Different factors can affect how you select colors for your walls. It’s no secret that color can either make or break a design and choosing the perfect color palette for your home can be intimidating.

Why do we find one place appealing and another not so appealing? Why are we attracted to one product over another? It could be because of the colors. Color is a powerful tool. It can accentuate architectural details, and can change the perception of the shape and size of furnishings, as well as room itself. Color—whether in structures or in products at home or at work —accounts for almost 60 percent of how we respond to a place or an object. Wherever we go we subconsciously respond to color, but its importance is often underestimated. Choosing color combinations wisely is one of the important but intimidating steps. Each color has a psychological value and can influence any emotion, from tranquility to rage. The shades you use for your home can also impact your well-being, as well as the well-beings of those within your space. Selecting colors is not difficult if you equip yourself with some basic information about color and their effects.

 Moods

The colors of the rooms in your home are a direct reflection of your personality. Think of what mood you and your loved ones want to create and create which colors will help you achieve that mood?

In a bedroom do you want to feel restful and soothing or dramatic and intimate? Soft, cool colors and neutrals (white, light pink etc) usually create a quieter feeling while stronger colors (red, purple etc) are for drama.

Do you want a dining area to feel sociable, or appear formal and quiet? Warmer, contrasting and somewhat brighter colors add to a sociable atmosphere; deeper blue-greens and neutrals will give a more formal ambiance.

Do you want kid’s rooms to create an active and exciting energy or an orderly and restful feeling? Be careful not to over stimulate your children with intensely bright hues. You may not know it, but some brighter colors can lead to sense of unrest and irritability.

 Pay attention to lighting

If you want to make your rooms to have that perfect look you imagined, finalize your lighting design before you select the correct paint and carpet colors.

• Natural daylight should be used when choosing color for a space, as it shows the truest color.

• Incandescent lighting brings out warm tones and color yellow, but mutes blue and green colors.

• Fluorescent lighting enriches sharp blue tones.

Depending on different color light settings can out as too bright and overpowering, or too muted. The light you choose to illuminate will change the way you see color.

 Learn the color terms

Learning the terminologies used to describe color can help you to understand them better while choosing them.

Hue is what we normally call a color. For example, red is a hue; green is a hue.

• The value of the hue is how light or dark it is.

• Saturation refers to how dominant the hue is. As we go from black to gray, the black hue becomes less dominant.

• Intensity is the brilliance of the color. The pure colors such as red are more intense than the combined colors such as yellow-green. A stronger intense color usually has a more dominant hue.

Generally, dark walls make a room seem smaller, and light walls make a room seem larger. Consider introducing stronger, more intense color if you want an active space and light, neutral colors for a calm and clean space. If you want a light-colored room, choose colors that are slightly more saturated than off-white or light pastel. Very light color can feel bright and stark when it appears on all surfaces in a room.

 Test Your Color Choice

Sample cards even the big ones that are usually provided by vendors can be deceptive. Buy few cans of different colors in manufacturer’s test size can and brush some of them on the wall (preferably where you can later hide them with a picture later). This will allow you to assess each color and its compatibility with the room, the lighting features and overall decor. Look at your paint sample in the morning, at noon and at night, so that you can see how the color changes with the time of the day.

Some perennial combinations never lose their charm, such as crisp blue-and-white for kitchens, or calming green for bedrooms. But new ideas are exciting, too. If you want to make a statement, paint one section in traditional colors or neutrals for a thoroughly modern look. Choose colors for your rooms based on the mood you want, the light structures you have and new trends you want to embrace using the above guidelines, and before you know the rooms have changed into your piece of heaven on earth.

Meaning of Colors

 Grey

• neutral

• timeless

• practical

• conservative

 Pink

• romance

• love

• gentle

• calming

• agitation

 Green

• natural

• cool

• growth

• money

• health

• envy

• tranquility

• harmony

• calmness

• fertility

 Blue

• calmness

• serenity

• cold

• uncaring

• wisdom

• loyalty

• truth

• focused

• un-appetizing

 Orange

• happy

• energetic

• excitement

• enthusiasm

• warmth

• wealth prosperity

• sophistication

• change

• stimulation

 Black

• authority

• power

• strength

• evil

• intelligence

• thinning / slimming

• death or mourning

 Yellow

• happiness

• laughter

• cheery

• warmth

• optimism

• hunger

• intensity

• frustration

• anger

• attention-getting

 Purple

• royalty

• wealth

• sophistication

• wisdom

• exotic

• spiritual

• prosperity

• respect

• mystery

 White

• purity

• innocence

• cleanliness

• sense of space

• neutrality

• mourning (in some cultures/societies

 Red

• love

• romance

• gentle

• warmth

• comfort

• energy

• excitement

• intensity

• life

• blood

 Brown

• reliability

• stability

• friendship

• sadness

• warmth

• comfort

• security

• natural

• organic

• mourning (in some cultures/societies)