My House and Home: Tips and Resources for Homemakers

Staring at the bare, expansive walls of a new house or apartment can seem overwhelming. How will you ever make the house feel homey without spending loads of money on art and accessories to fill the wall space? In a word…paint. One quick, inexpensive and dramatic change you can make to a room is to add color to the wall. Color sets the mood of the entire space so it’s important to choose wisely. Here are a few basics I’ve learned about paint colors to help make your decision easier.

Warm colors (like red, orange and yellow)-

The warm colors are often associated with passion and energy. They’re excellent paint choices for walls in rooms in which you want to encourage conversation or excitement, such as in a living room or family den. Orange and red are also wise choices for a kitchen or dining room because both colors are believed to stimulate hunger and aid in food digestion. Take a look at how many restaurants use shades of these colors in their eating areas. Yellow is also a warm color that creates a cheery atmosphere but be careful to balance it with calming colors to avoid overstimulation. It’s not advisable to use these colors on bedroom walls because they tend to create an energetic mood and may hinder sleep.

Calming Colors (like green, blue and purple) -

The calming colors evoke feelings of peacefulness and tranquility. Blue is known to lower blood pressure, respiration and heart rate, therefore, it’s an ideal color choice for bedrooms and bathrooms. Darker shades of blue tend to have the opposite effect so stay with softer hues as the main wall color. Green is another calming color that’s perfect for almost any room in the home. Green brings a cozy, stress-relieving effect to the room and helps occupants relax. Light shades of purple, such as lilac or lavender, also offer the same calming qualities and are a nice addition in a bathroom or bedroom.

Neutral colors (like black, white, brown and gray) -

Neutral colors are best friends to most decorators because of their flexibility. While the wall color itself may not make as big of an impact as other color options, it is easy to adapt to any decorating theme. These color choices are also excellent to use as accent colors in a room.

As with everything else in life, the key to creating the proper mood in a room is balance. Too much of any one color can be overpowering. Remember to balance and coordinate the colors throughout your home but don’t overdo it with any one shade. A little bit of color can go a long way to changing the mood in your home.

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