Healthy Home: What Colors Are Good For Creating Positive Energy?
As you know, we’re huge believers in creating a home you never want to leave.
But isn’t it fascinating how something as silly as our home can impact not only who we want to be in the big ol’ crazy world of ours but thanks to predictable human behavior it can also affect the way we think + feel?!
Over here in camp Elegant Simplicity, we subscribe to the idea that our homes are intended to fill our soul, evoke emotion + play a meaningful role in everyday life –– not to serve simply as a convenient drop zone where all of our things accumulate.
In fact, when it comes to making a home that looks great, works well + feel like your very own slice of heaven, I hate to be the one to break it to ya, but creating a home doesn’t mean filling every nook + cranny with stuff that has arbitrary meaning or value to your family.
Let’s face it, no one sets out with the goal of creating a home that’s full of negative energy. So regardless of which relaxed, creative, peaceful feel good emotion you want your home to conjure up — we’re rolling up our sleeves + diving feet first into the world of color + exploring which ones are good for creating positive energy?
COLOR PSYCHOLOGY
The fascinating thing about color is that it’s such a powerful (yet subtle) tool that sometimes without even realizing it directly impacts our mood, our feelings + even our physical behaviors… oftentimes we don’t recognize it.
You see, when we talk about the impacts color has on us, research has shown that cognitive conclusions (or feelings) about color are “often deeply personal and rooted in your own experiences or culture.” In other words, we have preconceived thoughts that immediately appear when we’re looking at a specific color. So, when it comes to Roy G. Biv we can all be a lil judgyyy :)
If you’ve ever painted a wall before, you know how excruciatingly painful deciding the right color can be. What if it’s too light? Too dark? Too cool? Too warm? And the list goes on + on...
How many times do you remember standing in the middle of the paint store thumbing through what feels like a trillion paint swatches while muttering things like, “eh...I don’t like that; mmm...I kind of like that one; or heck idk, they all look the same. I guess this one’s pretty good...”
Boo, I get it. Choosing the right color is tricky. However, as your color confidant, I’m here to tell you that not all memories are created equally.
You see, when it comes to coordinating + selecting paint colors, as much as we’d like to think those overwhelming feelings of frustration were caused by having too many options (or even the bad lighting) –– it’s not!
In fact those crazy feelings, that are often paralyzing, were actually triggered by an emotional memory or rather the emotional response that's associated with a previous encounter you had with similar colors. Crazy, right?
As early as 1890, the philosopher + psychologist William James suggested that emotional events leave “a scar upon the cerebral tissues.”
To this day I can still recall a time when I was 8 years old. Peering out the window in the back seat of my parents car. Admiring all of the beautiful homes as we drove through a brand new neighborhood on our way to see a dear family friend of ours. As we pulled into their driveway, I slowly opened the car door + despite my excitement I couldn’t help but notice that a neighbor (who recently moved into the house across the street) had painted their house a glorious shade of toilet bowl blue!
Yikes...now don’t get me wrong, I love me some turquoise, but living in the PNW this was a pretty bold statement. But needless to say, every time I flush a toilet + see that sparkling blue water in the toilet bowl I am eerily reminded of that moment.
Understanding how colors + emotions are so closely related, I’m curious then, what emotions does color potentially impact? To name a few: color has the ability to make us feel happy, comfortable, safe + peaceful but it also has the ability to create a sad, uncertain or even, as you gathered from my reminiscent story above, an uncomfortable feeling in a space.
On a very basic level, warm color tones can tend to conjure up positive warm, fuzzy emotions like energetic, optimistic + joyful. Think about, if we wanted to create a sunny southern california vibe, what do you immediately envision (besides laying on a private beach with a good book + a tall glass of fruit infused water in hand)? You’re probably landing on colors with a warm tone like: taupe, yellow, pink, orange or even some shade of red.
But, if our goal was to create a moody or masculine atmosphere for a powder room… now what colors come to mind? Probably not those same color tones from above. In fact, you’re probably going to immediately lean towards muted, saturated or dark colors.
While cool tones tend to create a feeling of serenity, peacefulness + calm, selecting color options can be tricky. Here’s what I mean. Not all warm tones are bright, fully saturated, energetic colors. For instance, envision a soft pastel pink or yellow — still a happy evoking warm tone. Likewise, not all cool tones are dark, moody, sad tones. Instead, envision a soft grey or pale blue + I bet you’re overcome with a serene feeling of tranquility.
POSITIVE ENERGY COLORS
In discussing colors that evoke positive energy or emotions it’s easy to get frazzled simply because there are so many possibilities. But like anything else in life, if we want to accomplish something we need to simplify or reduce things down to the most basic core elements.
And just in case you were wondering, that’s exactly what we’ve done with colors below. Keep in mind that while not all of these colors would we use on the walls of your home, there are, however, applications for each of these colors somewhere in your home :)
We’re lovers of a cool color palette...
Blue
A classic interior design staple for us is blue because it exudes an energy that feels approachable, comforting + above all things right now, clean. Light blue evokes a serene feeling, a calm or a relaxed vibe to a space. While dark blue creates an elegance to the space that feels confident, sophisticated, secure + trustworthy.
When you think about creating a home that emits positive feelings who wouldn’t want a serene, calm, confident + secure place to spend time together *wink* ?
Green
Another staple color in our signature look at Elegant Simplicity is green. In general, the energy green gives off is optimism + refreshed. Having variations of green both light + dark in your home helps to create a balanced design that feels rejuvenating.
Due to its prevalence in nature, green is an excellent way to connect us with the environment which relieves us of stress, relaxes our minds + reminds us of the power to grow, evolve, and change.
We’re lovers of a neutral color palette...
Grey
We’re lovers of grey for its flexible + oppositional energy. On one hand, grey can feel formal, dependable + luxurious while on another it can feel laid-back or mature but not rigid. With so many varying shades of grey, both cool + warm tones, grey is subtle enough to work as a base color or an accent in your home. Truth be told, we probably love it most for its Elegant Simplicity *wink*
Black
There’s a reason Uber has a “black car” option — because black is luxurious. It evokes power + bold sophistication yet remains neutral. It’s important to keep in mind that black absorbs everything, including light, which makes its ability to hide things great but also gives the impression that the space is smaller.
Black is a great accent or complementary color in a space + if you have enough natural light that you can sacrifice some of it being absorbed, it can also make for an excellent statement on the walls.
White
Our favorite. If you’ve been a fan of Elegant Simplicity since the beginning or you’ve worked with us in the past, you know that since our humble beginnings (back in 2009) we have a historic love of white for it’s clean, minimalist + simplistic feeling.
Highlighting whatever is around it, white is the essence of neutrality which makes it the perfect backdrop color when creating a focal point in any space.
Brown / Taupe
So it’s fairly easy to see how Brown, or Taupe, is in the warmer color palette (which we’ll be getting into in the next section) but for how we look at color — brown + taupe are neutrals that help us create a warm + dependable feeling to a home. They exude a feeling of being down to earth.
And while over the last decade we’ve seen people gravitate less towards warmer color palettes there is still a place for some shades or tones of these warm colors in our homes.
Orange
Orange evokes enthusiasm but friendliness. Most commonly used in homes, especially in the Pacific Northwest, as an earth tone. Like green, a darker or burnt orange (like an umber) creates a balanced aesthetic that promotes movement + interaction but grounds itself in nature so it’s not overpowering.
Yellow
If there’s a color that without question most would agree makes you feel happy, it’s yellow. Introducing a bit of yellow into your home adds energy to the room in the same way the sunshine can liven up your day.
It’s important to keep in mind that yellow tends to reflect a lot of light which makes it a focal point so being purposeful with where + how you use it is paramount. We tend to love a mustard yellow which takes on a more saturated + sophisticated look while also remaining lively.
Red
Red is universally recognized as the color of passion. It stimulates a sense of curiosity + a feeling of love but it does have oppositional emotions. You could say Red is a bit Jekyll + Hyde as it also exudes emotions of anger, frustration + concern. While we typically don’t utilize a ton of reds in our signature style at Elegant Simplicity, use of red in moderation like burgundy isn’t unimaginable :)
HOW TO USE POSITIVE ENERGY COLORS IN YOUR HOME
When we discuss color, most of us immediately jump to + begin thinking about paint-color. And while the color of your walls, your ceilings or the trim in your home is certainly an approach to introducing color — it’s only one approach.
In fact, when it comes to color at Elegant Simplicity we take a timeless approach to design spaces with a neutral backdrop + bring color in with intentionality and purpose. So while that can certainly mean we paint an entire room a dark saturated color the only way to bring color into your home isn’t by painting the walls.
We love to introduce positive energy colors in decor like throw blankets + throw pillows, decorative accessories, through artwork and even through window drapery.
There’s literally an infinite amount of ways to introduce color into your home from your walls + your ceilings, to your decorative accents, doors + trim throughout. But it’s also important before you decide to understand first, what colors are good for positive energy.
As always, if you need a nudge in the right direction or some support in bringing your dream home to life, both John + I would be over-the-moon delighted to help! For real, boo! Guiding you + helping you fall head over heels for your home is our passion + our purpose.
Go on, book a one-on-one pow-wow with us here + get ready for some magic, sister!