11 psychological room colours your home can benefit from

Johannes van Graan Johannes van Graan
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Colour is a universal language, and even though you may not know it, you speak it. The colour which you splash on your walls (or don on your couch) goes much further than mere aesthetics; it is a powerful tool that can affect emotions and even behaviour. 

If you want to use colour to create an emotionally healthy home, first determine the primary function of each room. Then pick the main colour for that room. And although there are no hardcore facts behind the research, colour psychology does suggest that certain hues work better than others at encouraging certain activities.

So, with that in mind, let’s see some choice tones for the typical household rooms.

1. Your kitchen

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Since the kitchen is the heart of the home, and everyone usually flocks toward it, you want that space to put people in a good mood. So, opt for a bright, cheerful colour like yellow, which natural light will bounce off. 

But rather opt for a focal wall to be decked out in yellow instead of all the walls. And be sure to bring in a complementing colour for the décor and furnishings – too much yellow is not a great thing.

2. Your living room and reception

Since the reception is where you welcome guests, and the living room is where you engage in conversation, you want to opt for colours that encourage people to linger and talk. 

Warm tones like reds, yellows, and oranges are ideal, as well as earth tones like brown and beige. These colours can all stimulate conversation, because as you feel the warmth of the tones on the walls, you connect more easily with the people around you.

3. Your dining room

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You want your dining room to be an intimate atmosphere where people can relax. And cranberry can be the perfect colour to achieve this. 

It is a rich colour, traditional, yet a contemporary take on ordinary red. Plus it can stimulate the taste buds, which is, of course, ideal for when you’re hosting that fabulous dinner party.

4. Your bedroom

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Apart from sleeping and relaxing, the bedroom is where you reconnect with your partner. And so, we recommend cool colours like blues, greens, and lavenders for these purposes, as they all have calming effects. 

Note that the darker the hue, the more pronounced the effect is believed to be. As red tends to increase blood pressure and heart rate, blue does just the opposite – which is why we regard it as a calming colour.

5. Your bathroom

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As it is the space that we associate with cleanliness and purity, whites and warm colours are popular choices. But since the bathroom is also a space for relaxation and rejuvenation, most people opt for blues, greens, and turquoises, as these water tones give a sense of being fresh, clean and calm. 

homify hint: Don’t opt for painting your bathroom in a colour you won’t wear. You want to look (and feel) good when looking in the bathroom mirror, and seeing a colour you don’t like reflected back at you won’t achieve that.

6. Your home gym

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Want that adrenaline pumping? Reds and oranges can achieve this, but they will also make you feel hot. That is why blues and greens may be better choices.

But opt for “happy” combinations, like blue-greens or yellow-greens, to break up those hues ever so slightly.

7. Your study

The key factor here is concentration: the faster you complete your work (or study), the more time you can spend with family and friends. 

Go for green, then. It is the colour of concentration, and is generally one of the best colours to be surrounded by for long periods of time. 

Be sure to see: The Essential Guide to Home Office Harmony.

8. Your laundry room

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Since the laundry room is generally a small(ish) space, you can afford to opt for a pop of colour. Our choice? Fresh grass green. It is a striking colour that comes off as clean and contemporary, yet not overly so. Plus it is bound to make that stainless steel of your washing machine and/or tumble dryer even more striking.

9. Your garage

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Not every colour is going to work well in a garage, seeing as it tends to get dirty. Therefore, opt for a tone that won’t show off the tiniest spot of dust – that completely rules out whites and yellows, then. 

Rather go with an earthy or metal tone, such as a light grey or brown. These colours are sophisticated, modern, and tend to hide dirt quite well.

10. Your wine cellar

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Most people opt for earthy neutrals like rich browns, decadent beige, and hot reds when picking out wall colours for their wine cellars – and there’s a reason for it. 

Deep or dark walls allow the racking and wine casework to blend into the wall, providing the design of the cellar with a more uniform and smooth flow. 

A lighter ceiling is acceptable, but tint it with the wall colour to soften the look.

11. Your ceiling

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In most cases, the ceiling gets treated to a coat of white paint – which is strange, considering that it represents one-sixth of the space in a room. 

The general rule is that if the ceiling is lighter than the walls, the room will feel higher. Darker ceilings will make the room feel lower. But that doesn’t necessarily mean cramped in: visually lowered ceilings can also evoke a cosy or intimate atmosphere, which can be perfect for a bedroom, for example.

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