It’s the best design tool there is – a splash of color here, a splash of color there.  Want a quick budget makeover for any room – paint it another color!  Want to change the feel of a room – change the color of the accessories.  But how do we pick the right color for the room?  How do we make the bedroom a calm, serene haven and the dining room a lively place to have your meal?
You need to take a look at color psychology and meaning. Through the years we have assigned meanings to different colors based on their traditional uses. Analyzing the symbolic meaning of colors will give you some valuable insight on how to choose the right color for the right place and help you in every aspect of interior decorating, from choosing a paint color to redecorating your home on a budget.

Whites and Neutrals

Whites and neutrals tend to project purity, cleanliness, and neutrality. Notice that most hospitals have white walls, brides wear white gowns and a white picket fence surrounds a safe and happy home.   Whites tend to:

• Add to your mental clarity
• Encourage us to clear clutter or obstacles
• Purify or clears thoughts or actions
• Evoke a feeling of fresh beginnings

Yellows

What is the first thing you think of that’s yellow?  The sun, of course.  Yellow is powerful color that suggests warmth, richness and happiness.  Yellows in the right doses can:

• make you feel happy
• give you more energy
• cause people to become angry quicker

Yellows can have a magical effect on a room, but with the power of this color, using too much or having it too bright can cause problems.

Reds

Even more powerful than yellows are the reds, its is one of the most powerful colors you can use  We associate red with love, valentines, danger, desire, speed, strength, and even stop signs. It is considered the first color that is recognized by human eye and this color:

• Promotes alertness
• Increases vitality
• Increases strength
• Stimulates conversation

Ideas for the use of red include dining rooms, and a dash of red as an accent can spice up other rooms as well.

Greens

Greens are a fresh color to use in almost any room, and is one of most-often cited favorite colors.  It represents nature, environment, health, good luck, youth and fertility.  Greens represent:

• A healing force
• A rejuvenation;
• Nature and growth.

You can use greens almost anywhere, anytime for anything – in the right shades, of course.

Blues

Blue is considered a universal color.  It represents peace, tranquility, stability, trust, confidence, security, loyalty, sky, water, cold, technology, and even depression.  Blue can

• slow the pulse rate
• lower body temperature
• reduce appetite.

Blue is universal familiar color, and is comforting.  It’s known for its calming affect and should be used in any room you would like to promote tranquility and peace, like a bedroom.

Browns

The color brown represents earth and steadiness.  But the first thing I think of with brown is chocolate, of course, which symbolizes smoothness and luxury.  Brown tends to make us feel:

• Luxurious
• Elegant
• Comforted
• Earthy
• Wiser
• Stronger

If you need a touch of sophistication in a room, brown may be just what you need.

Colors are going to play a major role in your life and color choices throughout your home are going to influence your mood, so be emotional about your color choices.