Colour Your World

Rethink colour in your home décor; get the mood right for your home

 Well, how was your Halloween? Were you inspired to take a fresh look at black’s possibilities for your home? (If you’re puzzled, you obviously didn’t read my last posting!), No? Then perhaps we need to brighten up the outlook a little and take a closer look at colours and how particular shades can work to add that extra dimension to your interior décor.

I think it’s fairly safe to generalise here and say that we all have our favourite colour and that this can influence things quite strongly when it comes to our lifestyle choices; clothes, cars, room décor and more. And did you know that even your Zodiac sign has its own colour? Taurus green, Scorpio red etc.

But have you ever stopped to consider just what influence colours can have on your life? There’s a whole marketing industry out there for example dedicated to using colour to influence our buying decisions – trustworthy blues, exciting reds, environmental greens all being used to build our image of a particular brand. 

Similarly, this psychology of colour can be used professionally to stimulate emotional response in a wide range of health treatments; warming yellows, calming blues, restful greens.

Can you see where this is going?

When it comes to your home décor choices, getting the colour right can make a world of difference, not simply to how your home looks, but to how it feels; and it really is more than just decorating your rooms with your favourite colour!

Colour touches everything in your home from your wall coverings, curtains and blinds to your upholstery and the cushions you scatter around for that finishing touch to your décor, and it’s how you think about the colours you use that can make a big difference to your life.

With thoughtful use of colour within your home, you can create interior designs which help to influence mood and experience, from sunny warmth to high energy, calming to restful. Applied deliberately to individual rooms and their décor, you can see how different colours can help tailor your home to suit your lifestyle.

To get the thinking process under way, I’ve pulled together a summary of mood / use descriptions for a few of the popular colours and their meanings; it’s worth a read through and there’s plenty more online if you want to look closer at the meaning of colour. 

Red                 High energy and passion; lively and sociable; stimulating. Perhaps one for the lounge or dining room where you like to show off and entertain?

Blue                 Soothing, thought stimulating, calming. Can be cool. Could be the answer to the study, bedroom or bathroom? Curtains, window blinds perhaps?

Yellow             Sunny, warming, uplifting and happy. How about the dining room or kitchen? ( looks good in this bedroom too doesn´t it )

Green              Revitalising, peaceful, calming. A good one for the bathroom?

Orange            A less arousing, easier on the eye version of red. Could be one for the kitchen or lounge, even a bedroom?

Pink                 Sedating, soft, romantic. It’s the traditional ‘feminine’ colour, ideal for bedroom décor; bedding, curtains, scatter cushions

Purple              A bit regal, sombre, cool, even spiritual. Seen as a romantic one for the bedroom.

Brown              The earthy one, not especially stimulating but grounding and stable. Can be useful towards calm serenity for bedroom or lounge.

Grey                Calm, quiet, lacking energy, its neutrality helps enhance the impact of the other colours in any room.

Black               Sophisticated, elegant, classy. Used more to highlight; ideal for curtains, cushions, sheers

White               Pure, innocent, cleanliness. Great for bathroom or for providing contrast

And there we have it: The Ceresi Cortinas rough guide to using colour in your interior décor! It’s not definitive and is quite simply presented to stimulate a bit of fresh thinking about how you really can do so much more to enhance your home by not simply opting for what you’ve always done before. Take a look at the very different effect and feel that colour and design give to a bedroom in the photos I´ve included.

So forget about picking your curtains, blinds or cushions because they are your favourite colour and look instead at how you can create a home to suit your mood with a more creative use of colour. Be daring, be different and be sure to bob in and see how we can help you along the way!