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• Color says a lot about who you are.
• Color can shape your mood.
• Color can even raise your temperature or slow your metabolism.
Science has proven that color can affect the metabolism of the body. Architects and designers consider this as they construct office buildings, schools and hospitals.
History records the symbolism of color: white signifies purity; purple is the color of royalty and riches, green symbolizes growth and hope, blue signifies piety and sincerity.
Psychologists demonstrate that color evokes a strong emotional response in most people, serving to cheer, to sedate, and even to influence mental judgments.
Color affects you and your world....
RED is the most dominant of all colors. It will act to raise
blood pressure and pulse rate and even your temperature. It provides an
excellent environment for creation.
If you like the color red, you are impulsive, possibly athletic,
sexy and quick to speak your mind, whether right or wrong. You tend to
be social and you hate to be alone.
YELLOW is a high visibility color said to have
a favorable effect on human metabolism. It tends to appear brighter than
white. When children are asked to draw a happy picture, they most often
draw it in yellow.
If you like the color yellow, this indicates that you have a yearning
for the new and modern, and that you look forward to the future. You are
inclined to be intellectual, idealistic and highly imaginative. You have
a cheerful spirit and expectation of greater happiness.
WHITE is the perfectly balanced color, clear
and natural in its influence. White instantly suggests goodness and purity.
We associate many good things with white.
If you choose white as a favorite color, you expect to experience
happiness. This person seeks perfection and desires constant enlightenment
in all philosophies. It is essential for this person to strive for all
that is best and expect others to do the same.
VIOLET is the color of luxury....it indicates
depth of feeling, synonymous with sensuality. Violet covered robes are
worn by religious officials when conducting sacred ceremonies. Violet creates
an unusual atmosphere, and an unexpected treatment because of its lavish
nature.
If you like violet, you may believe that you are set apart and unique
from others. You are highly sensitive and observant, but may be quite temperamental.
It is likely that you are highly artistically talented and would prefer
a world of fantasy to the world of reality. You freely confide in close
friends, but often it is difficult for them to understand you.
GREEN represents a withdrawal from stimulus.
It provides an ideal environment for sedentary tasks, concentration and
meditation. Greens and blue-greens are pacific and tend to reduce nervous
and muscular tension.
If green is your favorite color, you value stability, balance and
persistence. When you start something, you finish it. You are a good citizen,
a respectable neighbor and a concerned parent. You are inclined to be frank,
moral and sensitive to social etiquette. You are an affectionate and loyal
friend, lover and spouse.
BLUE has qualities just opposite red. It can lower blood pressure
and pulse rates. It is restful and sedate, a preferred color in living
rooms and bedrooms. In hospital nurseries, the color helps babies relax
and cry less.
If you like blue, you have a basic need for a calm, harmonious, tension-free existence. You are capable, conservative and sensitive to others. You are inclined to be somewhat cautious in the way you dress, act and speak. You are generally a conscientious worker in whatever it is you do. You make a loyal and trustworthy friend.
Source: Color Psychology and Color Therapy, F. Biren
Your Personal Color Palette
"Once you take firm steps toward developing your own color palette, you won't be concerned with what colors are "in" and what colors are "out."
When you establish strong memory associations with your happy colors and color combinations, be true to yourself. The colors you are attached to are necessary for your sense of wholeness, equilibrium, and happiness."
Alexandra Stoddard, Book of Color
How to Select the Perfect Color
"But that's not the color I picked!" This lament is voiced all too often by homeowners about the paint colors which were selected from a color card chip in the paint store. After the paint dries on the wall, they are sometimes faced with disappointment.
A simple remedy to correct this common problem: switch on the lights and look at the color under the actual lighting in which it will appear.
It is strongly advised to check and select color under the right light to avoid disappointment. If color choice is critical, color selection should be made under the actual lighting conditions of the space to be painted."
Not all artificial light is the same, and various types of lighting have differing effects on paint color. Incandescent lighting, most often found in residential settings, provides a totally different lighting environment to flourescent lighting, normally found in commercial space. Special effect lighting, such as spot or track lighting very often distorts color. Even daylight can change the paint color, depending on the time of day.
Here are some tips on selecting the right color under various lighting conditions:
White and off-whites are the safest colors to use; they distort less under various types of light. Pale shades also do not undergo much change under different types of light and tend to remain true. However, both whites and pales have a tendency to reflect other colors. For example, a woman who had her entire living room painted in Linen White, insisted the walls were pink. The pink tone, in fact, was a reflection of the crimson wall-to-wall carpeting throughout the room. Color should not be checked in an empty room. Since objects absorb and reflect color in different ways, color on the walls and ceiling very often becomes subdued and undergoes change by a room's furnishings. If you do view a just-painted empty room, try to determine exactly how much of the wall surface will be visible after furnishings are reassembled in the space.
When using dramatic, daring colors, experiment first. Paint a sheet of poster board large enough to provide a true color reading and view it on the surface, under the lighting conditions for that space. Color behaves entirely differently on a ceiling surface than on a wall surface. In most homes, the surface is being lit from below by floor lamps. Incandescent light thrown up to a ceiling makes the color on the ceiling appear much richer since the surface is reflecting light. If no light is hitting the ceiling, the colors will appear much darker and deeper. For example, a red ceiling when lit with incandescent lighting will turn to orange. The gray-green family of color, including taupe, khaki, putty, sage and the historical colors are chameleon-like and will dramatically change under different lighting conditions, including daylight.
The look of a room can be intentionally altered with lights. Consider using atmospheric or mood lighting. A romantic look in the bedroom or dining room can be achieved by using pink bulbs. However, special lighting is usually not welcome in the bathroom/powder room when a true light is required for make-up and shaving. Also, avoid blue and green lighting in all rooms since they distort all colors.
While gloss levels can add richness and depth to color, the lighting under which they appear must be taken into consideration. Gloss levels of paint will impact on how color appears in certain light. The higher the gloss level, the higher the light reflectance, which means -- in simple terms -- more light will bounce off a wall painted with a high gloss finish than a flat finish.
Wash lighting will accentuate certain colors, making them richer. Placing recessed lighting fixtures in positions which wash over a wall will create light and shadow which add drama and depth to the surface while a spotlight, focusing on a fixed point on the surface, will create a hot spot and distort color.
Virtual Painting. Using the millennium color system, see what your color combinations look like on actual home exteriors.
For further information and assistance on selecting the right paint color under various lighting conditions, contact us.
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