When choosing to paint a room in the house it is best to strive for a color you like, but also a color that likes you. Color can have subtle, yet profound, influences on moods and feelings, and recognizing that can help a room to be aesthetically pleasing as well as beneficial. The correct colors in a kitchen or art room can help inspire creativity while the wrong colors in a bedroom can induce irritability when relaxation is being sought. Below are different types of rooms commonly found within a household, and which colors would best compliment them.

Living Rooms
Homeowners use living rooms for a number of different things. Some use the larger rooms for hosting guests and parties, but generally living rooms are used for relaxing. Colors for living rooms should be neutral to help accent furniture, but also light and calming.

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Orange instills feelings of warmth and stability and manages to tone-down a space, allowing people to relax. Red is good for sociable situations, as it provides energy. Light gray is very popular for living rooms right now as it compliments other colors very well and is not overbearing. A primarily gray room with orange accents could provide the perfect tones for a living room.

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Kitchens
Kitchens are difficult to figure out as they are rarely used for one activity. Modern kitchens are used for cooking, eating, meeting, crafts, and many other activities. However, creativity usually happens in the kitchen, whether it’s from cooking, conversation, or something else. Soft earth tones like whites, creams, and blues, cater to a number of needs and puts people at ease, allowing creative juices to flow. Bright elements like red or orange are good accents as well.

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Dining Rooms
Modern dining rooms are rarely used by the average family, and are typically only sat in when guests visit. Therefore, a dining room should encourage energy and liveliness, and red is the best color for this. Too much red can have negative effects though and can promote aggression, so a balance is desired with a softer color.

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Bedrooms
These rooms should ultimately reflect the individual living in them, but some types of colors serve to help promote calming emotions. Light blues are great for this and people generally feel safer and calmer when surrounded by them. Turning to a dark blue can have negative effects, however, as it can produce sadness in individuals.

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Exercise Spaces
Power lifters and those going for hard workouts will want red highlights throughout their room to inspire energy and controlled aggression, but those looking to jog on an elliptical or relax with yoga will want earthy greens and blues to help calm and extend the workout.

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Home Offices
In a room where people need to focus and avoid distraction green is the way to go. This color has been found to promote concentration and productivity and workers. Plus, it is also a soothing color which helps relieves stress.

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Even if a color has great potential to influence moods in a positive manner it may not be worth it if the color is unpleasing to the residence or causes the room to appear small. Whatever the case, it is worth realizing that color choice is much more important than many people realize.

Lisa Henfield is an exterior designer who spent a few years designing outdoor furniture covers for hotels along Las Vegas. She mostly writes about her design experiences, providing tips on outdoor accessories and furniture for both businesses and the average person. When she isn’t practicing her sewing or writing about the right colors for the outdoor seasons she usually works on her paintings.