a leather sofa in a rich brown to suggest refinement and sophistication. Medium brown shades can be paired with almost any colour, it’s just a matter of mixing light and dark hues alongside contrasting textures.
