Many believe that color effects mood and emotional well-being. For years, the restaurant industry has used the color red to help stimulate appetite, and Travelodge conducted a study on 2,000 Britons investigating what colors were offering the best environment for a good night’s sleep. To no one’s surprise, people who slept in rooms painted blue received the best rest, followed by those with yellow rooms. Researchers at the University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom have found that the circadian clock of mammals is highly sensitive to light changes, color and brightness, particularly in the blue- yellow spectrum occurring during twilight. 

So what colors should you pick for your home. Best bet is to pick a color scheme that evokes a positive memory. If you remember a great design from childhood, that is your best bet, but if your in need of some new ideas, try a few of these color schemes to get you started. Let the whole family get involved in processes by designing their own room, within reason of course.

Warm tones and Earth tones are ideal for living rooms and a foyer.  They are inviting and are thought to stimulate conversation.

Photography by Andrew Fabin

Red stimulates appetite, so a splash of it in the dining area is good, unless you are trying to lose weight, and then you may want to limit it.

Cool colors are calming, and the darker the better for bedrooms. As seen in the study by Brown and his colleagues at the University of Manchester, darker hues set the circadian clock to initiate the evening ritual… sleep. Assuming your not a nocturnal animal, you should be just fine with a dark color in your bedroom.

Green is suppose to be the best color for concentration, so an office or work space would be an ideal place to paint in this color.

White is viewed as cleanly. Bathroom, kitchen would look great in this color palette.