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Colour Therapy: Hues to suit your mood
Did you know that the colour you choose for a room can directly affect your mood? Dr Pam Spurr explains how to evoke the right emotions through canny colour choices
Research shows that our immediate environment has a profound impact on the way we feel. For example, lighting that's harsh can make us feel quite agitated compared to lighting that's subtle and that can soothe us. Excessive noise is tiring and irritating whereas a quiet background 'hum' can be quite calming. The size and shape of a room can make us feel anything from claustrophobic to liberated.
But what effect do colours have on your feelings and mood? Colour can certainly alter or affect your mood state. It has the power to alter it entirely or simply enhance or diminish the mood-state you're already in.
The psychology of colour is important to understanding how you can change this aspect of your environment to get the benefits you want. So before you get decorating with paints, fabrics and accent materials check out my guide to the colours you can use to attain various mood-states.
- Energising
- Calming and tranquillising
- Comforting
- Refreshing
- Stabilising and neutral
- Draining
- Flat mood
- Claustrophobic
- Liberating
- Sensual
- Commanding/authoritative
Energising
There are a few distinct categories of colours that are energising. First, there are the mid-to-royal blues. These have to be clear, clean and bright shades to be energising. The duller and darker shades of blue do not energise! The second category of energising colours is the brighter, but not dark, reds. If these are too deep in colour they become more comforting and non-energising. One or two walls, or many accents using these reds, is enough to energise. Finally, yellows that border on golden hues but there are also clear and clean shades are also energising. But beware of the dark golds that are calming and the very light bright yellows that can be irritating over time rather than energising.
Calming and tranquillising
There are number of colour tones that are calming. These include the paler shades of blue that aren't bright in tone. Also pale lavenders and lilacs which are often used in mental health units due to their tranquillising nature. Pale tones of bricky-earth shades that border on fleshy-pinks also promote tranquillity as do darker richer golds.
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