Decorating with Color
Color, the key to successful decorating, produces a physical and an emotional presence. Color can visually stretch a space, raise or lower ceiling heights and alter emotional levels. As a decorating tool, color is reasonably priced. By understanding color principles, you’ll develop an eye for adenturous color combinations.
Red: Increases temperature, heart rate, blood pressure. Sensitizes taste buds. Good to use in a dining room area.
Pink: Promotes a feeling of safety and being cared-for; strong pink short-circuits fear and violent behavior.
Orange: Induces a sense of friendliness and supports warm communication and outward focus.
Yellow: Bright shades stimulate aggression. Soft shades can induce a sense of calm stability.
Green: Enhances a sense of serenity, especially when combined with soft blue. Relieves home sickness.
Blue: Decreases temperature, heart rate, blood pressure. Large amounts seem to slow time. Aids focus and concentration by turning focus inward, but not as much as purple. When combined with brown, enhances a feeling of trust.
Purple: Supports inward focus more than blue. Supports the feeling of a disconnection from reality.
Brown: Promotes a sense of stability. Combined with blue, enhances a feeling of trust.
(source: The business of olor by Zara Stender)
Color forcast:
The direction that color is most likely to move in te next several years is towards more defined color.
Red- split between strong blue-based reds and yellow-based hues. These include a strong, saturated hot pink, an energetic orange-influenced red, a new, fresh lighter burgundy as well as a hot, snappy berry red with a touch of orange.
Orange-Continues with the browened-down oranges of the last couple years, but new introductions include a bright tangerine hue and a new version of coral.
Yellow- two bright, sunny, happy yellows join an established antique gold.
Green- continues to be one of the most widely used colors in every product category. Yellow-based greens continue to be visible, although there’s also a shift to green that’s being influenced by blue. Green remains organic, taking its influence from nature.
Blue- A constant. The robin’s egg blues seem to be on a slow decline, as softer tints of blue are showing up on the palette and bold bright blues are embraced by many categories. New versions of navy are the formal side of blue.
Purple-moving toward a red-based raspberry-like hue, and moving away from the blue-based purples of the last couple years.
Neutrals-becoming color-infused to make them more sellable.
Brown- continues to move into a lighter direction. The dark earth-toned browns are still in use, but the trend is to go lighter with soft sand and tan colors.
Long term forcast is to go heavy on neutrals, particularly the soft, light browns, soft spa-like blues and botanical greens and yellow-based reds. It’s definately a grayed-down earthy color forcast.
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