Decorating Tips: The Meaning of Colors

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Decorating Tips: The Meaning of Colors
Kathy Burns-Millyard

Colors have many different meanings. Have you ever been in a blue room, feeling calm and relaxed, and then walked into a red room and you began to feel chatty and excited? The change in your mood wasn't just coincidence - it was an actual psychological and physiological response to the colors of the rooms. When you are planning to decorate your home, the colors of your rooms should be one of your first considerations. You want to choose colors that you're not only comfortable with, but also colors that will create the right types of moods for both you and your guests in each room.

Let's start with some of the more common colors: Blue is a calming, relaxing color. The color is good for bedrooms but can destroy the mood in a dining room as it serves as an appetite represent. Combined with green, blue exudes a natural atmosphere in a room. For centuries, green has been representative of life and birth, but on the flip side, it has been known for jealousy and inexperience. Like blue, green is a relaxing color. The color symbolizes a certain harmony both in the world and in life.

Red on the other hand, is an appetite and conversation stimulant. Red is a fiery color that at times represents both hatred and passion. Red also represents power; thus the use of it for celebrities on the red carpet and red ties for powerful executives. Yellow is also a powerful color. Since yellow is the color of sunshine, it has a happy, uplifting aura. However, yellow can also be the color of melancholy and cowardice. Carefully pick the hue of your paint and decorations, noting the feelings you get in the presence of those colors.

Pink is a soft color often used in the decorations and room decor for little girls. Psychological studies have actually shown that this color causes physical weakness in people. Orange is a mixture of red and yellow, so it has all the warmth and comfort of those colors. Some oranges - such as the color of pumpkins and fall leaves - is a stimulant and good for use in the dining room. Purple has always been a special color, representing royalty and spirituality. Purple is known for stimulating creativity in small doses, but large amounts of purple can cause depression and moodiness.

Considering the meanings of the different colors is an important part of decorating your room. You should consider both the way the colors make you feel - for example, if you fell in a vat of yellow paint when you were little, yellow is probably not a cheerful color for you - but you should also take into account the way that it will make your guests feel. Using blue in your dining area will likely suppress your visitors' appetites, and despite how much you may love the color for your dining area, you should consider their needs and desires as well.

For more home decorating and decor tips, ideas, articles, and gorgeous decor accents and accessories for your home - visit The Do It Yourself Home Decorating Network @DIYHomeDecorating.com.

© 2005, Kathy Burns-Millyard.