‘What colour should I paint my room?’

If only I had a dime for every time I’ve been asked that question. It’s a really good question. Only, I can’t answer it. No, not even for a dime.

I can help you develop a complimentary palette, I can advise you on how to choose the right hue, and I can even tell you which shade will make your legs look longer and your teeth look whiter. But only you can choose the colour that’s right for your space.

We respond to colour on two levels; biological and physiological. The biological response, our body’s instinctive response to colour, is rather predictable. It plays a role in appetite and digestion, your immune system and how your  body heals, your sexual disposition and mental alertness…

The physiological response, however,  is entirely subjective and personal. It’s an emotional response that’s as individual as your thumbprint. It’s a converging of intimate memories and experiences, cultural symbolism and religious iconography, and yes, even personal preference.

Hue and Saturation

There’s a kaleidoscope of colours within every stripe on a rainbow. Colours come in a full spectrum of hues, and those hues change dramatically depending on the saturation, or intensity of the shade. For the sake of keeping this blog bite size, let’s generalize, shall we?

Generally speaking then, the more intense a shade is, the stronger our emotional reaction will be. In fact, when it comes to affecting moods, the saturation or intensity of a tone has been proven to have more of an impact than the actual choice of colour.

To tame the intensity, you can add either white or black, or a mixture of the two. Again with severe generalities, it can be said that adding white to a colour calms it, mutes and subdues it. Keep on lightening the colour though, and things start to get frosty and cold. Add black to a colour adds weight to it, seriousness and formality.

Colour Cheat Sheet

Although each of us experience color uniquely, being aware of the common emotions colors conjure up is a helpful place to start. If you can begin there and add on your own personal response to colours, you’ll be ready to make a call on the shade that’s right for you in no time!

Red is stimulating. It increases blood pressure and stimulates the adrenal glands and appetites. Literally, food tastes better in a red room, and you can deduce that appetites of the, shall we say flesh, work somewhat the same. (Keeping it PG for the people.) It creates feelings of strength, vitality, passion and ambition. On the other hand, red can also induce feelings of anger and irritability, so use with caution. (NO to nurseries and prisons, YES to bedrooms and dining rooms.)

Pink, a lighter hue of red, has an entirely other affect. It’s as if we see all the energy of red, but we comprehend that it has been tamed by white, and made safe. The physiological and psychological affect is one of relaxation, calm, protection and warmth. Where red represents raw sexuality, pink conjures feelings of love and romance.

Orange is the eternal optimist of colours. It actually helps your body to digest, and your immune system is strengthened. It creates positive energy and reduces feelings of self-pity, self-loathing, and even unforgiveness. All that in a colour!

Yellow is the happy colour. It has been proven to stimulate the brain, helping you feel more alert and decisive. Good judgment, clear thinking and discernment and are at their best with a bright yellow.

Similar to the affect of white on red, a subdued, white-infused yellow will reverse the happy, confident affect. A too dull yellow brings on feelings of insecurity and fear.

Green balances your physical and emotional equilibrium. Nature really is good for you! Green relaxes, soothes and slows you down. Remember that the colours we see through our windows also play a role on our psyche, so props to big windows and green thumbs.

A note of eerie caution, though, when edging toward darker, more murky shades of green. We associate these hues with death and decay and they can have a negative affect on our health. (So if your thumbs are black like mine, no props for you.)

Blue has a psychological link to nighttime and sleep. It lowers our blood pressure, cools and soothes us and lulls us to sleep. (YES to nurseries, NO to the master bedroom!)

Shades of primary, bright blue can help the brain to function with greater control, clarity and creativity. But if the blue is too dark, the soothing and lulling goes too far, and can bring on feelings of depression. And again, too much white injected into blue and the space can feel cold and lonely.

Purple is used for emotional healing. It dispels fear, negative emotions and obsessions, and creates a feeling of well-being and balance. Often, purple is physiologically associated with royalty and things of an exotic nature. It is a spiritual colour, stimulating compassion, phychic powers, creativity and purity.

Violet, a shade of intense purple, has a purifying and antiseptic affect, and has been medically used to treat everything from sunburns to emotional disturbances. It brings on feeling of balance and peace, helps suppress hunger and stimulates our metabolism.

Indigo has actually been used as an anesthesia in minor operations because of its numbing, soothing, narcotic affect.

Brown can conjure up feelings of home and warmth. It is ultimately the colour of earth, where we come from and who we are. Using it as the foundation of a palette assures the space will be cozy and inviting.

Black can be comforting and protective and even mysterious. On the other hand, it’s a passive tone and when overplayed it can seem too silent and stagnant and can keep us from changing and growing.

White is the colour of ultimate purity. It brings peace, calm and comfort. White is open and uncluttered, and creates a feeling of freedom.

That feeling of freedom can actually turn to feelings of separation, isolation and cold when overused.

A note of caution! White can also act at times like a magnifying glass for the colour nuances hidden within it. No paint is perfectly white. When selecting a tone of white to play centre stage in your space, the nuances make a world of difference. This is an entire blog post of it’s own!

Grey is the colour of independence and self-reliance. It is cool and calm and neutral. On the other hand, those feelings are good until they go too far. Grey is also aloof and non-committal, since it is neither black nor white. Too much gray can bring on feelings of evasiveness.

A New Question

I’d like to humbly submit a better question than the one we started with. Rather than asking, ‘what colour should I paint my room’, you might get a more helpful response if you begin with asking, “what do I need my space to do for me?”

Ask yourself what kind of space you’re wanting to create. Is it a place of relaxation, stimulation, creativity, or an exotic hideaway? The colour(s) you choose to feature should speak to who you are and what you want from life.

Your Comments

What colour represents you?… Do you have design questions you’d like advice on?… I’d love to hear from you!