Choosing the Right Colors for Your House

Last updated on October 8, 2023

Here’s how you can choose the right colors for your home. Let’s look at how you can choose warm or cool colors and mix the two as well. Read on!

The way you paint your home says a lot about you, and it can produce a certain quality of energy throughout it. This is because there is a close correlation between colors and a person’s mood and emotions, and these effects are known as color psychology. This article will discuss what types of feelings certain colors can evoke, which can, in turn, help you decide how you should paint your home or specific rooms within it.

The Warm Colors

warm colors

Having warm colors in your home can have numerous positive benefits on how you feel. In general, they can help produce feelings of welcoming and comfort and will add a lot of life and bring energy to your rooms because of their association with fire and the sun. 

The warm colors consist of primary one such as red, yellow, and also include any mixture of these as well, like orange. However, even though warm colors can create a general vibe, each color can evoke specific feelings as well. Let’s go through a couple of them:

Red

Red is one of the most popular colors of all time because it’s affiliated with topics such as power, excitement, and love, which are some of the strongest emotions of all. Seeing red is incredibly stimulating, which is why it’s often used on signs that are meant to grab your attention like stop, danger, or warning ones.

Red paint is typically ideal for rooms that are meant to facilitate social interaction and other fun activities, but it’s also sometimes used in dining rooms as well. However, red should always be avoided in your bedroom, since this is where you should wind down and relax.

Yellow

Yellow is also one of the most energetic colors and is typically connected with feelings of happiness and optimism, much like the sunshine is. However, the shade of yellow can make a significant difference because it can attract too much light – a lighter or pastel yellow is often preferred to help rectify this issue.

The color yellow is a popular choice in rooms that are meant to inspire creativity. Therefore, if you love to play music or create art, this could be the color you’re looking for.

The Cool Colors

cool colors

In contrast to the warm colors, cool colors are meant to do the exact opposite – they are supposed to help calm your mind and promote peace and healing, just like the sky, ocean, and a good portion of the rest of nature.

There is only one primary color that belongs in this group, which is blue, but there are more secondary colors here like green and purple. Mixtures of these let you create a variety of different options such as cyan and blue-violet.

Blue

Next to red, blue tends to be ranked just as popular and is incredibly favorable because it’s a color that evokes confidence, but rather than the fiery energy that comes from red, blue is often tied to trust and calmness. However, it can also be associated with the cold and sadness.

Depending on the shade of blue, it can be excellent for living rooms and bedrooms because it can induce relaxation, but others can still be quite bold without the intensity that warm colors bring to the table.

Green

The color green is one of the most tranquil ones because it is so easy on the eyes. In addition to being connected with nature, harmony, and good health, green is also tied with things such as luck and wealth.

Like blue, green is one of the most versatile colors you can use in your home – you can use it to create a calming and healing atmosphere in your bed or bathrooms by choosing lighter shades, but darker shades of green can also create excitement without losing the qualities that green is traditionally known for.

What About Mixing Warm & Cool Colors?

mix warm cool colors

In the realm of home decor, you can absolutely mix warm and cool colors together! In fact, without mixing them, you wouldn’t have colors like magenta, yellow-green, and brown. Depending on your shades, you can add a lot to your rooms by mixing and matching these types of colors too.

However, it can be tricky to pull off if you’re new to interior design. A lot of people prefer to use more neutral shades like black, white, and gray to complement their walls and really make each part stand out.

For example, you can always choose furniture, upholstery, rugs, carpeting that make your room’s colors pop out with relative ease by going with neutral colors on them. 

There is also nothing wrong with keeping your walls neutral colors as well – there is a good reason why white and gray are amongst the most popular colors used in the home. White walls create a sense of openness and gray is usually perfect with anything.

Nonetheless, decorating your home is a creative endeavor, so you are encouraged to experiment to your heart’s content and try to see if your ideas work. It can be a very therapeutic process, and what you choose can have a lasting impact on how you feel each day.

Despite how fun it can be and how calming or uplifting your home looks though, there is no replacement for learning coping skills you can use every day. A therapist can help you create a plan and find what works best for you. For example, if design and decorating are things that you particularly enjoy, you might benefit from exploring other creative outlets like drawing and painting, which can incorporate a lot of the color psychology covered throughout this article.

At BetterHelp, licensed counselors and therapists are there to help you understand your feelings and emotions, and by connecting to one today, you can start to bring out the best in you.

The Takeaway

As you can see, colors can make a huge difference on how you perceive each room. While white rooms tend to be the safest bet inside homes, changing the color can be adventurous and help evoke the exact feelings you want. Whether you need something fun or energetic or something cool and calm, there is an entire palette waiting for you.

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