Color is the most transformative of the design elements, because it stirs emotions. That's why leveraging the power of color psychology is so effective in creating spaces in your home that not only look good, but feel right, too.
Understanding the science behind how color psychology works will help you balance aesthetic goals and shape your experience at home.
Here is why colors make you feel the way they do, and how to color your home for emotional benefits.
How Color Affects Mood
Color has the power to make you feel a wide range of emotions on sight, from anger to calm to joy.
Color psychology has been a widely studied field for hundreds of years, and the links between color and mood are so significant that it is used to treat mental health with chromotherapy, a form of alternative medicine that uses color and light exposure. Color psychology is also a key part of marketing and advertising, healthcare, political campaigns, sports, and of course, interior design.
Scientifically, we experience colors based on their wavelengths. Hormones and neurological functions react to that light exposure, explains color psychologist Michelle Lewis of the Color Institute.
“Color comes from sunlight and each color has a specific wavelength,” she says, explaining:
Red raises heart rate and blood pressure because it's a longer wavelength
Blue reduces stress and calms since it's a shorter wavelength
Yellow can stimulate the nervous system
Green can bring us into homeostasis
Orange brings more oxygen to the brain
“Color can cause us to react physically, emotionally, mentally, and even spiritually,” Lewis said.
Color saturation, which refers to the level of intensity of a color, plays a role. Highly saturated colors are vivid and evoke strong emotional responses. Variations of the same color can trigger different responses if it is less saturated. For example, a highly saturated blue might be melancholy, while a lower saturated, muted blue evokes calm.
Personal experience affects color symbolism. Color is universal and deeply personal, at the same time. Take red, for example. Red raises blood pressure, heart rate, and body temperature, so it is commonly associated with passion and energy. It’s also associated with danger, anger, illness and luck, depending on your personal and cultural context with the color.
Choosing the Right Color to Set the Mood
“Color is designed to help us function, heal, create, and grow,” Lewis says. “When you realize how diagnostic color can be, it really changes how you decorate.” There are a few ways to establish the emotional foundation in a room:
1. Choose colors based on temperature to support the primary activity in a room. Warm colors, which are shades of red, orange and yellow, evoke feelings of excitement, energy, optimism, and joy. Meanwhile cool colors, which include blue, green and purple, are nurturing and stable.
To translate this to design, warm colors are good in a dining room, where you entertain and eat, while soft, cool colors are restful in a bedroom.
“When it comes to your space, assess what you think would really benefit you. Do you need stress reduction? Energy? Family connection? Keeping this in mind will help you choose the correct color scheme,” says Lewis.
2. Think about what emotions you want to feel while spending time in space. Lewis says if you crave calm, choose blue or green. If productivity is the goal, orange, yellow or blue are good choices, and for entertaining spaces that are fun, reds, oranges, magentas, or purples will set the tone.
“Also think about time exposure. Do you spend a lot of time in the room? Would too much red, pink or orange cause stress if you're in that room six hours a day? Would too much blue or purple feel depressing over time?” says Lewis.
3. Color application techniques can enhance the impact. Wrap a room in a single color with color drenching. A single color means uninterrupted lines, so no jarring visual transitions, which is calming.
Meanwhile, if you seek inspiration and energy, use lively colored patterns, like you’ll see in an Art Deco aesthetic, or with dopamine decor.
Lewis says approaching decor from an emotional place will deepen your connection with your home, while supporting aesthetic longevity, rather than chasing trends.
Identifying emotional priorities is your best bet to achieving your goals, whatever they may be, with the help of a supportive space, states Lewis.
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