Seeking Balance: with Color

In today's fast paced world, there's a need for home and office to be an oasis. We can consciously create this haven with a pleasing color scheme that nurtures and refreshes to achieve harmony in hectic lives.

Written Apr 15, 2009, read 88 times since then.

During our lifetimes, we seek balance on many different levels: physically, emotionally and aesthetically. This need for equilibrium is even more evident in today's fast paced world.

For many entrepreneurs, our homes are both living and work spaces. More than ever, there is a need for home (and home office) to be an oasis. We can consciously create this haven with a pleasing color scheme that nurtures and refreshes....to achieve that harmony in hectic lives.

Color is the most important element in creating a space that reflects your style. Color surrounds us - it can energize, soothe, depress, warm, cool and stimulate your appetite! Best of all, new paint color is one of the least expensive ways to update a living or work area.

As you start thinking about color for a particular room, ask yourself what kind of ambience you're searching for....

Blues and greens are members of the 'cool' family of colors - they create serene, restful, soothing and peaceful moods. Deeper blues encourage meditation, clear thinking as well as contemplation, which make for a good color in dens, studies or home offices.

Green signifies life, freshness, harmony, growth and renewal. Green is nature's perfect neutral - providing the background for all other colors. This same natural versatility applies to the use of green in our homes and fits comfortably into any color scheme. Physiologically, green restores mental equilibrium and adds spiritual perspective to our lives. Because of its calming effect, it is considered the great 'harmonizer'.

The 'warm' family of colors includes yellow, orange and red. Softer, toned down versions of these colors can create a nurturing environment that make you feel safe and cared for. The more saturated versions create energy: they wake you up and get your blood moving!

Yellow is an uplifting and happy color that raises the spirits and brings joy wherever used. Being associated with sunshine, yellow prepares us for activity. It is an excellent hue to alleviate the depression of seasonal affective disorder (SAD syndrome) and the perfect color (Seattleites: take note!) for use in dreary climates or north-facing rooms. It has a beneficial effect on mental activity, focusing the mind, sharpening thought processes and improving memory.

Red is a color for anyone who wants to bring heat, intensity and passion to their surroundings. It represents drama and vitality - eliciting strong emotions in every culture. Red gives more energy -- increases respiration, heartbeat, pulse rate and prepares us to take sudden physical action. In feng shui, red is a recommended color for the front door, as it is believed to invite prosperity to the homeowners.

As in nature, we seek balance in our surroundings. In choosing a paint color scheme, you'll want to remember: a predominantly warm color palette is balanced best with a touch of coolness and a cool palette by a touch of warmth. If you were to walk into a space that had all warm colors, you would instinctively search for something cool - like the freshness of a green plant. Likewise, a room painted in all cool tones can be balanced with a vase of yellow daffodils. Balancing warm and cool hues provides relief and gives our eyes a place to 'rest'.

We all have color preferences, associations and memories - start with those hues that have always appealed to you or remind you of happy times. You could also start with colors you wear - if they look good ON you, they'll end up feeling right on the walls. Or, experiment and try something new.....

Remember it's your space - your requirements are unique to you. Your environment is an extension of you and essential to your mental, physical and spiritual balance. There is no place where color is more noticeably felt than your home.

Learn more about the author, Kathy Johnson.

Comment on this article

Posted by Mike Bloom, Seattle, Washington | May 04, 2009

Kathy has hit the nail on the head! Color is good. Don't be afraid to use it.
Posted by Myriam Johnson, Boulder, Colorado | May 04, 2009

Kathy, this is so helpful. The information is great, and it is valuable to see it in writing. As a Realtor, it is beneficial to pass this on to Buyers and Sellers. So thank you for taking the time to post this link. Your thoughtful descriptions are a refreshing way to assist us in consciously making the right choices. www.yourhomeinboulder.com
Posted by Patricia Klingler, Bellevue, Washington | Jul 31, 2009

Kathy,

I completely concur. Your color analysis has my mind spinning with ideas for more home projects.

White walls are having to compete with color in our home now. I'm thrilled to have made the switch several years ago. When I designed my home office, I opted for a very soft pink. Then sponge painting brought out subtle green highlights I didn't expect, and I love the effect.

My husband's still not sure about my idea to bring orange into our kitchen. I may call on you for support with that one.

Great article!

~ Patricia
Posted by Kathy Johnson, Seattle, Washington | Jul 31, 2009

Patricia,

What's the color of a sunset? Orange! It's associated with radiant energy, heat, harvest time and the setting sun.

Orange is a great color - people who like it are adventurous, enthusiastic & good-natured (tell your husband that!).

The kitchen is a wonderful place to use orange because it brings a cheerful sense to this family space - just don't use TOO much on the walls if you're dieting as it's an appetite-stimulant!

Thanks for your response.

~Kathy
Posted by Nancy Juetten, Bellevue, Washington | Aug 12, 2009

Hi Patricia,

Now I know why my office has so much nurturing, activity-inspiring yellow all around.

It is the perfect choice to inspire my productivity and make me feel happy at the same time. Those are essential ingredients for someone in my line of work to weave into the success recipe!

I just had a conversation with someone in the moving/storage industry who said that many people are leaving traditional office spaces to come back home to work. The economy has something to do with that.

That is all the more reason for folks to consider your timely and relevant advice so they can hit the ground running from their new spaces and invite the success they seek!

Thanks for a great article.

Nancy

Get seen, heard, and celebrated in your own backyard!
Posted by Casey Hicks, Seattle, Washington | Aug 13, 2009

Kathy,

This article was extremely useful! It's really great to understand the feelings that colors invoke in a home. While pondering my kitchen, orange sounded great after what I read above...but do I really need an appetite stimulant???

Casey Thank you for sharing your insights!!!
Posted by Kathryn Lengell, Woodinville, Washington | Aug 14, 2009

Wow...I feel excited just READING this article, especially since my 18 yr. old son and friends WROTE messages on his nice beige bedroom wall in black sharpie while I was out of town! LOVE kids...anyway...this gives me ideas...two of his bedroom walls are a nice RED...perhaps that color is a little too exciting or passionate for a teen's room (he chose it) painting calm, soothing colors will be a better choice! :)

I thank you for this excellent article...it resonates with me and my own home office/bedroom space, painted a creamy buttery yellow...LOVE the color you chose for me! :) Thanks for your expertise!
Posted by Sky Sternberg, Seattle, Washington | Aug 14, 2009

I really like the way you broke down the colors. Color creates a great deal of the atmosphere in a home. In rooms with a lot of furniture and paintings, sometimes you can get away with bolder colors than you would think. Once we painted an office a tabasco color on all the walls and I thought it was going to be a disaster. Surprisingly, by the time the desks, chest of drawers, and paintings were in, the room looked excellent. Having a lot of woodwork really helped. Not everyone is up for color, but clearly you are the person to bring it in. It is great to have someone ready to liven things up.