Choosing paint colours to decorate your home has a direct correlation with how they make you feel.
If you can close your eyes and just imagine your room in the colours you want it to be, what is the first thought and feeling that comes to you. 
Is that first feeling one of calm, relaxation and serenity or does it make you feel restless, stressed and want to run away.
Paint Colour Psychology
Colours used to decorate your home have a direct effect on the harmony in your space. They have a way of making a room feel cheerful, comfortable and cozy, intimidate or dramatic.
Paint colours can also help make a small room feel bigger, or a larger space feel more intimate, it can also help bring an open-concept area together and helps accentuate furniture and accessories in any room.
Choosing paint colours is a direct reflection of your personality that shines through in the colours you choose to paint.
To better understand what your colour personality is can be the perfect start to begin to better understand what the meaning of colours for your are and how to incorporate them into you home décor.
Understanding Paint Colour Psychology
Combining colours to create the perfect harmony in your home décor colour scheme can be as easy as selecting trending and popular paint colours for your home,
In the world of home interiors choosing neutrals are have always been considered to be the safest bet, but why not create a little drama in your space with a bold accent wall to show off your favourite dark shade of gray, blue, red, green or whatever your favourite colour is.
The best paint colours for you are unique to you, so don’t shy away from picking that perfect one to enjoy for a few years until your next home décor update.
The Meaning Of Paint Colours
- Green is the colour of hope, its fresh and clean. Green and blue combinations offer a relaxing atmosphere.
- Yellow is the colour of patience and tolerance, it is said that those who choose this colour have a positive outlook on life in general.
- Orange is the colour of creativity, it enhances studying or getting work done in your home office.
- Red is the colour of romance and did you also know it says you have power, are impulsive, ambition and full of determination. You can be very persuasive too.
- Purple is the colour that shows off the charismatic sensitive type. It also shows that you either possess or aim to achieve money and power.
- Peach is the colour of those in love, who also love to be social and are thought to be very lucky.
- Pink is also the colour of affection. It shows the softer and kind hearted side of you.
- Gray brings balance to everything and helps create a calming and relaxing atmosphere to spaces like family rooms and living rooms.
- Dark Blue paint colour is authoritative and successful and would therefore be perfect in spaces like a home office.
How To Use Paint Colour Psychology For Your Next House Painting Project
How you use the paint colour choices you make to help you achieve the look and feel you’re after in your home decor scheme doesn’t have to be as hard as you may think.
The next time you’re thinking of updating the colour scheme in your home décor let the power of colours be your guide to persuade you and help you determine which one to choose.
Here are a few tips to consider when choosing paint colours for every room in your house.
Entryway/Foyer
Painting in a shade of gray or any other neutral shade for the entrance gives the feeling of calm and relaxation from the moment you walk through your front door. Cozy it up even more by adding warm accessories like a front entry table with a table lamp, a silver or dark coloured picture frame with art work along with some cream coloured items makes everything blend perfectly for that soft, warm and welcoming feeling of home.
Kitchens
Kitchens are the heart of every home and sometimes blends with family rooms and living and dining room areas in modern open concept areas in many of todays modern homes.
Choosing the best paint colours whether they may be in shades of gray, white, blue or greens helps give the kitchen space a feeling of fresh cleanliness and vibrancy.
Bedrooms
The colour of your bedroom is a personal thing and also depends on the age of the individual using that room.
Take painting a baby’s room or nursery in a neutral light green or silverish-blue hue would create a soothing and calming space for either a boy or girl.
If the room is for a toddler you can accent a focal wall with a dark blue and use a lighter shade on the other walls. Highlight the ceiling by painting a shade of white or cream to highlight the space.
Pink, purples and grays blend perfectly for painting a girl’s room. Subdued hues of greens and blues promote rest and green also encourages learning. These colours can grow with the child well into their tweenage years.
Dining Rooms
Blues, greens, greys all go perfectly in the dining room as they all promote conversation. Apparently many restaurants use these colours because they stimulate the palate and appetite.
Bathrooms
Painting the bathroom in light shades of greens, blues, or white help provide the feeling of calmness where you want to retreat at the beginning and end of each day.
Black and or gray make perfect accent colours in what is considered to be one of the important rooms in your house as it is usually is the first one you enter each day and helps set the tone to how your day will go.
Paint Colour Samples
The next time you are considering to get started on a DIY painting project and are looking for samples of paint colours to help you choose from, just visit any local Ottawa paint stores or if your are hiring a personal painter in Ottawa to do the work simply ask them for their professional opinion on colours. 
Choose from any of hundreds of paint colour samples they have on display or if you have a specific colour in mind that you have available with you simply give it to them and they can perfectly match that paint colour for you.
If you do bring home a few of the paint colour samples with you to try and see what they will look like on your walls, remember to test these colours throughout the day and at different times throughout the day.
By testing them what we mean is either stick the paint chip onto the walls or buy paint in a small pint or quart to paint a 3 foot long sample onto the walls. Then stand back and look at how the colour reflects back to you. Is it the shade you were intending for or does it look lighter or darker than what you expected.
You should look at the colour in the morning when the early shine of sun and light reflects upon the walls, then look at it again in the mid afternoon when the sun begins to turn, and look at it again in the evening to see the difference on how lighting affects the paint colour.
Each of these tests will give you a different read on what exactly the paint colour will look like throughout the day to help you better understand the relevance of light and paint to help you make the right choice for your space.
At the end of the day choosing the perfect paint colour for your home is really dependent on your personal choice and what really makes you comfortable.
You can always obtain a painting and colour consultation and look up information on house painting tips available online.
We’re here to help if you need us. Contact us your local painters in Ottawa to schedule your next home décor update and painting project.
This article was originally published on January 03 2017 and updated on May 19, 2021
