Effect of Colours by Joy Ofili Yebovi

The colours of the rooms inside your home need to bring out your personality. Although most of us do not spend time thinking about rooms’ colours, it affects every single day of our lives.

It is important that you know the mood you want to create in your home and the colours that will help you achieve that mood. To solve this riddle, try looking into magazines, decorating books, blogs and websites for amazing ideas. Or better-still, let your fabric be your guide. In fact, this is a good approach to take if you are starting from scratch. Fabrics, carpeting, furniture and tiles are available in limited range of colours compare to paint. So choose them first and then decide on your paint colour[s] later.

Once you find something you like, endeavour to limit the numbers of colours in a room to three or four. Too many colours can make a room look busy or cluttered. Paint is fairly inexpensive and can transform a room more quickly than anything else, so you can afford to experiment a little before making your final decision.

However, you need to understand that colours behave in three basic ways, which are: active, passive, and neutral. You can easily match every room’s colours to your personal desire, taste and the purpose of the room. Light colours are expansive and airy, making rooms seem larger and brighter. Dark colours are sophisticated and warm; they give large rooms a more intimate appearance. So be conscious of this.

Now let’s find out more about colours and what they can do to a room

Blue is arguably the most popular colour in most of our wardrobes. Wear an aqua or sea blue dress for a date and its sure to make a good impression. "Blue is an extremely tranquil colour. Most office rooms and gyms are blue because of their calming effect and because they are known to encourage productivity. However, the colour can also be a little gloomy and can bring you down. Blue lowers blood pressure, calms, gives a sense of security, and suppresses appetite.

Black. Notice how most villains wear black? Black is universally denoted to be the colour of authority.This is a powerful, mysterious colour and is associated with seriousness. Also associated with sex, death and mystery. Black may make you feel depressed, or on the other hand, may make you feel secure—hiding in the darkness.

Red is often associated with anger, love and passion. It is a complicated colour and extremely dramatic. In fact, red is often associated with love — red blush or flush — but it can also have negative denominations. Nothing beats the popularity of red

Green. This is the easiest colour for the eyes to focus on for long period of time.  It soothes pain and is associated with optimism. May make one feel happy, clean and fresh. Needless to say, green has an extremely calming effect mainly because it natural. It is a very calming and refreshing colour. It has soothing properties.

Perky Orange. Orange perfectly blends the lightness of yellow and the fierceness of red. It is a fun, and active colour and bound to improve your mood on a bad day. This colour is friendly, relaxing and ambitious.

Brown:This is an organic, earthy colour.  It can make you feel cosy.

Pink: This is a youthful and feminine colour.  It is soft, serene and sensitive. This is basically a "happy" colour.

Purple: This colour is often associated with royalty.  It is a contemporary colour.

So next time, you are choosing colour for your rooms, understand the colours and know what effect you want to achieve.