Creating Mood With Colours

Nurturing Neutrals

These colours create a sense of peace and well-being. They foster quiet conversation with family and friends and can dispel loneliness. It follows that colours which impart a sense of warmth and serenity come directly from the earth. The neutral colours of black, white, silver, gray, and brown make good backgrounds, serve to unify diverse colour palettes, and also often stand alone as the only or primary focus of a design. Neutral colours can be cool or warm but are more subtle than blues and reds.

Intellectual Colours

These are the sharp, witty and unique colours which convey a message that the owner has travelled, is well read and has something to say. These colours will command respect without being overbearing. This palette also starts with a earthy, warm base. Grey is a colour which promotes creativity and will often be found in foundation of an intellectual palette.

These grays will be warm and gentle. Some tones of blue suggest communication and trust, so it will naturally be found in the intellectual palette. Navy blues will often find their way into this palette, but the effect is warm and never cold and fragile. Red also appears in this intellectual palette, but the shades will be earthy and complex such as with burgundy and cranberry.

Healing Colours

All colours are made up of electromagnetic energy vibrating at different frequencies that correspond to sound, light and colour. We are drawn to the colours needed to create balance in our lives, the goal in all healing. Colours attract us to certain clothing and accessories, colours in our homes, and even the foods we eat. This palette includes colours which are refreshing and rejuvenating. Like nurturing colours, ‘healing colours’ also begin by getting in touch with nature.

The first group of colours considered in this palette is GREEN. Because they have the power to help us adjust to new environments, skillful designers use lots of plants and other forms of green. Healing greens may be warm or cool, but not muddy or mysterious like those in the intellectual palette. Healing palettes also take inspirations from warm earth tones. Several ancient cultures like the Egyptians and Chinese practiced chromotherapy or using colours to heal. Chromotherapy or light therapy is still used today as a holistic or alternative treatment.

Playful Colours

These colours are exciting and used for a fun environment. These playful, whimsical palettes create their own kind of music, like the sounds of children playing. There are highs and lows, lights and darks and always movement and activity. For a space that’s full of life, full of fun, playful colours can help you create a good-natured, lighthearted mood. Choose vibrant, primary colours or use contrasting tones or polar opposites on the walls to create a funky, interesting vibe.

Romantic Colours

Many species including human beings attempt to attract the opposite sex with colours. RED is the colour of sex and lust and is often called the most romantic of colours. It is no accident that red is the chosen symbolic colour for Valentine’s Day. Pink is the colour of innocent love and affection. It is the gentlest colour amongst the top 10 romantic colours. Pink is the perfect colour for new relationships. This is the reason why pink roses are as popular as red roses on Valentine’s Day. PURPLE is another colour which is definitively romantic because of its passionate, unpredictable and quixotic characteristics.

Personal Style

There are no trends in colour as important as personal style. Today, most designers draw from many historical periods as well as contemporary influences and mix them together to create unique personal spaces. The most effective colour palettes reflect and enhance the interests, collections and activities of the people who live there as well as architectural features.

The effects of colour on mood will vary from individual to individual. Colour schemes have emotional messages too. An awareness of the emotions generated by different colours is helpful in planning personal palettes that will be pleasant to live with, but it must be understood that this information is not absolute. Subtle changes in tone can increase or decrease the emotions evoked by a particular colour, allowing it to be included in many diverse palettes.