Colours and mood have an intertwining relationship and the way in which a room is decorated can ignite a particular response or feeling. In our homes, it’s ideal to create calm and relaxing vibes through the colours we choose to decorate. After all, our living spaces should be comforting and peaceful in contrast to a busy lifestyle.
A simple way to add a pop of these colours into your interior design is to invest in luxurious bedlinen for the bedroom, or rich textural cushions for the living room, as an example. These can incorporate calming tones through pattern or design, as well as evoke the sense of touch through their softness.
But what shade exactly should these decorative features be? Here, we’ll explain the psychology of colour, and the top shades that’ll help you to create calm in your home.
Pink: Shades of blossom and shell
The colour pink has associations with calm and relaxation, alongside links to love, kindness and romance, and so are an effective choice in the home. Although bright shades can be over stimulating, as they present more of a red tone, soft pastel pinks can bring peace and calm to a space.
Gentle tones such as blush, blossom and shell generate a naturally warm feeling, and are perfectly paired with white or grey to complete the design, creating a neutral and balanced room. These colours also add a subtle hint of hope and optimism, which can only be beneficial when creating a sanctuary at home, and so work well in spaces such as the bedroom or living room.
Green: Tones of celadon and jade
Green is a considerably versatile colour, that can work well in any room of the house. It is the colour that we most associate with nature and the outdoors, and so brings into the interior the same sense of relaxation that we feel in natural settings.
In particular, shades that merge blue and green can be soothing and comforting. Soft greens of jade and celadon can be included in both modern and traditional designs, and have a light and airy appeal. They can work in rich and warm textures of a living room to create a cosy, safe space, or on glossy surfaces in a kitchen, dining room or bathroom to bounce natural light around the space.
Again, when choosing colours to add to your home design, softer shades of green will create a calmer atmosphere than brighter colours, which will be more energizing.
Blue: Hues of teal and aqua
The most soothing colour of all is blue. In nature, the aspects we find most relaxing tend to be shades of blue — think about a clear sky on a sunny day to help de-stress your mind, or looking out to the ocean whilst sitting on a beach as an ideal setting to find peace. It makes sense then that when it’s incorporated into an interior design, blue can make a room feel tranquil and calm.
Hues that are associated with water, such as light blue, teal or aqua, are the most effective in creating calm in a space compared to brighter or darker colours. They should be used in bedrooms, living rooms and even in a home office, if you want complete stress relief.
A rich teal can work in both a traditional or modern setting, and the mix of blue and green tones it presents create the perfect balance of serenity and motivation. A more prominent blue shade is said to help with sleep, so can be an effective colour for the bedroom. Whether that be in the paint on the walls, or the bed linen and furnishings, blue is the top colour to ease a busy mind and create an atmosphere of calm within the space.