Choosing kitchen wall colours and kitchen colour schemes can be a nightmare! Most often our choice of colour comes from our own feelings, experiences, age, gender, climate or culture. If you have warm memories of spending time in the kitchen when you were a child, then you might feel inclined to paint your kitchen the same and recreate those feelings. Colours will also reflect our personality. Out-going, energetic personalities will generally pick vibrant colours, while a reserved personality might choose more subdued tints.
But colour is not just about aesthetics. Colours you use to decorate your home can dramatically affect moods, feelings, emotions, behaviour and well being. They can act in three different ways, active, passive and neutral. So before you begin your renovation, take time to understand the Psychology of Colours.
Red is a happy colour and stimulates energy, promoting liveliness, which is a great choice for your open plan kitchen/dining area. When the kitchen is the heart of your home, red brings people together and stimulates conversation. That is why so many restaurants choose red for their décor.
Orange is a warm and welcoming colour. It is an energetic colour and helps to stimulate the appetite, energy levels and enthusiasm.
Yellow is a little ray of sunshine in your home, it communicates happiness and makes your home bright and welcoming. It is an excellent choice for kitchens where it is energizing and uplifting. Yellow is great for kitchen colour combinations but it is not an ideal choice as a main colour for your room, as in large amounts this colour tends to create feelings of frustration and anger, so use it in moderation.
Green is a peaceful colour, helps us to relax and relieves stress. It is refreshing and has both cool and warm variations. It is considered to be the most restful colour for the eye, bringing comfort, tranquillity and composure at the end of a stressful day.
Blue is a cool colour. It has a feeling of calm and relaxation if used as the main colour of a room when softer shades are used. It is said to bring down blood pressure, slow respiration and heart rate. Dark Blue, however, has the opposite effect, evoking feelings of sadness.
Purple tends to stimulate the creative part of the brain. It symbolizes royalty and wealth and in deep tones is rich, dramatic, sophisticated with an air of luxury! Lavender and lilac have a restful quality with a hint of warmth
Crimson is a friendly warm colour but should not be used in high doses or as a main colour as it can make some people feel irritable and hostile and affect peace and harmony.
Pink is not for everyone, however it does have a calming effect on us and is symbolic of romance.
Brown is earthy but can be considered dull, conservative and unexciting. In large quantities it can create feelings of sadness and can seem stark and empty and devoid of all life. However, the rich hue of cocoa brings out a sense of intimacy and togetherness and makes your room feel more cosy. Soft beige or ivory gives a stylish and classy appearance.
Black is dramatic, giving your space elegance and flair, but is best used in small doses or for accents. Too much could evoke feelings of melancholy. If you are daring enough to go all out, go with a shiny finish to give it that polished, classy look! (Matt finishes can look drab). Then add pops of colour to spice things up.
White is airy and gives a room the illusion of being bigger, so works well in smaller spaces. It is great in reflecting natural lights and brightening darker areas. To some white may appear bland, but a clean fresh pallet provides a huge opportunity to jazz up your room with pictures and other wall hangings, creating a stunning effect when you walk into the room.
Neutrals are often seen as conservative and traditional but they have never really gone out of fashion and are basic to all renovators. Due to their flexibility, you can easily update your kitchen by merely changing or adding splashes of the latest colour trend.
So which mood would you like to create?
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