The house that stretched your finances and cost you so much family time on the weekends is almost ready and in your mind, slapping paint here and there is really no herculean task right? You go to the paint vendor, he smiles and poses the question, ‘which colours sir?’ The not so herculean task now stares at your confused countenance. You clearly haven’t thought it through and at that point you may want to fall back on your personal sense of taste in colours but hold, just a minute, indeed more than a minute, because you need to invest that money wisely, as beyond aesthetics, colours can have far reaching effects.
From colours that increase fertility, yes you heard right, to colours that raise blood pressure, colours that make rooms look and feel larger, colours have been known to have a psychological effect of providing calm feelings, energy as they stir our senses actively, passively or neutrally. So, now that you know that you have to choose deliberately colours that boost your peculiar desires for your home, we can now look at a few options.
Energy
Red stimulates a senses rapidly, and if you require a mood that raises energies, stir up excitement and conversation, red is yours to go colour. In a practical sense however, you may reconsider spraying an entire room red, as an overdose of it may not portend well when you need moments of calmness and tranquillity. A full dose rather increases respiration and heart rate. It is thus advised to only paint areas like a leisure space and just one wall or section in living spaces. In the bedroom, you may want to splash the red colour at just a fraction of the wall and even position a lamp such that under the light it appears muted, spicing up intimacy.
Then there is yellow which also exudes positivity, cheerfulness, happiness and is a great mood lifter especially in small doses or small spaces. An overdose tends to induce loss of temper, feelings of anger and frustration and even babies tend to cry a bit more with an overflow of yellow.
Orange is another colour that evokes excitement and enthusiasm, while it is not advised as a main colour theme for living and bedrooms, it works just fine for leisure and exercise rooms and you may not be surprised to have seen it used in gyms and playgrounds.
Calm
On the other side of energy is the colour blue, it slows down heart rate and respiration and relaxes you with its calming effect. Blue, especially the lighter versions are thus recommended for bedrooms and bathrooms as well as living rooms and family areas.
Green is another go to colour if you desire softer and calmer effects. Green which is easy on the eye, promotes stress relief and can do well in almost any room and the most intriguing is that, when used in the bedroom, it promotes relaxation and guess what, fertility!
Elegant and Base Colours
Now, for most people concerned about sophistication and elegance, colours like black, grey, purple tend to be the go to colours as they aren’t loud, are understated and even reflect their personality. If you are looking for a fusion of calmness and energy, you may have to go to the colour purple. Versions in lilac and lavender project luxury, creativity and also provide a restful effect, especially to bedrooms, but aren’t as loud as the energetic colours discussed earlier.
Black also works well when used in small doses as an accent. In fact, it is highly recommended that every room needs a touch of black as a base colour to work other theme colours around. Similarly, white which projects simplicity and cleanliness also works incredibly as a base colour; it provides a blank canvas for other effects and art while also making rooms look a bit bigger. Be it ice white to ivory white, white has the effect of covering up ugly features or cracks in walls as well.
Well, with the above tips, your confusion is definitely eased and we can begin the painting, shall we?
>>>The writer is the Executive director of Yecham Property Consult & Founder of Ghana Green Building Summit. Email: [email protected]; Linkedin: Cyril Nii Ayitey TettehTweet
