How Wall Color Affects Your Mood

By Julia Bianco on June 13, 2014

This article is brought to you by CORT, a subsidiary of Berkshire-Hathaway and the world’s largest furniture rental and relocation services company. To learn more about how we can help college students like you, click here.

For those of us stuck in boring, white-walled dorm rooms, the prospect of painting the walls of a future apartment or house is both exciting and terrifying. When you finally do get that opportunity, what are you supposed to do with it? How do you know what color to pick? Just looking at the multitude of strips of paint samples available at your average store counter is enough to make you dizzy.

To add another complication to the situation, studies show that the color of the walls in your room can actually have an affect on your mood. Although mood is obviously dependent on a number of other situational factors, wall color is an important consideration as well. Here are some popular room color options and their possible affect on your mood:

Red 

Photo by starless life on Flickr.com

Red has two sides to it: the warm, loving side, and the energetic, often angry, side. This causes issues when painting a room red—it could go either way, depending on the situation. Consider using red in combination with other colors like yellow or white to go for a brighter, happier feel.

According to Fresh Home, red is best for dining rooms and kitchens, as the color is known to increase appetite. It is also a very stimulating color, which keeps people awake and encourages conversations and bonding. Red is not a good color for bedrooms or other rooms that are meant primarily for relaxation.

Pink

Photo by Jon Cooper on Flickr.com

Pink is a warm color, but it can also be very inactive. According to about.com, initial exposure to pink is very calming and can result in a lethargic feel. However, after long-term exposure, pink can make people angry or nauseous. Use pink sparingly in bedrooms and living rooms, or as an accent wall in dining rooms and kitchens.

Orange 

Photo by jo midcenturyjo on Flickr.com

Orange is a bright and eye-catching color, hence its common use in traffic signs and other attention grabbing items. Fresh Home recommends using orange in an exercise room, as it is an extremely energetic and exciting color that is too intense for most other rooms of the house.

Yellow

Photo by Jim Landon on Flickr.com

Yellow is an energetic and exciting color. It promotes happiness and makes people feel welcome in the environment. Yellow has also been known to increase metabolism, making it good for kitchens and dining rooms.

However, you have to be careful with yellow, as it can make people angry and head ache-y when used excessively. Yellow can also cause eye strain which can lead to headaches and vision problems after long-term exposure. About.com also points out that you have to be careful with yellow in nurseries and houses with young children, as it can be irritating and upsetting to babies.

Green

Photo by John Maher on Flickr.com

Green is a color rooted in nature, meaning that it is great to give your home a more outdoorsy feel. It is also a symbol of good luck and wealth, which means that it could bring you some wellbeing in the future. Green is good for bedrooms and living rooms, as it encourages peace, calm and wellbeing. It has also been known to represent fertility and healing.

Blue

Photo by Sarah on Flickr.com

Blue is a productive color, which will encourage you to stop procrastinating and start getting things done. Blue is best in light or pastel tones, as dark blue sometimes encourages feelings of sadness and depression. Blue can lower pulse rate and body temperature, making it a good color for bedrooms and other relaxation spaces, as well as offices where you may have a tendency to get stressed and freak out.

Blue has also been known to suppress appetite, which means that it probably isn’t best for your kitchen. However, it can help stave off the late-night munchies if it’s the staple color of your bedroom.

Purple

Photo by tambra on Flickr.com

Light purples prove for a relaxing environment, while darker purples make everything seem more sophisticated and classy. Purples tend to make a home feel more exotic, as it is not a color that appears often in nature.

Brown 

Photo by Katie Smith on Flickr.com

Brown is a sturdy color, which represents strength. Its earthy tones are appealing to some, but for others, it can bring sadness and loneliness. Brown is best as an accent, and it pairs well with green and pink.

Black 

Photo by Sarah on Flickr.com

Black often represents death and evil, thus making it a bad choice for the primary color in a room. However, in small quantities, black can help to accent and offset other colors. When paired as an accent with another color, black does a nice job of highlighting that other color’s positive qualities and bringing a more dramatic feel to the room.

White

Photo by Benita on Flickr.com

Of course, for those of us living in dorms with no options to paint the walls, white is just what we’re stuck with. However, we’re lucky it’s white, which can be known to have a tranquil, angelic feel. Still, it also brings on feelings of blandness and boringness, which I’m sure we’ve all faced.

See if your college will allow you to paint an accent wall in your room, or try one of these cool art projects to spice up the walls a bit.

Looking for a more convenient way to furnish your off-campus apartment? Rent stylish furniture from CORT and save time and money. For more information on furniture rental packages, click here.

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