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Color Facts and Color Effects
Color affects every facet of our lives. The way we react to
colors is a combination of physiological, biological,
psychological, social and cultural reasons. Color has the
ability to soothe and also to stimulate us.
Approximately seven million different colors can be perceived by
the human eye, so deciding what you want when decorating, and
narrowing your choice down to one color family, still leaves you
with millions of variations to choose from. So it's important to
understand the effects of the temperature of color, color
components, color terminology, how light affects color and the
tricks color can play on color.
A color is described as cool or warm depending on its position
in the color spectrum and the hues of its nearest neighboring
color.
Warm colors project the hot hues of sunlight and promote a
feeling of warmth in a room. They advance space and are used to
make walls appear closer. Cool colors reflect the fresh violets
and blues of moonlight. They enhance the space in a room by
making the walls appear further away.
Red, orange and yellow are warm colors, while violet and blue
are cool colors. Green is said to be the most neutral color.
Colors are further categorized into primary, secondary and
tertiary colors.
Primary colors are blue, red and yellow. These are pure colors
that have no component other than themselves. Secondary colors
are orange, green and purple. These are composed of the primary
colors on either side of it on the color wheel. i.e. Orange =
red+yellow, Green = blue+yellow, Purple = blue+red.
Tertiary colors are orange-red, orange-yellow, yellow-green,
blue-green, blue-purple, and red-purple. Tertiary colors assume
more of one color than the other.
Knowing the definition of words used to describe color will help
you to indicate your color preference more easily, so some
important terminology or jargon to keep in mind when describing
color is hue, value and chroma.
Hue refers to, and is another name for, color. For example a
blue-patterned carpet has a blue hue.
Value describes the darkness or lightness of a color. A color
light in value has been diluted with white. For example, pink is
a tint of red that has a light value, because of the white added
to it. A dark value color is closer to black on the scale,
because it's had black added to it. For example burgundy is a
shade of red with dark value. Chroma refers to the intensity of
a color, how bright or dull it is. Scarlet and brick red are
similar in value, but their intensity differs. Brick red is
duller as it has a lower chroma than scarlet. Scarlet has a
higher chroma so is more brilliant. Colors with low chroma have
more of other colors added to them; those with high chroma are
more pure.
Color complements are those colors that work well together. They
are diagonally opposite each other on
the color wheel. Each
complement is made up of the two primary colors either side of
it which balances the complement. Each warm color has a cool
color as its complement.
Light affects color because in seeing color it's actually light
waves that our eyes perceive. Something has color because of the
light it reflects. We all see color slightly differently
depending on the perception of the light and color-sensitive
receptors in our eyes. So the ability to see color is a
sensation, just like smelling or tasting.
Color can play tricks on color. Just as warm colors can make a
room appear smaller and cosier, cool colors have the effect of
making a space seem larger, more airy. One corner of a room
painted red for example, may appear a different shade from the
rest of the room. This is because colors reflect color and
light, which slightly changes its appearance and the way our
eyes perceive the color. Contrasting color painted on walls that
meet in a corner can sometimes be changed so much that they are
no longer in harmony with each other. It's advisable to paint a
test patch 12" wide on each side of the corner to view what
affect your chosen colors have on each other, before painting
the entire room. Most colors are associated with certain
emotions, and this differs somewhat from culture to culture.
However I've listed some of the most popular color associations.
Red: power, passion, courage, vitality, excitement, strength,
speed, love, heart and warmth.
Yellow: light, cheer, sunlight, happiness, creativity,
confidence, self-esteem, intellect, innovation.
Blue: caring, devotion, trust, wisdom, peacefulness, serenity,
loyalty, truth, coolness, harmony.
Green: nature, fresh, growth, abundance, life, youth, renewal,
hope, fertility, peace, balance.
Orange: energy, warmth, contentment, fruitfulness, strength,
security, sensuality, abundance.
White: pure light, energy, truth, perfection, serenity, harmony,
loyalty, sincerity, clarity.
Black: formal, reserved, drive, dignity, reliability, authority,
power, prudence, wisdom, glamour.
Take some time to consider the effects of color on the
individuals who will be frequenting the environment you create
when decorating. When choosing color take into account whether
you are trying to soothe or stimulate, and be aware of the
effects of color on the well-being of the inhabitants you are
decorating for.
www.baby-room-projects.com
About the author:
Nell Frances is author of the Step-by-Step Guide to Baby Room
Projects Ebook and brings over 20 years decorating experience to
her articles. She's helped families decorate using miniscule
budgets and zany ideas, to create baby rooms and child spaces
that echo with squeals of delight! For all your Baby Room
Decorating information and advice visit
http://www.baby-room-projects.com
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