How colours within your living space affect your mood and wellbeing

Yellow perks up your emotions, giving a sense of joy, cheerfulness and optimism. Photos: Canva

We are blessed with five senses: sight, smell, taste, touch and hearing. Recently, I tossed around the question on which is our most dominant sense. Research has shown that our eyes are our most important organ of sense.

Up to 80% of our perceptions and impressions of the built environment around us are derived through our sight. Our sense of vision shapes how we see our world, from the physical space of our home to the buildings we walk through.

With that appreciation of the power of sight comes the impact of colour on our vision. Ever wondered about seeing the world in greyscale mode?

After writing about prioritising natural lighting, natural ventilation and allowing sunlight and shadow play into your home, I feel the need to revisit the power of colour in our lives and homes.

Colour is one of the most unassuming tools for every architect, interior designer and also house-proud owners like you.

A play of blue and yellow in an office space. Photo: BETA

Unassuming because it is underrated yet relatively inexpensive to implement. When we mention the concept of using colour, it is not just using loud, bold colours on certain corners of your home as a focal point.

I recommend the deliberate strategy of using colour as one of your vital concepts in home decor. It is the most impactful and defining factor, compared to furniture selection, carpentry design and lighting play.

An innocent all-white interior projects a calming ambience while a purposeful curation of colour could leave other desired impacts.

So the next step is to revisit the basics of colour principles and how they affect our mental perception of every space.

Do you know colours can influence your emotions? Colour has the ability to evoke our 10 primary emotions identified by American research psychologist, Carroll Ellis Izard – fear, anger, shame, contempt, disgust, guilt, distress, interest, surprise, and joy. This is what we call Colour Psychology.

Green exudes positive psychological properties of peace, balance and harmony.

Additionally, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s (1810) research work “Theory of Colours” triggered interest on his examination on the psychological effects of colours on human emotions.

Primary colours

It is imperative to revisit the fundamental principles of colour as a starting point. Let’s remind ourselves that colour psychology is not just influential in interior space, but its magic extends to graphic design, advertising and even our daily clothing. Let’s begin!

Everyone knows that the three primary colours in the colour wheel are red, yellow and blue.

Red denotes power, energy and vigour. It is the most intense colour on the colour wheel. Red has such great depth and visual impact that it leaves you feeling energised, motivated and invigorated. This is why red has become a natural choice of colour for the home office, living room or dining space.

Red can be used as a broad feature wall, or in smaller splatters on loose sofa, cushions, rugs and even household decor like lamp shades, wall clocks and paintings. Red elevates energy in every room, and it naturally stimulates conversation and even our appetite!

Red has great depth and visual impact.

So, the next time you step into a red-themed restaurant interior, mindfully check how your mood unconsciously shifts into a ready-to-eat mode.

Meanwhile, yellow perks up your emotions, giving a sense of joy, cheerfulness and optimism. The vibrancy of yellow in an interior space always leaves a vibrant aura. Kindergartens and children’s bedrooms are some of the most popular rooms to use yellow.

Yellow evokes playfulness and delight in the mind. In recent design trends, yellow has become increasingly popular in office interiors as well, to channel the inner child in all grown-ups grinding at work all day.

Be adventurous, try shades of yellow if you intend to rejuvenate your tired-looking study at home. The magic of yellow works equally well in many shades (depending on your boldness), from muted shades of mustard yellow and baby yellow to the ultimate bright lemon yellow.

The magic of yellow works equally well in many shades, from muted shades of mustard yellow, baby yellow to the ultimate bright lemon yellow.

Do you know that almost 200 out of the world’s 500 most successful companies use blue in their logos? At the same time, subconsciously, blue is familiar to our mental perceptions. Blue is our voluminous sky, ocean, seas, lakes and rivers.

The colour blue is known to reduce stress, create relaxation and promote calmness. Blue also evokes a sense of trustworthiness, reliability, loyalty, authority, and safety. Could this be the reason most police forces in the world use blue in their uniform?

In the interior space of your home, consider shades of blue in your library, living room and bedroom. If you’re not up to splurging on huge splashes of blue, instead of painting your walls blue, go for selected home decor like sofa, bedsheets and cushions to tap into the power of blue in your home. Experiment and gradually increase your colour coverage in every space.

Secondary colours

We all know how primary colours add up to become another set of three secondary colours of orange (red plus yellow), green (yellow plus blue) and purple (blue plus red). If the three primary shades feel too intense for your personality, consider the palette of secondary colours.

Fun fact: did you know that Frank Sinatra’s favourite colour is orange? He calls it the happiest colour! Orange bodes vitality, excitement and is a popular colour of fun, laughter and celebration. In nature, we see orange in beautiful sunsets. A zest of orange in your home boosts a sense of youthfulness and confidence.

Purple emerges as a colour of grandeur and extravagance.

Orange makes you feel young and gives you an instant happy mood. Don’t really agree? Try a simple experiment of changing your T-shirt from black to orange and feel how it affects your mood.

Orange uplifts us and rejuvenates our spirits. Interestingly, it is an underused colour in home interiors, making it a refreshing choice if you want your home to grab attention and be unique.

Start swapping your cushion covers with a pop of orange, sit back, and feel the difference.

Green exudes positive psychological properties of peace, balance and harmony. It rejuvenates and restores. Green makes us feel connected to nature, feel safe and secure. Naturally, this is a great colour to use in the interior spaces of your home and office.

Green is easy to apply in your home decor, from olive green, army green to lime green. You could opt to use a potted plant as an accentuation of green in your interiors. It’s such a friendly tone that often you won’t go wrong by peppering your interior with greenery or shades of green on walls or loose furniture.

When red meets blue, purple brings together the stimulating qualities of red and calming properties of blue. Purple emerges as a colour of grandeur and extravagance. Not every space can pull off a shade of purple that easily.

Hence, use it tactfully to suit your personality and use of space in your home interiors. The colour purple also exudes a sense of nobility, luxury, power and ambition. Imagine a velvet purple cushion, and you immediately sense opulence and sophistication. Consider playing with pastel purple for an understated richness and character in your living room or music hall.

Our eyes are blessed with seeing myriad shades of colour from the spectrum of shades and tones. In the realm of interior design, wonderful shades of white, black, grey and brown are still integral to making an impact in your home statement.

The intent of this article is to spur inspiration to splash your homes with a touch of colour. Minimalist black and white interiors are an awesome concept, but why not inject a colour boost to manipulate your emotions whenever you come home.

Tan Bee Eu is a professional architect registered with Lembaga Arkitek Malaysia. She has two decades of working experience involving diverse local and international projects in architecture and design. Tan also teaches at Universiti Sains Malaysia, advocating passive design strategies, design principles and professional architectural practice.