The Simple Joy of Colors in Your Home

Bright colors are thought to cheer people up. They are often used to lighten up a space. This might not be the way they affect you, however. You might find bright colors make you restless. In an environment where you want to relax, you may find yourself unable to sit still because the color of the room make it difficult for you to settle down. What effect do bright colors have on you? Perhaps you want to create a feeling of cheerfulness in a room. At the end of a hard day, you may find bright colors lift your spirits and re-energize you for the evening ahead. Bright colors may work on you like a sunrise, giving you a second wind. Consider how you feel in a room that is sunshine yellow, bright blue or green. Do these colors cheer you up or make you restless. Determine the effect they have on you, not the effect others say they should have on you. Only you can decide for certain.

I consider vivids to be those dark rich colors that often grace very elegant homes. The deep forest greens. The warm russets. The rich reds and blues. These colors make people feel cozy and warm. Their richness offers a tremendous comfort on cold winter nights. I have seen these colors used effectively in all rooms, adding a depth and richness that other hues are unable to attain.

Unfortunately, some people find these colors to be smothering. The depth and intensity of their tones can make you feel as if the walls are closing in around you. In an extreme case, you might even find it difficult to breath in a room with these colors. Again, you need to gauge the effect specific colors have on you before decorating a room.

While you may find vivids to be overwhelming in a living room or dining room, they might be perfect for you in the bedroom. Their warm colors might induce a sense of comfort in you. While brights in the bedroom might key you up to the point you are unable to relax for sleep, vivids might induce a sense of peace and drowsiness in you. Take time to understand how each color group affects you, then determine what effect you want in individual rooms of your house.

These are the cool tones you find in nature: tan, khaki, beige, cream. Neutrals are wonderful colors to consider when decorating a room since it becomes very easy to accessorize. However, once again you must be careful when choosing even these non-intrusive colors. Even neutrals may have a negative effect on you.

While most people find neutrals to be relaxing and calming, you may find them to be very boring. Every time you spend more than 5 minutes in a room heavily saturated in neutrals, you might find yourself going to sleep. In addition, if you choose a neutral color scheme in your home office, you may find your creativity stifled. The bland colors may do little to spark you imagination. On the other hand, others may find the plain colors to be just the thing for stimulating the imagination. Instead of using brights or vivids which might distract them, they go with a more neutral scheme which enables them to focus internally and concentrate on the work at hand.

Does all this seem confusing and overwhelming to you? Well, far be it for me to create even more stress in your life. Let's break it down into ideas that are manageable.

The first step is to take the time to determine how colors affect you. Whenever you spend time in a room with a dominant color scheme, ask yourself how you are feeling. Do the colors cheer you or make you edgy? Do they make you feel warm or smothered? Do they relax you or put you to sleep? If you need to, take notes on the effect. When the time comes to redecorate, you will have a better handle on the way colors make you feel and how to effectively use them is various rooms.

On that note, you also need to consider the feeling you want to create in individual rooms and in your house as a whole. Colors that will not work in one room may be just the thing in another. Stop and ask yourself, "What message or feeling am I trying to convey in this room?" Then determine whether or not the color scheme allows you to convey that feeling. Stand back and objectively look at each room. Better still, try this trick I always used when I worked dressing mannequins in a department store. After finishing the job, I would walk a few feet away from the display then turn around and ask myself, "What's the first thing you notice about the display?"

Rather than go to the trouble and expense of completely redoing a room, perhaps all you need to do is change a few accessories to create the feel you want.

Take the time to re-evaluate your surroundings. Determine whether they are affecting you in a positive or in a negative manner. If the affect is negative, determine what specifically is causing this negative response and set a simple course of action to correct the situation. Remember, you are defeating your purpose if you cause yourself stress in your attempt to create a home that give you a sense of peace and renewal every time you enter it.