How to Choose Colors to Set a Mood
Color can go a long way toward setting the mood and energy level in a room. Here are some suggestions for using color for your desired effect.
- Difficulty:
- Moderately Easy
Instructions
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Use bright, warm colors - such as coral or apple green - to impart a feeling of coziness in a family room. These colors can warm up a cool room that has limited natural light.
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Add cheer with yellow. It can lift your spirits in, say, a kitchen or laundry room.
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Think red when you want to invigorate your environment, perhaps in an office.
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Let cool colors such as sage green and sky blue wrap you in a calm ambience, as in a bedroom. These colors can chill a room, so they're best used when there's plenty of sunlight as a balance.
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To destress, think neutrals such as pale gray, taupe and beige, which exert a restful influence. They work well in a library, media room or family room.
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Set a young, playful mood with primary colors. They're great in children's rooms or playrooms.
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Paint walls dark, rich colors such as deep taupe, brick red, slate gray or sapphire blue to set a formal, sophisticated tone and add a sense of drama. A formal dining or living room is a candidate for these deep colors.
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Avoid bright white, which tends to be very stark and unsettling, evoking a sterile operating-room atmosphere. In most environments, a white with a touch of rose, ivory or gray is more comforting.
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Tips & Warnings
To temper your wall color choices, select furniture and accessories that inject needed visual contrast. The brick-red walls of a foyer, for instance, can be balanced with an antique-white console table; golden-yellow accessories will add a spark in a sky-blue bedroom; and a beige sofa will tone down a room painted coral.
Remember that cool colors recede, making a room seem larger, and warm colors advance, making a room seem smaller.
