How Color Impacts + Evokes Emotion In Your Home
Emotion with color.
Have you ever walked into a breezy blue + white bathroom and felt instantly zen? Or got alllll the warmest + fuzziest fuzzies from a dark, dreamy fireplace?
If so, you've felt the power of color at work!
It's no secret, we're all about homes with everything you need + nothing more® and today, we’re sharing color's role in evoking emotion in your home.
One might argue, we’re bringing the good stuff to you *wink*
So, let’s dive in… shall we?
What Is Color Psychology
Color psychology is the focus or study of how colors can affect our mood + behavior. And color psychology is a real thing, friend.
It explores exactly how our emotions are influenced in both a positive or a negative way by color. The right hues can whisk you to your happy place, stir up a lively conversation in the family room, or heat things up... elsewhere *wink*
Certain Colors Associate Certain Feelings
In a study conducted with over 4500 participants in over 30 different countries, researchers discovered that particular colors are associated with particular emotions.
What Emotion Does The Color Black Evoke?
51% associated black with sadness.
What Emotion Does The Color White Evoke?
43% felt that white was a sign of relief.
What Emotion Does The Color Red Evoke?
68% associated red with feelings of love.
What Emotion Does The Color Blue Evoke?
35% considered blue to also be a sign of relief.
What Emotion Does The Color Green Evoke?
39% associated green to feeling content.
What Emotion Does The Color Yellow Evoke?
52% considered yellow a feeling of joy.
What Emotion Does The Color Purple Evoke?
25% felt that purple was closely linked to feelings of pleasure.
What Emotion Does The Color Brown Evoke?
36% considered brown to be a feeling of disgust.
What Emotion Does The Color Orange Evoke?
And 44% associated orange with joy.
Now — are these hard + fast how everyone feels about yellow, red, or white? No. In fact, none of these colors in the research study were shown on objects that appear in your home. Does a brown leather sofa make everyone feel “disgusted?” Of course not.
But what it does show us — is that emotion with color is very real. And we should consider not how the participants in this study felt — but how you feel about particular colors in your home.
Why is Evoking Emotion With Color Important in Your Home?
Most people, they search online for interior house colors. They find a few ideas on Pinterest or Google + they don’t spend much time at all thinking about the effects of the color choices in our homes.
They simply head to the paint or furniture store + select whatever colors they fall head over heels for in the moment. Been there?
It’s alright to admit it — most people do this.
And what happens when you don’t spend time considering how you want to feel in your living room, kitchen, entry, office, bedroom, etc — well, then you end up discontent with the final result because something just feels off.
But, if you know how you want to feel in each of the spaces in your home, guess what? We can use design + color to intentionally inspire those feelings!
Want a motivating home office where you can be productive?
Desire a living room that stimulates conversation where connection is the focal point?
Each of these + so much more are accomplishable by understanding how to choose + use color throughout your home.
And that, my friend, transforms your home + daily life into the can't-put-it-down love story you want it to be! Amen.
How To Explore Color Preferences?
For our clients, we focus on color preferences + exploring the feeling for each space in their home inside our Assessment phase. And so when it comes time to identifying + curating color palettes for a particular room — we’ve got a good understanding of what they like, how they want to feel + ultimately we can then articulate exactly what they need.
But we spend so much of our time indoors — particularly in our homes — that there are some great ways we use to discover which color tones can really set your soul on fire :)
Since the Pacific Northwest is so darn beautiful, go for a nature walk at the Seattle Arboretum or Golden Gardens. Take notice to which colors bring you peace or draw you in for a closer look?
Think about your travels — where do you naturally gravitate towards when it comes to vacation? What fills you up about those places + what are the color palettes that you most commonly see there?
Flip through magazines + take note of the hues that speak to you.
Color doesn't have to be bright, bold + saturated. It can be subtle or nuanced too... and so long as the color selections are evoking the emotions you want from your home (or room) then there are no wrong answers!
How To Confidently Curate Colors for Your Space?
How Do You Want to Feel?
It's great to know which interior color palettes make magic for you. Really, you have to begin with that assessment of how do you want to feel when your in your home + what colors do you gravitate towards that are in alignment with that particular feeling.
Do you want to feel relaxed? Restored? Inspired? A combination?
Do you want a kitchen that feels energized? Lively? Communal?
A living room that exudes calmness + serenity?
Or a bedroom that wows you upon entering but is the perfect place in your home to rest?
Whatever your desires are for the feeling in your home, we want to begin with the end in mind.
Is There A Color Palette Already?
Paint colors aren’t the only way we can introduce or update an interior house color.
So, depending on the scope of your project (whether we’re simply furnishing + styling a few rooms in your home, completing a large scale renovation or designing your entire home top-to-bottom), we'll consider is there already a color palette present — like a neutral backdrop that we can tie into designing your home OR do we need to create an entirely new color palette for you.
Either way, considering what’s existing is an important step in ensuring that the right colors are being curated for your home.
How Can We Start Incorporating Color?
Feeling a little color cautious? Hold my hand, babe!
We don't have to “gung-ho it” with the brightest shades we can find. As I previously mentioned, we don’t even have to add color on the walls.
Knowing how much light is available in your home + what kinds of lights… we can then think about furnishing accents. Whether that’s color in a tasteful rug. Color in a throw blanket or set of pillows. Or color in the home decor accessories that we incorporate into your home?
A little color here and there can add so much personality to your home. Color evokes emotion — sometimes that’s in pops of color, neutral color or even in the absence of color all together.
Sometimes — color is on the walls or ceilings. Sometimes color is incorporated into the floor + sometimes color is in the furniture + furnishings.
Now that's the good stuff. ;)
Whichever way you spin it, color can be for anyone + everyone. If you like it, it’s not right or wrong… it’s simply you. Having confidence in the color curation for your home comes from understanding what you like + how you want to feel in your home — that’s harmony.
It’s a consciousness of how color impacts emotions that you consider as you incorporate and lean into building, designing, furnishing + styling your home. And when done the right way, it has profound, significant, and truly transformative effects on our health + well-being. On our mood + how we behave — together + apart.
Not to worry boo — we’re here. If you haven’t already, check out our 4 Days To A More Beautiful + Functional Home and when you’re ready to begin your transformational journey — let’s chat.