The magic of colour isn’t just that it can lift a space… it can actually lift your mood, change your perceptions of time and space and affect how people interact. 

What colour can do for you.

This overview gives you a quick guide to how colour functions but don’t be afraid to use multiple colours because that can give you additional advantages.

Cool v's warm colours.

Cool colours have an undertone of blue whereas warm colours have an undertone of yellow. So within one colour range such as grey; you can choose from warm shades and cool shades. Picking the right shade can alter our perceptions of a room significantly.

Cool colours make a space appear larger and objects in it appear smaller, whereas warm colours do the opposite. Cool colours also make time seem to go more slowly and we feel cooler in temperature, whereas warm colours make time seem to fly by more quickly and we feel warmer.

Even our thoughts can be altered by colour. Cool colours are conducive to mental activities, project and research and can dampen the level of conversation. Warm colours encourage physical action.

Choosing your colour scheme

Choosing a colour scheme is a whole lot of fun. Even more, when you understand the impact different colours have on our perceptions. We’ve listed the most common shades below for a little positive inspiration - with thanks to our partner, Dulux.

Green

• Emotional – growth, birth, wealth, refreshment, compassion
• Physical – rejuvenation, balance, expansiveness
• Behavioural – moderation, conventional, normality, tradition, quietly social

Yellow

• Emotional – optimism, cheerfulness, wisdom, warmth
• Physical – aids digestion, sharpens memory, stimulates appetite and circulation
• Behavioural – caution, introspection, communication, innovation

Orange

• Emotional - active, cheer, boldness, vigour, exuberance
• Physical - decreases irritability, improves social behaviour, decreases hostility
• Behavioural - gregarious, jovial, active, pleasure seeking, social, extroverted

Red

• Emotional - love, passion, vitality, courage
• Physical - increases blood pressure, aids digestion, increases respiratory rate, increases strength
• Behavioural - impulsive, sensuous, physical, extreme, athletic

Brown

• Emotional - earthiness, casual, natural, embraced, tranquil, safe
• Physical - encompassed, calm
• Behavioural - reliable, shrewd, stable, sturdy

Blue

• Emotional - serenity, loyalty, peace, sincerity, justice
• Physical - lowers blood pressure, cooling and relaxing, slows respiratory rate
• Behavioural - conceptual, responsible, pragmatic, loyal, conservative, astute, authoritative

White

• Emotional - joy, innocence, hope, cleanliness
• Physical - purity, enlightenment
• Behavioural – quietens conversation

When you need a plan to put a perfect room in place; the place to start is Guthrie Bowron. Our experts are ready to help you choose from thousands of paint, wallpaper, flooring and fabric samples to create the space of your dreams. Guthrie Bowron Wanaka, 28 Reece Crescent, tel: 03 443 8176