Paint colour psychology is the thought and reasoning behind the choices we make when choosing certain colours to add to our home décor. It creates both a visual and psychological experience that affects mood and emotions. 
Colour brings harmony to your home environment by adding personality and setting the perfect ambiance for each room, but choosing a paint colour can become a dilemma especially if it is the wrong one. While some colours can induce feelings of warmth, relaxation and happiness others may make you feel depressed, sad or even aggressive.
The wrong choice of paint colour can impact how the room makes you feel whenever you are in it. When you think of colour as a visual experience, one that can affect your mood and emotions it can better help you choose the right one to set the perfect tone for every room in your home.
Let’s explore the psychology behind some popular paint colours to see what emotions they transmit and provide information that may be helpful the next time you are choosing that perfect colour for any room in your house.
Why Colour Matters
Home décor is not just about aesthetics and what looks attractive, but colours used to decorate your home can have a huge influence on your emotional well being.
The Colour Research Institute suggests that on average people will make a subconscious decision within 90 seconds. And the colour alone has a 62% to 90% baring on how they judge.
Knowing this can be beneficial when you are deciding on paint colours so that you choose the right ones to have the best effect on your mood and the atmosphere you want to create in that space.
Understanding Paint Colour Psychology
Understanding the psychology behind colours used in institutions such as hospitals where the choices of colours such as green or blue to paint the walls are often used. These colours tend to relay feelings of outdoor freshness and being in touch with nature.
It is believed that the psychology of choosing paint colours in light and serene tones such as blue and green can help promote a sense of hope, serenity and make staying in a hospital room a little more comfortable.
When choices are made for home decor colours they can have the power of persuasion and determination and can be a reflection of our mood and feelings. From the perfect shade of grays or blues, to the bright and cheerful red or yellow they all have a way of bringing out a mood or emotion that identify our creativity and personality.
Picking The Perfect Paint Colour
When deciding on a paint colours you want to choose ones that give you the right emotion. You might want to event consider starting with the colour for an entrance door that promotes welcoming and cheery emotions and is just as important as the colours for any room of the house.
When you are in the space that you are wanting to add a new paint colour to think of how you will want it to make you feel every time you walk into the room or spending lengths of time in it. Consider things like wanting the room to be relaxing, serene and cozy or if you want to promote activities and conversations. Trying to match your personality to a paint colour is the perfect way to extend your style and character into your home.
Set The Mood With Paint Colours
Colour can instantly affect your mood creating the feel of warm, welcoming comfy and cozy. The right one can even help make a small room feel bigger and more spacious, it can help make it feel cheery, or can even be dramatic. You want to be able to love the colours that you are painting your home in therefore it is a good idea to remember how the colour will influence the mood for the space.
Light colours make rooms feel brighter and more spacious while dark colours can make a large room feel more cozy and intimate. Too many colours in one room can make the space feel cluttered, so we recommend limiting the choices to no more than three or four. You can be dramatic or subtle, add tranquility or boost energy all in the choices of the colours you choose for your next diy house painting project.
The following are ideas for paint colours and which rooms to use them in.
The Colour Red
Red is the colour of passion and romance that also says ambition, impulsiveness, persuasiveness and determination. It promotes the senses to feel energized and even increases heart rate, therefore making it the perfect colour selection for painting a basement, a play room or a focal wall in a dining room. We would not recommend using the colour red for a childs room, nursery or any bedroom as it would boost energy and create sleepless nights.
The Colour Blue
Blue is authoritative and successful. It can add an accent or splash of colour to any room. Painting a focal wall in a home office, family room or even a bedroom can make it feel dramatic or serene depending on the any shade or hue.
The Colour Gray
Gray is a calming and relaxing colour that makes the perfect backdrop to bringing an open concept family room or living room into balance. Painting in a dark or light gray is a modern choice and has become a common neutral shade used in house painting. Gray is the perfect paint colour to use in a dining room or bathroom as it can bring balance to any interior home decor.
The Colour Green
Green is the colour of hope that makes everything feel and look fresh and clean. It is found in the beauty of our great outdoors and bringing nature into our homes will give us that feeling of cozy with a touch of freshness. Combining green and blue gives an atmosphere of serene relaxation. Depending on the shade chosen green can be the perfect paint colour in any room.
The Colour Yellow
Yellow is the colour of patience and tolerance. It is said that those who love the colour yellow have a positive outlook on life in general. Yellow brightens any room to make it the happy place in your home. It is a great colour for painting a kitchen or front door.
How To Get Help With Choosing Paint
We all could use a little help sometimes especially when choosing colours to paint a home. The best information can usually be found on a house painting blog where tips and advice on things like how to paint the interior of house, how to dispose of left over paint, buying paint, or finding the right paint brush to use for your next DIY painting project. Consult with professional painters who have experience and knowledge to help you with the colour choices best suited for your home decor.
For more info on paint or colours, please consult with the expert painters in Ottawa – PG PAINT & DESIGN your reliable house painting professionals.
This post was originally published on Nov 12, 2017 and updated on Aug 23, 2020
