Color and Mood Relationships in Decorating

Color and mood relationships can set the stage for the "feel" of any room. Using certain colors can affect the mood in a room. Decorating to create a relaxing or energizing environment can be as easy as choosing the right color palette.

Before you start your next home decorating project, think about what purpose the room will serve. Should it serve to relax or have a calming affect? Maybe you would want an entertainment room to feel energetic and vibrant! The choice is yours.

Review the relationships of color and mood offered by Yuwanda & Cassandra Black below. Then choose the right color and mood for your next home decorating project.

Decorate For Happiness

How Color Affects Mood

With the holidays upon us, many of us are redecorating. Before you pull out that paint brush, hang that wall paper or hang new curtains, have you ever taken stock of your home and its color schemes. Is it primed for happiness? Let's take a look."

Ever wonder why black signifies mourning? Yellow, happiness? Red, danger? Gray, conservative? It's because color affects mood.

More of us are experimenting with color in our homes. If you've ever wondered why this room is so depressing, that room feels so lively and that other room just doesn't feel right, take a moment to discover the meaning behind color and how it can affect you.

There are three groups of colors: primary, secondary and tertiary. The primary colors are red, blue and yellow. Secondary colors are green, orange and purple. The tertiary colors (aka intermediate colors) are red-violet, blue-violet, blue-green, yellow-green, yellow-orange, and red-orange.

Primary colors are pure, meaning that no mix is needed to achieve them. Secondary colors are created by mixing equal proportions of two primary colors. For example, if you mix equal portions of red and blue, you get purple. Tertiary colors are (aka intermediate colors) are made by mixing a secondary and a primary color, eg, red and purple make pink.

One of the most important tools an interior decorator uses is a color wheel. The color wheel is a chart of colors that demonstrate the relationship between colors. For example, complementary colors (eg, red and green) are opposite each other. Analogous colors (eg, red and yellow) are side by side.Becoming familiar with colors and how they relate to each other is integral to understanding how color evokes moods.

The color wheel is divided into warm and cool colors. The warm side is red to yellow-green. The cool side is from green-blue to violet. Warm colors are known to excite; cool colors to calm. Depending on the hue, color can over stimulate or depress. It is usually in the tertiary colors that we find the right balance. The following is a list of attributes that are widely described to primary and secondary colors.

Secondary colors create gradations of the feelings attributed to primary colors.

How to Effectively Use Color in Your Home

Now that you know more about which colors evoke what moods, it should be easier to begin selecting colors that not only fit your design palette, but your emotional palette as well.

Warm colors work well in areas where you wish to stimulate conversation and promote interaction, especially important this time of year. Think lively yellow in the kitchen; demure red in the living room; terra cotta orange in the den. These are rooms where family and friends congregate and interaction is expected.

By contrast, you want to put cool colors in areas where you relax: lavender bathroom; ocean-blue bedroom; forest green study.Although these are widely accepted notions, the assignment of qualities to color is based on culture. For example, in America, black is for mourning. In China, it's white.

The use of color in your home can be fun and exciting. Yuwanda Black, co-owner of the online retailer EthnicHomeDecor.com states, "I love color. It makes me feel happy and complete." Exactly the sentiment you want to encourage this time of year - so consult a color wheel and start painting

Be careful to consider the environment you are decorating. As you can see, color and mood are important factors to consider. Be sure to choose the color and mood that reflect the environment you want to create.