COLOUR AFFECTS all aspect of your lives, notes interior decorator Sharon Lowe.
"Its emotional impact on individuals comes out in the decor they choose for their homes, the food they eat and the clothes they wear."
Lowe who has researched and compiled data states that colour plays a huge role in the psychology of humans.
"There are passive colours such as blue green and purple which will pacify, staying quietly in the background to calm and restore the depleted energies. These are ideal for bedrooms for private retreats," she notes.
Blue gives a tranquil mood and peaceful feeling. It relaxes and helps to calm and soothe. Blue is associated with cooling, cleansing, relaxing, calm, hopefulness and protection. The colour is also assuring, trusting and accepting of feeling. Blue inspires mental control, clarity of thought and creativity. From a decorative perspective, blue is a spacious colour that is suited for deep thought and relief from a hectic stressful life.
GREEN
Green is the colour of freshness, peace, freedom, relaxation, security and laziness. It represents optimism. Because it is the colour of life and vegetation, it helps us to connect and empathise with others. Green has a balancing quality that regulates our circulation so that it is physically and emotionally good for the heart.
Lowe notes: "I would select the colour green for its calming effect in any patient care facility. Patients might be worried and anxious. Green relaxes those who might be waiting for a long while and growing impatient. It encourages harmony and encourages interactions. One should seek green when under stress."
PURPLE
Purple balances the mind and combats fear. It also gives off mixed messages. It's mostly associated with those who are sexy, powerful, sophisticated and dramatic. Purple is spiritual, creative, intuitive, inspirational in beauty and art, protective and wrapped up in a fantasy.
Other colours which can rest the eyes include pink which gently stimulates the body's circulation. Pink elicits simple emotions such as unselfish love, kindness and consideration. It is an emotionally soothing and calming, warming, cheerful and nurturing colour that lessens the feeling of irritation and aggression, surrounding us with a sense of love. One study has showed that pink has a subduing effect on violent prison inmates, Lowe adds.
YELLOW
Yellow is the warmest and most cheerful, happiest, brightest and most uplifting of all colours. It stimulates the brain making people alert, clear headed and decisive.
Because it aids the brain in these activities, it would be a good idea to decorate an office in yellow, so that the worker can do his or her best thinking. It also aids in the power of discrimination, memory, clear thinking, decision making, good judgement and organisation, the assimilation of new ideas and the ability to see other perspectives.
Information provided by
interior decorator Sharon Lowe. Email sharonintdec @yahoo.com
