How Does Color Impact Us?
Not surprisingly, colors have the ability to make us feel certain emotions or react a certain way. Think about fast food restaurants like McDonald’s or KFC — most of these places incorporate the color yellow and red. Why? Because these colors make people hungry and eat quickly.
Designers need to keep in mind the importance of colors on their client's behaviour and moods as it can have consequences or benefits in the long-run.
When designers think of color, they split them into two categories:
Warm Colors
Cool Colors
Let's see why they are so important in our day-to-day lives.
Warm Colors
Colors are called “warm” (reds and oranges) and “cool” (blues and greens) for a reason: When we’re in a space where the walls are painted in warm colors, we actually feel that the temperature there is warmer than we do in similar spaces painted cool colors.
This makes warm colors good options for a vestibule in a cool climate—the temperature inside the building will seem even more comfortable as people enter from the cold—or in a room that’s hard to heat.
We are drawn to warm colors, such as reds and oranges, so they’re good colors to put at the end of a long hallway or to use to draw people toward a particular section of a large space.
picture by homepolish
Colors For A Cozier Home
According to experts, blush is the new grey, and it's the easiest way to liven up your walls without committing to a bold or risky color.
Oranges and reds make rooms appear smaller, so if you have a spacious room you want to draw in, use these colors and make your room feel more compact.
If you’re deciding on a paint scheme and there are elements in a room that you want to draw closer, point them in a warmer colour. Using a color such as crimson can help achieve this. You might want the perception that a certain wall is nearer to the stairs next to it than it actually is, and crimson is the perfect color for this.
picture by countryliving
But Warm Doesn't Always Mean Cozy
Although warm tones can bring a sense of intimacy and comfort into a room, they can also go very wrong if placed in the incorrect spaces.
Red Tones and Their Implications
Red can make some people feel irritable. Invoking feelings of rage and hostility, this is a color that should be avoided as the main color of a room. Sitting for long periods of time in a room painted in this color will likely affect the peace and harmony you are striving to create in your home.
Red has also been shown to raise blood pressure and speed respiration and heart rate. It is usually considered too stimulating for bedrooms, but if you’re typically in the room only after dark, you’ll be seeing it mostly by lamplight, when the color will appear muted, rich and elegant.
Yellow's Stress Inducing Tendencies
Although yellow is a cheery color, it is not a good choice for main color schemes. Studies show that people are more likely to lose their temper in a yellow interior and babies also seem to cry more in yellow rooms. In large amounts, this color tends to create feelings of frustration and anger.
Yellow is also the most fatiguing to the eye due to the high amount of light that is reflected. Using yellow as a background on paper or computer monitors can lead to eyestrain or vision loss in extreme cases. The best use for this bold color is accentuating the room with a couple of yellow furniture pieces, such as chairs or a sofa.
Orange: A Step-Down from Red
Orange has a more balanced energy than red does, making it not as passionate and aggressive. However its attention-grabbing properties can fool you. Orange can make you feel "hot" because of our association of the color with heat, so surrounding the walls of a small space with orange is not the best idea. Because of its boldness and brightness, it can encourage us to be energetic, however it can also instil a sense of restraint, making it a poor color choice for a study office.
So What Is the Best Way to Use Warm Tones?
red
Being exposed to red increases your respiratory rate so it is not often used in large areas for bedrooms as it is a stimulating color, but it is best used to highlight and create the element of romance, love and passionate luxury through the use of drapery, bed linen and accessories.
A red wall around a fireplace immediately hints of cosy warmth, even if it is not lit. A red wall in the entry of your home also suggests bold opulence. One area that red has probably not been thought of for is the dressing room, a private space in your home. Red flatters the skin and you will look your best while you are getting dressed.
Having a red surface in view also gives us a burst of strength, so reds are good choices for home gym areas.
ORANGE
Orange brings the high energy of red with the positive emotions associated with yellow. Orange is a tropical color that can inspire creativity, success, and happiness. In any room, orange is known to improve oxygen circulation to the brain to stimulate mental activity, making it a wonderful choice for an office room.
Orange can be used in a decorating manner to grab attention, for example an orange wall behind a vase will instantly draw focus to the strategically placed vase. This works to your advantage by allowing you to display your decorations in such a way that they will be the center of attention in any room. A deeper gold orange can encourage wisdom, enlightenment, and wealth. Playing around with different tones of this bold color can balance out the brightness of it, allowing you to achieve different moods in the room.
YELLOW
The best rooms in which to use yellow are hallways as these are usually dark and yellow is a welcoming colour and also in the breakfast room to help create a sunny, happy way to start the day, however keep in mind that the brightness of this color means that using too much of it in overwhelming proportions could result in irritableness and anxiety.
To create a truly harmonious colour scheme using yellow, use colours from the same colour family. It creates a calm environment because there is no strong leap between the colours. For yellow that would be yellow – orange – red. Team this with a neutral e.g with the white from the same colour family (cream, white, ivory, oyster).
For a sophisticated look, use deep yellow and grey. The strength of the yellow is toned down by the more dull grey and helps achieve a balanced but strategic look.