For older folks, pastel blues, lavenders, and pinks may appear similar in color. Bright red, orange, and yellow are the most visible hues. Pale blue and pale purple often appear as gray. Pale blue is often perceived as chilling. In one experiment, people who sat in a blue room and a peach room of the same temperature felt cooler in the blue room.
High contrast helps older people see boundaries better.
A dark sink countertop helps define the bounds of a white sink, for example. High contrast at floor level can hinder mobility. Because depth perception decreases with age, dark borders on carpeting may appear to be a trough or a hole. Checkerboard tiles become an obstacle course. Heavily patterned carpets interfere with depth perception , so they are especially dangerous on stairways.