Decorating Tips: The Meaning of Colors

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.

About the Author

© 2005, Kathy Burns-Millyard. This article may be freely
published on any website, as long as the author, copyright,
website address and link, and this notice are left intact.