Blah, Spring-Weather Feeling? Colour to the Rescue

Weather outside is a ‘lil bit winter, ‘lil bit spring, and a lot BLAH. After a long, cold winter, we can all use some warming up, some fresh colour in our lives. And that led me to think about the colours around me, and thinking back to my school days of colour theory.

We all remember the colour wheel from our early school days; red, yellow and blue primary colours mixed, creates the secondary colours; orange, green and purple. Then blending of these colours creates various hues of colours (blue-green, or turquoise), and adding white or black, creates shades of colours (pink or gray). Sounds very elementary, but did you ever stop and think how these colours affect you every day? Or how some hues affect our moods, emotions, productivity, and even our buying habits? It’s true, colour is the basic essence of what attracts us to anything the human eye can see. What’s pleasing to the eye, whether you realize it or not, affects our moods and in some cases, our well-being. Ever wonder why the doctor’s office uses pail shades of green, blues, or brown, versus crimson red or orange? Colour engages people, and creates an inner sense of order by defining a space. It gives us organization. Generally, people are comfortable with and wear colours that remind them of similar things, like the greens or browns in nature, or the yellow-orange warmth of the sun. Colours are references or ‘brands‘ of cultural and environmental elements, like primary colours of a particular country’s flag, red and green used at Christmas time, or symbols of green, meaning money or growth. Take red on its own, and it conveys a feeling of energy or strength, but add a little white, and it becomes soft and gentle. Dark or navy blue can stand for a formal high rank or royalty; add some white, and it becomes tranquil and relaxed; add some black, and it becomes icy. Blue is also known to suppress your appetite (paint your kitchen blue and use blue dishes if you want to lose a few pounds ;). Colour use is a basic rule of good visual merchandising for stores and websites, and specifically used to excite or stimulate customers to look at more and stay longer. And the same applies in Home Staging, or merchandising of a home for sale. First thing that will impact a buyer is the colour, or the mood that house conveys. In today’s market, the only key to competing is to make an emotional impact on the potential buyers, and the strongest way to do that is by choosing the right colours.

So what colour reflects your personality (as I sit here looking at my blue jeans and red sweater)? How does colour impact you? See if you can spot the colour clues next time you’re shopping, or out, dining at your fav restaurant.