Could a person you don’t know walk into your home and presume your persona, based solely on the colour of your walls? Paula Taylor, colour and trend specialist says “once colour is understood, it’s easy to use.”
Experts in paint and wallpaper, Graham&Brown, who have been exploring the power of colour for over 70 years, are bringing to light the best ways to create different moods and identity through colour in the home.
Starting with the colour black, it’s been shown that this can show sexy and sophisticated traits despite its heavy and intense energy. While on the contrary white is perfect for a dramatic and elegant look and can add a futuristic feel when teamed up with stainless steel appliances.
Meanwhile, light pink tones are known to calm our emotional energies whereas darker shades can represent confidence and success. Moving through to purple, this colour symbolises bravery and spirituality, whereas pale lilacs can introduce a calm ambience to the home, alike blues which create a peaceful hideaway.
Colours represent different things in different countries around the globe. If yellow is worn in a Japanese work environment, it portrays courage which shows willingness to take educated risks. Red represents good luck and fortune in China. Some colours are favoured in some countries and not others, for example; orange is a colour least favoured by Americans whereas it is popular in Holland.
Being aware of the effect of colours can have on an individual, means you can choose a hue to purposefully instil or enhance an emotion; whether to inspire, calm the sense or energise.
A choice of home décor can say a lot about the individual, couple or family living there. Whilst some seem adept at finding ideal ways to portray their characteristics, the rest of us can be left struggling. Where inspiration is lacking, updating your home to perfectly reflect your personality or set an ideal tone can be a daunting task, especially when you’re really trying to get ‘you’ across.
Get Living London carried out a survey which looked into Psychology of Colour in homes, and despite appreciating the link between colour and emotional wellbeing, 57% of those who took the survey admitted that they are unlikely to be more adventurous with colour.
Though this shouldn’t be the case. Graham & Brown say a lot of getting it right is understanding the perception each colour can give off and the mood it can create. The company, best known for their luxury wallpaper and paints, has covered the ground-work for its customers in uncovering the key personality traits aligned to various colours. Their illustrated palettes, teamed with synopsis create a handy reference guide, is designed to help even the novice make the best selection from a wide spectrum.
