Here's a great article c/o Tess Panzer for Yahoo....
Can the colors you choose for your home affect your life? Absolutely! Believe it or not, color has a massive impact on how you feel, from your productivity and energy levels to your creativity and overall happiness. In fact there is an entire form of therapy based on this exact principle - chromotherapy.
The fact is, if you chose the wrong colors for your home’s interior, you may be stunting your potential in multiple facets of your life. It may sound crazy to some, but ask any Feng Shui authority, color consultant or chromotherapist and they’ll tell you just that.
In an effort to save you from making the wrong choices, or to nudge you out of indecision and into taking the leap, we’ve broken down six colors and why you do, or don’t want them in your life. Get the paint chips out, it’s time to make some big decisions.
Red: The Color of Success and Productivity
Red is the perfect color choice for a productive work environment.
Red is the most energetic color there is. It has been known to not only raise your heart rate and thereby increase your energy levels, but also pump adrenaline through you. It’s a fiery, aggressive color that has an immediate impact on your entire nervous system, which means it’s very important that you carefully choose where you use it.
Do: Use red in an office environment. Whether it’s in your home office or your corner office, red will fire you up for a very productive, energized work day. As it promotes circulation and speeds respiration, you should be firing on all cylinders when surrounded by it.
Don’t: Use red in your bedroom. If you’re planning on a restful night’s sleep, don’t paint your bedroom walls red. Even though most of the time you spend in the bedroom is likely to be in the dark, you want to promote a relaxing atmosphere where you sleep. Red will stimulate your system, meaning your drift-off will be in conflict with your environment. The aggressive nature of red is also a double edged sword - channeling that aggression can be useful in some environments, but may not be something you want to do in every room.
Yellow: The Color of Happiness
Yellow promotes conversation in a communal living area.
Yellow is known to be a very uplifting color - it’s the color most often associated with happiness, energy and togetherness. When chosen in the right hue, it is both soothing and cheer inducing, which makes it perfect as an interior color.
Do - Use yellow in a communal environment, such as the living room or kitchen. It promotes a feeling of togetherness and comfort, and due to its energizing effects, it’s perfect for stimulating conversation and promoting community.
Don’t - Use yellow in a toddler’s room. Yellow is the most difficult color for the eye to take in, and can therefore prove overwhelming. The last thing you want is for your baby’s room to make her cry.
Orange - The Color of Energy and Excitement
Orange means a great workout. Guaranteed.
Orange has been known to increase energy levels and excitement. Similar to red in that vein, but with a happier bent as opposed to the ruthless, slightly more aggressive notes of its energetic cousin. In fact, it falls somewhere between the effects of yellow and red. Orange is for go-getting and energy-pumping.
Do - Use orange in a home gym. Orange will inspire, invigorate and energize you - exactly what you want when headed into a work-out. It promotes an enthusiastic demeanor, making those last 10 minutes on the treadmill that much more bearable.
Don’t - Use orange if you’re easily stressed out or spend your days in a stressful environment and want to come home to tranquility. Orange can be a little jarring if you’re not in the mood for it. It is best contained to areas in which you want to raise your energy levels and produce. If you work in an environment that already does that, you may want to skip it in your home.
Blue - The Color of a Rested, Beautiful You
The key to a beautiful you is in a restful night’s sleep surrounded by blue.
Blue is the color of the sea and the sky - it is calming, soothing and fundamentally slows you down. Blue calms your nerves and lets you breathe more easily, which is something we probably all crave at one point in our day. It lowers your blood pressure, which means it has an almost medicinal effect on your mood and temperament. Think of blue as a glass of red wine for your home.
Do - Use blue in your bedroom and bathroom. Whether you’re taking a bath, a nap or laying down for a full night’s rest, blue will ensure you rise beautiful and peaceful. It’s the answer to your search for beauty sleep and peaceful repose.
Don’t - Use in an office environment. Using blue in an environment that is intended to be productive and invigorating is counter productive. You can’t expect to be a killer at work, if all your mind wants to do is go to sleep. A blue room is the perfect place to end a day in, but not ideal to spend your day in - unless of course it’s the weekend and you’re recovering from a mind-boggling week.
Green - The Color That’s Sexier Than You Think
If you’re in the mood for lovin’, paint your bedroom green.
Green is a symbol of fertility and new beginnings. It is lush and vibrant, while maintaining a soothing and comforting feel. It’s the color of spring and deep and enchanted forests. Though it comes in varying hues, from mint to hunter, it’s through-line remains constant.
Do - Use green in your bedroom. Many commonly perceive red as the raciest of colors and the ultimate in sexy decor, but we firmly believe that green takes the ‘bedroom-color-cake.’ It’s restful to the eye and calming, but also subliminally puts you in the mood for love.
Don’t - Use green if you’re superstitious. Much in contrast to the common belief that green, the color of the four leaf clover, is lucky, many with a bent towards superstition find green to be a color that brings bad luck. Also, green, much like blue, is counterproductive in an environment that is meant to be energetic. Painting your home gym green is likely to result in an abbreviated cardio session and a bee-line to the couch.
Purple - The Color of Creativity
The possibilities for creativity are endless when you paint your kitchen purple.
Purple is luxurious and inspiring. It is a color that is known to inspire creativity and thought, leading to wealth and comfort. It is royal and velvety and it makes you feel like you can achieve. Though purple is a color you don’t see quite as often in interior design, it is one that should definitely be incorporated into the home of the fun and creative or those aspiring to be such.
Do - Use purple in the kitchen, a playroom or an art studio. It will inspire you to work with your hands and think outside the box. From extravagant meals, to creative playtime for the kids, to picking up the brush and paints, purple is sure to set the tone for hours of inspiration.
Don’t - Use purple in your child’s bedroom. Although it’s ideal for a children’s playroom, it is not quite as great a fit for where your little one sleeps. A well rested child needs a sleeping environment that calms the brain, not one that revs it up. ‘Light’s out’ means no purple.
It’s clear that color can have a great impact on how we feel as well as how we lead our lives on a day to day basis. So, next time you head to the paint store, ask yourself what tone you’d like to set in your home. It’s more important than you may have thought.
