COLOR THERAPY:
How to Introduce it to Your Home without Committing
to Painting the Whole House

by Diane M. Hancock
Diane Hancock Designs, Inc.

Are you looking for ways to bring some new “color” into your home without having to repaint the entire house? These tried and true professional tips are just what the doctor ordered.

CHOOSING YOUR COLOR
Before you can begin incorporating color into your home, you first will need to determine the mood or feeling you want to evoke in your room because color is key. Let’s say you like blue but are looking to add energy to your great room. Blue does not have to be a relaxing, calming color if it’s chosen in a brighter tone. Below are some colors and the energy they are attached to. It’s important to note that if you don’t like the color but you love the energy it’s supposed to elicit, it won’t work for you. You need to work with colors you love and make them work for you.

• Red: vitality, courage, self-confidence (energy)
• Orange: happiness, confidence, resourcefulness (energy)
• Yellow: wisdom, clarity, self-esteem (energy)
• Green: balance, love, self-control (calm)
• Blue: knowledge, health, decisiveness (calm)
• Indigo: intuition, mysticism, understanding (calm)
• Violet: beauty, creativity, inspiration
• Silver & Gold: sophisticated, opulent
• Black, Brown & White: sophisticated (calm)

ACCESSORIZE IN YOUR FAVORITE COLOR
The easiest way to incorporate color is to accessorize with it. Try selecting pillows, vases and throws in your chosen color or, look for new pieces of art that have your colors in them. You don’t have to stick to just one color either . . . if you like multiple colors, you can use them all but you should try to stay within the same tone for each color. For example, if you’ve ever spread out a fan deck from a paint manufacturer, you’ll notice that the colors at the bottom of the deck are deep and saturated with color while the ones at the top are light and pastel. If you want to utilize multiple colors, absolutely do it but be sure to stay in the same tone across the range of colors. If you’d rather just introduce one color, another great tip is to add the color in a variety of different textures; a hand-knotted throw, a shiny lacquer tray, a lamp shade, window treatments, etc.

PAINT ONE WALL IN YOUR ROOM
Another great way to make an impact with color is to paint just one wall in your room. This makes the project much more manageable because it’s easy enough to do in one day and you won’t have to take apart the entire room to accomplish this. Plus, if you ever change your mind, it’s easy enough to change it back again. When choosing which wall to paint, you’ll need to try and choose a wall that is either balanced / symmetrical or uninterrupted. If you choose a wall that is too cut up, it may only add to the chaos in your room. It's OK to paint just the bump out if you have a wall fireplace wall with a bump out.

Uninterrupted – YES		Symmetrical – YES
Cut Up – NO		Fireplace Bump Out – YES

CONSIDER YOUR LIGHTING
Remember when selecting your color, look at it in your room at home, and at the time of the day in which that room is most used. Colors look different at different times of the day. If you choose a color in the morning, on a sunny day, but use the room mostly in the evening with artificial light, you may be very disappointed that the color does not look the same. We all know colors don’t look the same under fluorescent light as they do under incandescent lights, so take the extra time and choose your color at home, under the lighting it will be viewed with most often. Also, the types of light bulbs your choose for your home will also affect the colors you choose. Warm or cool lights bulbs can cause your colors to look vastly different.

To view a bio and additional work samples from Diane M. Hancock, click here