By Ann Martin
When painting a room, you may feel a little lost – there is a big difference in choosing a color you “just like” and a color that actually suits the room. Begin by deciding what kind of feeling you wish to encourage in a particular room – sensations of tranquility, vigor, heightened energy, chattiness, solitude, etc. Map it out! I’ll choose three rooms to use as an example:
Kitchen: (I want to feel/make others feel) warm, vital, cheered, and welcome.
Bedroom: (I/my partner want to feel) inspired, tranquil, creative, and at peace
Living Room: (I want to feel/make others feel) active, talkative, energized, and “comfy”
Choose your own rooms/moods accordingly, and then get ready to talk about color! Here is a quick guide – see where your list falls on this chart, and keep in mind that the shade of a color alone can make a dramatic difference. For example, a dark purple might promote a regal, creative, or perhaps quirky feel, suited to your dining room or art studio, whereas lavender might create the perfect sense of peace for your bathroom.
Black Great for accenting/bringing other colors together. Evokes dominance, strength, independence, simplicity, and elegance
White Opens up any space and gives an airy sort of tranquility/sense of freedom. Works well with colored accents. By itself, white suggests purity, light, happiness, and serenity
Red Energizes the body and mind, stimulates blood flow and conversation. If you’re looking to add excitement, dialogue, and passion to a room, red is the way to roll
Green Pleasing and easy on the eyes, green evokes feelings of ultimate serenity, peace, tranquility, relaxation, and growth. Darker shades can add a touch of elegance as well
Blue Cool and laid back, blues promote relaxation, comfort, and happiness. To create a serene and lovely atmosphere, explore the many shades of blue
Orange Is warm, energizing, and appetizing. A combination of two warm colors, orange promotes friendliness, fellowship, and invitation.
Yellow Cheery, intellectual, and optimistic, yellow adds light to any room and stimulates the brain. Generating a wealth of positive emotion, yellow will bring a smile to any guest’s face
Purple Majestic, artistic, imaginative, insightful, and inspiring, purple is a unique choice that also works great as an accent. In the right tone, purple can be very soothing as well.
Remember that this chart is a generalized guide – what is important is how you feel surrounded by a particular color. So go visit a friend’s home, home design stores, or just take a walk in nature and take notice of how you respond to various colors. Bring out the good dinnerware, invite some friends over for a meal, and ask them how they currently feel when they are in the particular room in question. Or if it would be more comfortable, just take a poll within your family.
Also, consider coordinating with some of the gifts you may have received at your wedding reception! Assess what you’ve got as far as accent pieces go, and consider which colors would be a good compliment. Let your home help you cultivate the love, trust, and warm feelings that a newly married couple should enjoy. You’ll be surprised at how much you are affected by the colors in your home. Happy painting!
Ann Martin is a freelance writer and artist who writes for a variety of wedding, entertaining, and dinnerware sites, and in her research, enjoys discovering new pieces for her own home! After a recent purchase of Noritake Colorwave Graphite, she happily found that Noritake Colorwave blue was on a friend’s bridal registry – what a perfect gift of “something blue!”
[...] moved in to your very first home, and it’s time to design! As a newly married couple, you might not be sure where to start. A paint job is a great way to [...]