Stuck On a Color? Start By Asking Yourself These Two Vital Questions

Color is a vibrant and exciting part of life. Imagine how dull the world around you would feel in just black and white. A few grays here or there would be the height of your experience with anything remotely relative to the far-away ideology of color.

📸: @kbing

We don't just take it for granted; we vastly underestimate the effect colors around us have on our mental health. Recent research shows that dark blue is favorably the world's most relaxing color, whereas red can be associated with anger on a human face, causing subconscious stress responses.

With this in mind, when planning on designing the space we live in every day (especially if you work from home), we must be very specific as to what colors we genuinely want to resonate with within our space. 

📸: @officine_gullo

A majority of the time, we find our clients don't even know where to begin with deciding on color in their overhauls, and we get it; it's overwhelming. With such a vast array of colors that feel like they've only popped up in recent years, like 'Amaranth' and 'Gamboge,' choosing which color to use has become more of a chore than ever. 

Today let's go back to basics. And to make it simple, we'll stick to the simple 'blues' and 'greens' of the world. Here are two simple but effective questions we recommend you start by asking yourself when deciding which colors you'd like to immerse yourself in daily. 

1. What Is the Space Going to Be Used For?

📸: @sabrinaalaneseinteriors

We could assume that almost everyone on this planet would like their home to be a peaceful haven of tranquility. Chances are, that is a very high majority. 

However, some would like their home to be a multi-usable environment in many different and unique ways. One may long for a sweet pad to entertain guests or throw parties instead of a cozy and warm home. Maybe a bachelor pad has plans to overhaul itself to be a more romantic spot amidst one's late 30s dating journey?

📸: @r.a.u.f.a.s.e.r.b.e.r.l.i.n

What is home to you? Whatever that answer is, ensure it's an environment where you feel you will thrive. If you're not redoing your entire home, and maybe it's just a room you want to spruce up, what will the space be used for? This is a crucial question you must ask yourself at the beginning of any overhaul process. 

Understanding the practicalities of what it truly is you want to use your space for will allow space for you to open up entirely to understand what feelings you'd like to cultivate within that space. 

📸: @pelsbarn.official

2. How Do You Want to Feel in the Space?

Once deciding what the space's usability is, you can move forward with determining how you want that space to make you feel and design around that. There are a few things to consider in the color-picking process when cultivating an environment in which you want to feel a certain way. 

Let's say you're redesigning your home office and you really loved the color red. There's a reason we say 'I saw red' during an episode of rage. Studies have shown that those placed in a red room experienced higher levels of stress than in similar rooms painted green, blue, or white. 

📸: @brittanyshmyr

On the other hand, using soothing earthy tones such as green or blue can evoke a feeling of calm. Design to inject more calm into the mind on top of your color scheme by adding warm white lighting to increase productivity in a non-abrasive manner, and voila! You've got a space to handle any work-related issue that comes your way with ease and clarity.

Color is a powerful design tool that can be utilized to induce more cheerful and stress-free vibes into your home. The right colors can make a small room feel more spacious and open, or even flipped to make a larger space feel more cozy and intimate. 

📸: @hannankotona

Therefore, carefully making color choices based on the practicalities of the space and the activities happening within it are more crucial than we may think. We must make choices in our color scheme that are sound and usable long-term. 

So, make sure you understand through and through in a small brainstorming session what feeling you'd like to create, as re-painting is a lot of time, money, and energy. Take it back to the basics, ask yourself these two fundamental questions, and design from there. 

Follow DecorMatters for more tips on how to overhaul your old, tired living space,