Is color psychology useful when I’m painting my home?

Choosing the right paint color is the first step to giving your home a fresh coat of paint. In doing so, we all want our homes to reflect our personality and what defines us as a person or family; and color is an important part of this equation.

Now, picking the right color can be tricky—I’d say the best way to pick the right colors for your home is to know how different colors make you feel. This is called color psychology.

While increasing your home’s curb appeal is always a great idea, picking paint colors that evoke certain emotions is a definite plus point. 

A home is all about comfort, peace and joy, and learning how colors affect your mood and energy can help you spruce up your home in a way that’s meaningful 🙂 

What’s color psychology?

It’s proven that colors can have psychological and emotional effects on people: Red, for example, signifies power, green makes you feel closer to nature and yellow gives you a warm feeling. 

Some effects of color on our brain could be the result of cultural influences and research suggests that this link between color and emotion could go as far as our ancestors’ time.

Colors and the emotions they trigger

It’s a fact that certain restaurants use specific colors on their logos and color schemes to stimulate hunger. Did you know that colors like red, yellow, and orange, for example, are known to make people feel hungry?

Beige and brown

Warm and earthy colors like beige and brown create a calming effect that makes people want to sit and talk, making these colors ideal for a living room. 

Beige and brown are great exterior colors as well, and can give a home a welcoming appearance.

Blue

Shades of blue have a relaxing effect, making this a great pick for bedrooms or bathrooms. Blue is also a good choice for study rooms and porches. 

Interesting fact: Studies have shown that blue can help reduce blood pressure.

Yellow

Yellow makes people happy, which is why cafes and fast food restaurants love this color! 

A light shade of yellow for your exterior may help put a smile on your face when you walk up to it after a day’s work. It is also ideal for children’s nurseries 🙂

Red

While red is known to induce hunger, it also energizes and excites people. Notice how red cars make you feel bold and energetic? 

Red walls can have a similar effect, making them ideal for exercise rooms or even as accent walls in certain parts of your home. 

Can color psychology help me sell my home?

Using interior and exterior paint colors that make you feel the emotions you want to feel may not always work for others. 

Colors like blue, red, or green for your exterior could boost your curb appeal but when you’re putting your home on the market, I would recommend sticking to more neutral colors.

Colors like beige, off-white, or light brown give your home a fresh and clean feel. These colors don’t fade very easily, so they last a while too.

The color of your front door is just as important—red or blue hues can make people feel welcome. 

These colors work well for your home’s windows and trims as well.

Now, interior paint may be trickier.

Earlier, we looked at how colors make us feel different emotions; when putting a home up for sale though, the safest option is to go with a neutral color like off-white or cream. 

Remember to pay attention to how your interior colors complement each other too. A mish-mash of colors that don’t pair well could cause a sensory overload and make people feel overwhelmed.

Use color psychology to create the feel you want in your home 

Putting any coat of paint on your walls may seem easy, but choosing the right color is an art. 

The right colors make you feel all the right things and if you’re planning on selling your home, they can give you that extra edge and make people feel drawn to your home 🙂

If you’d like help choosing paint colors, reach out to house painters in San Diego today. 

Good luck!