The Importance of Color Psychology In Your Home Remodel

When used correctly, color is the most powerful way that you can invoke a pre-determined mood or energy. Each individual color speaks to us non-verbally within a split second of seeing it, causing an immediate physiological reaction, set a mood or convey an emotion. While one color can energize us, another one may root or ground us. Color inspiration is all around us in our everyday lives. A shade of makeup, hair color, and even the color of car that we drive all play into our emotions. Same goes for the color schemes that we utilize in our home. Harnessing the right color emotion(s) can have a very powerful effect.

We spend much of our day typically split between home and work (unless you’ve had the pleasure of retirement). Your home though is where you start each day out fresh, with a new refreshed outlook on the days tasks ahead. It’s also where you go to, to end your day and recharge again. For this reason, we’ve dedicated this article to exploring the use of color in your home remodel.

“Mere color, unspoiled by meaning, and unallied with definite form can speak to the soul in a thousand different ways.” – Oscar Wilde

Color Psychology Defined

DEEP RED – Elegant and refined. It’s robust like your favorite wine with a rich and cultivated feel.

DARK/BRICK RED – A more earthy tone of red. Think of a brick that’s used in building or construction. It alludes to being strong, sturdy and established.

BRIGHT RED – Commonly known as the most passionate color for its sex appeal properties. Bright red is a stimulating and provocative color. It can indicate power, energy and assertiveness. It can allude to negative energy though, as it is also the color for danger, aggression and violence.

BRIGHT PINK – Positivity, excitement and playful. Hot pink is a high-energy and wild color. Even considered flirtatious. Dependent upon its use, it may be festive and tropical. From a negative standpoint, it can also be gaudy when over used.

LIGHT PINK – A romantic tone. With a sweet, soft and delicate feel, this color reminds us of cotton candy. Its innocent and fragile. This color can also be very sentimental, which can give off positive or negative indicators depending on the person and its use.

PEACH– Just like the fruit, this color is sweet and delicious. It can be intimate, nurturing and embracing.

TANGERINE – Tangy and energizing. A positive and vital color.

TRUE OR VIBRANT ORANGE – Happy, spontaneous and optimistic. This tone can be whimsical and child-like with a sociable feeling. Its good-natured and can be associated with sunsets.

TERRA COTTA – Earthy, warm and wholesome. This color is extremely welcoming and for this reason was a common tone used for flooring.

TAN– Rugged and rustic. Tan tones play into the outdoors and woodsy feelings in nature.

CHOCOLATE/DARK BROWNS – Rich and robust, just what you look for in your coffee. This darker tone can be used to inflict the sense of being grounded, rooted and supportive. An earthy tone.

GOLD – This luxurious and expensive color is used in many applications for expressing value and radiance. Bling! It can walk a fine line on becoming gaudy if overused.

AMBER – Lends to being multi-cultural and abundant. The feeling of Autumn.

BRIGHT YELLOW – The cheerful of the bunch. This color is lively, stimulating and aware. Sunshine and joy radiate and promote positive energy. Be cautious though as it can provide the negative feeling of betrayal and hazard in certain circumstances.

LIGHT YELLOW – Soft and sunny, warm and pleasing. A common color used around babies. Add this welcoming color to rooms in your home that lack natural light to help brighten things up.

LIGHT GREEN – A calming and soothing neutral tone. Lightweight and not over bearing.

OLIVE GREEN – Classic color with feelings of military, camouflage and safari adventures.

LIME GREEN – Invigorating, tart and citrusy. This refreshing color taps into your youthfulness.

DARK GREEN – Initial thoughts of money, prosperity and tradition. This darker color tone promotes trustworthiness. It can also stir up thoughts of the forest and woodsy areas.

FOLIAGE GREEN – Nature and life. Balance and harmony. This tone is about new beginnings, restoration, health and fertility. Many might connect it with environmental awareness. A good all-around positive color to have in your life.

AQUA – Has a cool, and refreshing feeling. Soft and dreamy appeal, especially around babies.

TURQUOISE - A compassionate and protective color. Reminders of oceans, sky-scape and tropical surroundings. Promotes faithfulness.

TEAL– A sense of sophistication, confidence and serenity.

SKY/LIGHT BLUE – Blue is patient. Blue is kind. These shades are sure to bring out a calming and restful effect on you. It can be linked to thoughts of heaven, infinity and an open mind. Another tranquil color that is good around babies. Creates trust.

BIGHT BLUE – Brisk and vibrant. This color is sure to lift spirits and be exhilarating. Can be reminders of water or flags.

DEEP BLUE – Provides credibility. Is strong and reliable. These shades can serve is reminders of the men/women that serve, various types of uniforms, nautical, and of professionalism. Deep blue is said to help concentration and clarity making it a beneficial color in office settings. On the negative side, it can add to the feeling of being distant and melancholy.

LAVENDAR – The romantic and nostalgic shade of the color wheel. This color can remind you of lightly scented flowers.

BLUE PURPLES – A positive color for soul-searching, meditation, spirituality and enchanting mystery.

DEEP PURPLE – A visionary color. Very rich color carrying a royalty or prestigious feel.

NEUTRAL GRAY – Grays have quickly become a trendy color in home decorating because of its ability to play well with others. It has a classic and sobering effect. Like black, it has a timeless feel. Being modest and methodical gives it a neutral temperament.

CHARCOAL GRAY – Your responsible color on the wheel. The darkness lends to being accountable and professional, even sophisticated. A highly mature color. On the negative side, if not used correctly it can become dull and detached.

TAUPE – A classical neutral with an organic feel. It has a compromising effect and is versatile in many settings. An overall practical color, though beware of its ability to become bland or tasteless in some situations.

IVORY – Comforting and creamy goodness. Popular in the bridal world for its softness and natural appearance.

SILVER – Sleek and classic. This color has a modern style about it. Metallic in composition.

BLACK – Elegantly sophisticated like a black-tie event. Creates mystery and magic. Popular in strong modern settings. Can portray an expensive and invulnerable quality in your space. Be careful though not to tap into its evil and mourning side.

WHITE – Arctic, airy and clean. Common in the bridal world for its purity and pristineness. Provides clarity and simplicity. Caution though not to overdo it with white as it can quickly become cold and sterile.

Incorporating Color Psychology Into Your Home

Are you looking to improve your mood at home? Color is a powerful design tool in that unbeknownst to you, can make a room of your home feel calmer, stir up your creative juices, add a dramatic, cheerful or relaxed ambiance. It can make smaller rooms feel spacious or create the vivid recollection of a particular memory or scent, but how do you take these magical color powers and incorporate them into your home?

To start, you’ll want to consider the primary function(s) of the room you’ll be remodeling. Will it be a gathering spot for multiple people or a quiet space just for yourself? Is it a place where you’ll have to do daunting household chores in, create a works of art in or where you need to retreat to in order to get a good night’s sleep?

Next, establish how you will want to look and feel while in your space. If you are remodeling a home office, chances are you don’t want help being distracted. Instead you will want to feel determined and focused. If your profession requires you to come up with ad campaigns or designing art or photographs, you will want to feed off of your creative side. In these instances, you’d want to consider tones of blue coloring that provide stimulation and creativity. If you are a yoga instructor, you wouldn’t want to paint your “office” a bright energizing yellow. The feeling of an abundant amount of energy or cheerfulness is typically not the result that you are looking for after a yoga or meditation session. Instead you’d gravitate more towards blue purples that are soothing to the soul and your inner peace. Understanding the power that any given color inherently possess is proven to be valuable knowledge for every homeowner and designer to embrace. A financial accountant is not drawn to the same color properties as, say, a family counselor or a sports coach. By establishing the ultimate goal for your space, you can then use color to alter your experience.

Color Suggestions For Your Bathroom

If the goal of your bathroom remodel is serenity, considering utilizing gray for its calm sophistication. Going with a solid gray will add strength to it, while a softer gray tone offers a gentle and delicate aspect to the design. As a favorite neutral in the industry, many designers use gray as the background color to set the intentions of the space, then mix tones and shades of grays in for a more glamorous feel with dimension. Be sure to discuss various material options, like cabinetry for your bathroom that add to the ambiance that you are looking for.

Many homeowners want a spa-like feel out of their bathroom remodel. While the materials and fixture amenities play into that feeling, color is still the primary inhibitor. That feeling can vary though from one person to another depending on the aspects of a spa that speaks to you. Light blues and aqua tones focus more on their calming effects and the tranquility of the space, which many find comforting and vacation-like. On the other hand, lavender may be a better option if the thought of calming florals entices your senses first. Most believe that there is nothing stronger than the sense of small in creating the ideal environment, so utilizing lavender is a great way to tap into the sense of smell without having it readily available. You can take it up a notch by utilize lavender and eucalyptus essential oils in your new lavender relaxation sanctuary.

These color suggestions can be used to influence the selection of your floor and shower tile, choosing a size that works well in the available space of your bathroom. While you’ll want to choose a countertop material that stands up well in a moist environment, like granite or marble. A countertop in many instances can include hints of these color options, whether solid, speckled or a marbled splash of your “mood” enticing colors. Of course, you can always bring in your color choice through paint and decor as well.

Color Suggestions For Your Dining Room

Deep purples and eggplant are great in a dining room atmosphere as they not only add sophistication and elegance to your dedicated dining space, but a dramatic quality as well. Lighter shades and lavenders are best used for a dreamy bedroom, so stick with the deeper tones for your dining room.

Red is another strong-willed robust color that is an ideal color option. Pull out your favorite red wine for a color match! It’s even said that reds can psychologically increase your metabolism. With that being the case, maybe we should look into a red refrigerator for the kitchen to match!

Color Suggestions For Your Kitchen

If you prefer a more tranquil cooking atmosphere, then we recommend sticking with grays, or lighter shades of blues and greens for their calming effects. Many homeowners truly enjoy the relaxed feeling they get when cooking or baking. Cooking can be considered a form of stress therapy. If this is the case for you, be sure to mention that to your general contractor. They could have a few other tricks up their sleeve to make the most out of your kitchen and it’s layout for an even better cooking experience.

However, if you are like most busy on-the-go families then consider incorporating red. Vibrant red has energetic properties to it that are perfect for the activity hub of your home. Plus, remember what we mentioned above. Red tones are such passionate and energetic colors, it is said to increase your metabolism. What better room of your home to take every advantage of that then in the kitchen.

Color Suggestions For Your Office, Laundry Room or Library

Go bold! Strong vibrant greens, blues and yellows top the list for your home office and laundry rooms. Not only do they spark creativity and focus, but yellow increases your level of joy! Who doesn’t need a little extra joy in their life when having to work at home? Avoid any doom and gloom or calming colors, this is the area of the home where you need that extra umph to get you through the day and those exhausting chores. While blues are great on the wall, it also makes for gorgeous awe-inspired cabinetry as well. Cabinetry can essentially be painted to match any shade and tone to contribute to your desired mood. Discuss with your general contractor about cabinetry color options and stains to create a unique look for your room.

Per the Institute of Color Research, you will make a subconscious judgement about a space or a product within the first 90 seconds of seeing it, with color being the primary factor of that assessment. Without the visual input of color in our environment, we can become quickly bored in our environment. Choosing the right color palette for your home can be overwhelming. That’s why we recommend consulting with an experienced general contractor and design professional. The color(s) that you incorporate into your home are tools to leverage your emotions and behaviors.

How to choose the right general contractor for you is an important topic for discussion another day, but today we’ll cut to the chase and give you the honest answer. TWD! The expert team at Todd Whittaker has on-staff designers to help guide you through material selections, a multi-functional design and color choices for your desired outcome. Don’t make the mistake of hiring the truck off the street, when you have trained professionals in your neighborhood ready to bring your vision to life. During your initial consultation in their design showroom (yes, they have storefront property!), you’ll quickly see why they have earned countless awards for their level of customer service. You cannot effectively design a workable space without first getting to know you, how you use the space and how you want to feel in it. Let the team at TWD show you the potential that your home has to offer with a remodel. You can find them online at https://www.twdaz.com or any reputable website directory. While you are there getting their phone number and requesting your free initial consultation, notice their excellent review ratings and what others are saying about them. There’s a reason they’ve been around for over 20 years.