Home decor secrets: how colour can affect mood

The colours you surround yourself with at home can influence your mood and sense of well-being. Which ones will you choose?

In general, the function of a particular room determines whether you choose warm or cold, dark or light, and strong or subdued colours.

• The right choice of colours can make a room appear bigger or smaller and make ceilings look higher or lower. This visual effect can actually compensate for some of a room's flaws.
• Use bright colours for small rooms; they will make a room appear more spacious.
• Choose warm, dark colours for large rooms to make them look cozier. A good example is a deep hue of red.
• Go light for low ceilings: the ceiling appears higher when painted in a lighter shade than the walls.
• Go dark for high ceilings. If you want to visually reduce the height of a room, opt for a dark-coloured ceiling. The ceiling will also appear lower if you paint the bottom area of the wall in a lighter shade that gradually darkens as it rises toward the ceiling. If, on the other hand, the colour becomes lighter going from bottom to top, the ceiling will appear higher.
• Opt for lively hues for narrower rooms; bright colours on the walls make a room appear wider to the eye.
• Darken wide rooms; if you paint two walls opposite each other in a darker shade, a wide room will look cozier and less cavernous.

Different colours have different characteristics. Choose the right colours to match the mood of each room, entrance, and hallway.

• Bright colours — that is, vibrant shades of green and blue, yellow, and orange — provide an expansive feeling. These are friendly, happy colours that encourage communication and are therefore especially welcome in the dining area and kitchen.
• Dark colours, such as red, purple, blue, and dark shades of green, can have a constricting and gloomy effect. But when applied in the right place or as accent elements, they can help convey comfort and security.
• Warm colours — orange and yellow hues, for example — raise the perceived temperature of a room. For that reason, they're best used in rooms that face north. Because they inspire activity, avoid them in rooms meant for relaxation, like the bedroom.
• Cold colours, such as icy blues and green, have a calming effect. They are especially well-suited for bedrooms; they help you to go to bed relaxed in the evening and wake up refreshed the next morning.
• Navy blue inhibits people's willingness to communicate; do not use it in living and dining areas.
• Red raises the energy level of a room, but it may also make people more irritable and hostile — so it's not a good choice for a child's room. Use it as an accent rather than a base room colour.
• Grey should be avoided for the dining area and kitchen — unless you want to dampen your appetite.