The psychology of color offers insight into human behavior and emotion based upon the colors we like, the colors we wear and of course, the colors we surround ourselves with when we're making a home. Do the colors we choose reflect our personality, or does our personality reflect the colors we choose? These are deep questions every budget decorator should be thinking of.


The Color Black
Some people associate the color black with evil, but in psychology, it is a color of associated equally with both power and submission. Not a common paint color for living rooms, black is more frequently used in home theater rooms, probably for its ability to absorb light, cut down glare and make the picture on your big screen television or projector screen look more like a movie theater.

The Colors Orange, Yellow and Red
The color yellow and red and everything in between are warm colors. These colors tend to be cheerful in small doses, but can overpower a living room if they're not balanced with fairly large amounts of neutral or complimentary darker colors. Large amounts of yellow or red can be maddening if they're not balanced with blacks or browns. If you've chosen paint color in these shades, you might want to make sure that you're using prominent darker furnishings.

The Color Blue
Lighter shades of blue can be relaxing. In fact, being in a blue room has been shown to decrease heart rate and improve the efficiency of breathing. Indeed, since the sky is blue, taking a deep breath would be wise.

Darker, brighter shades of blue are similarly calming but can also be perceived as cold and depressing. Balance them out with cheerful violet flowers, or other accents.

The Color Green
Green is an earthy color that has been proven to be relaxing. Green symbolizes (surprise) plants and fertility. In the U.S., green is the color of money, and surely shades of green are very rich.

The Color White
Are you one of the many people whose walls are still white? White is reflective and pure, but shows hand prints around light switches easily. Some white-walled decorators are afraid of using the "wrong" paint color and others consciously choose white because they love the clean look.

What do your living room colors say about you? Are you afraid of color or do you embrace it? Do your living room colors make you feel good?