considering color: where psychology and interior design collide
Take a moment to think about your favorite color – perhaps a bold shade of gold? Now, consider how you feel when you see it: invigorated? Cheery? You may not know that the crossover between the colors we see and how they speak to us is a field of study called color psychology.
The first consideration of the “science of colors” dates back to 1810, when philosopher Johann Wolfgange von Goethe recorded his findings in a book called The Theory of Colors. Today, this tool remains is as important as ever when considering how to decorate your living spaces and is utilized here at Emily June Designs every day! Read on to work through the color wheel with us, learning about the associations humans connect with certain colors, how to best create balanced color palettes, and finally, some resources for really diving deep into color psychology!
To begin, let’s consider the color wheel, a visual representation of the hues we can see as humans and how they interact with each other. The color wheel can be easily divided in half, between “warm” and “cool” colors. Warm colors are different shades of red, orange, and yellow. Using these colors in a room can evoke a sense of coziness, energy, and joy:
Red catches the eye and is associated with power, infusing a space with vibrance and earthy warmness.
Orange carries a sense of creativity and innovation into a space.
Yellow playfully summons thoughts of sunshine and fresh citrus.
Shop the links below for unique ways to bring these energizing colors into your current space:
Cool colors are shades of green, blue, and purple. Using these colors in a space can create relaxing areas that evoke feelings of calm, connection to nature, and luxury:
Green imbues nature and new beginnings, bringing viewers a sense of groundedness and quiet energy.
Blue calms the mind and is reminiscent of meditative oceans and streams.
Purple enchants, signifying royalty in richer, jewel-tone hues and a dreaminess in lighter hues.
Shop the links below for some fun ideas on how to bring calming colors into your current space:
Now that we’ve covered the basics of color psychology, we can think about how to choose color pairings for your project. More commonly referred to as a color scheme, this grouping of colors provides a resource from which you can pull inspiration while keeping continuity within a project.
Color schemes can consist of any combination of colors along the wheel. With all of the hundreds of color variations available to you, building a cohesive color scheme can be overwhelming. Focusing on monochrome, complementary, analogous groupings are tried-and-true methods of building color schemes that work well with each other without clashing.
Monochrome color schemes rely on different shades of a single hue, or color. These color schemes are enjoying a moment of popularity right now, offering an almost minimalist look to a space with the united pops of color.
Complementary color schemes pair a primary color with its opposite on the color wheel (think the famous Christmas combination of red and green). The contrast between these two colors brings an attention-grabbing, visual punchiness to a space.
Analogous color schemes combine a primary color with its direct neighbors on the color wheel. A design which combines blue, blue-violet, and blue-green offers more contrast than a monochromatic color scheme, but is quieter than a complementary color scheme due to the presence of a common color.
Aside from the color wheel, another great resource for exploring color schemes is a tool called Coolors! Accessible online or as an app, Coolors is an interactive color scheme generator that allows you to build your own color schemes around a single or multiple colors, browse pre-generated creations, and save favorite finds.
Another trick to easily building a color scheme is sourcing colors from a favorite photograph. These colors will have the same temperature and saturation since they were captured at the same time, ensuring color compatibility! Another perk to using photograph-inspired color schemes is that you can easily bring the essence of a particular location at a specific time, such as the Hill Country of Texas at sunset, to a space.
While fabrics, accessories, textures, artwork and more contribute to a space’s personality and emotive power, color leads the way when it comes to instantly communicating with a viewer!
Want to know more? Shop the links below to read more about the psychology of color and how to create spaces in your own home and office that feel most comforting to you: