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The way that colour affects emotion varies throughout childhood and into adulthood, but there is absolute evidence backing the psychology of room colour and how it affects feelings and behaviour on a daily basis.

In preparing to paint a space, whether it’s an office or a home, make sure you understand the science and psychology behind colour and its effect on emotional reaction.

And remember: The right colour for one room may not be ideal for another.

Choosing Room Paint Ideas in the Bedroom

When choosing a bedroom colour, the most important factor to consider is relaxation.

A bedroom should be an escape from stress.

Like many yoga studios and spas, blues and greens in a bedroom can promote calmness and restoration. Blue has been noted to lower blood pressure, while red has been shown to raise it. Both colours have positive impacts; the colour red is just associated with alertness and high-energy, better concepts for social areas of the home and feelings that aren’t necessary when trying to unwind before going to sleep.

Using an ideal balance of blue and green helps ward off insomnia and encourages restful, deep sleep. One clever way to incorporate these colours in addition to paint is through houseplants and natural art accents.

Bright and Dark Colours

A bright yellow is very effective at promoting happiness. The sunny colour invokes optimism and a cheery attitude, as does orange. Both can encourage interaction and laughter.

The darker the colours, the more heavy they start to feel within your space and on your attitude. Darker hues of any colour may start to solicit negative feelings.

Negative and positive reactions aren’t just influenced by the colour; sometimes, it comes down to personal tastes.

Before beginning to paint, consider how you feel about the hues based on prior interaction and knee-jerk response. Create a list of colours organised by personal preference, or you could just close your eyes and envision the room in different hues, noting how each makes you feel.

While the final choice for paint colour is important, there are also many ways to intentionally include different hues into your home apart from the main wall colour.

Each room serves a different purpose and should evoke different feelings based on the actions taking place there. Adding accents, such as painted furniture, feature walls and art, are great ways to balance out the colour of the walls and incorporate more than one feeling into a space.

When beginning your journey of thinking about room paint ideas, it is important to research the psychology behind the colour choices, as well as your personal preferences.

Choosing the right colour can have a tremendous impact on mood and relationships, so before you make a final decision, be sure that you are promoting positive energy and a healthy, happy space.

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  • I have heard a lot about paint colours affecting people’s emotions. I have used mellow tones in our home

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  • All good tips, we are in the middle of an extension – renovation project.

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  • thanks for the advice, we are building a house now and i’m trying to work out the best colours for the bedrooms

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  • Our walls are painted a light blue. It’s quite gentle on the eyes and comfortable to look at.

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  • The company I worked for commissioned interior designers to different colours for offices. They dark colours in small offices, bright lily pink in one office surrounded by offices used by males – almost open plan. Some of the colours were hideous and clashed with curtains, blinds and other permanent fittings including large colour bonded window frames. One of the bosses asked a group of us what we thought of the new colour scheme, some just pulled a “disgusted” face, some said “yuck”, some “don’t like it” then he signalled me out and told me he wanted my honest opinion. My response “do you really want to know?” and he said “yes I do”. I told him that whoever they got to choose the colours/designs they were paid too much. He gasped and walked off. Well, he did ask.

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  • I lived in a flat once where every wall was canary yellow. I don’t recommend it! ;)

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  • Interesting tips will try a yellow wall soon hopefully it’ll brighten up the room. Thanks for the article it was interesting

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  • yeah this was an interesting article. thanks for the post!

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  • I love coloured walls. An acquaintance has a beige home and I mean all beige, walls, tiles, bench tops, window coverings, kitchen cupboards – it’s sort of a miserable house to walk into, not very stimulating, I thought she would have at least made the rooms pop with coloured throw cushions and other furnishings but no, still – to each their own.

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  • One theory is that bright colours in a baby/toddlers room can cause too much stimulation and the children sleep less.

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  • I cant wait to have my own house

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  • Thank you! I love any information on colour. It is so important and does impact on mood. I love green and find it so relaxing and calming.

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  • Interesting and thanks, i enjoyed reading this.

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  • we are looking at painting a new shop so this has been helpful

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  • I have been finding it hard to choose colours and this has helped narrowed it down for each type of room!

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