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Rabu, September 19, 2018

THE ROLE OF COLORS IN YOUR HOME

THE ROLE OF COLORS IN YOUR HOMEColor is a potent element of international visual communication that transcends traditional languages.  The language of color is often used to describe emotions. We live our lives surrounded by color.  Justly so, color is often the visual element that has the strongest effect on human emotions.  Each tone and each hue has meaning and intertwines with our frame of mind.  Whether you’re trying to communicate something through design, or whether you’re just wanting to creatively express yourself, there’s no better way to do it than through the usage of color.  It doesn’t matter what the architecture of your space is, whether it’s an industrial looking terrace in subang bestari or a quaint apartment in sunway, color is a universal design medium. 

Thus, color has a profound influence and impact on a space as well as on the people that live in it.  It is thus a valuable tool that can make or break a space.  However, in order to use color to its full potential, it is pertinent that you understand the basics of color: how they behave, how they change in different spaces, as well as how they influence our moods. 

Color properties:

Colors can change their character when the underlying properties, such as lightness and saturation, are modified.  Thus, when using color in interior design, just picking a color is not enough.  You also need to think about many other aspects.  The terminology might be confusing, but here’s a bit of an explanation:

⦁Lightness:

Lightness is the relative degree of black or white present in a given hue.  Adding white makes the color lighter and creates tints, while adding black makes the color darker and creates shades.  Lightness is, of course, relative to other values in the composition of color.  For example, placing a color next to a darker one can make it seem lighter, and vice versa. 

⦁Saturation:

Saturation refers to how pure or intense a given hue is (in other words, the purity of the color).  Full saturation means a color is completely pure, without any addition of gray.  At the extreme end, no saturation appears as fully medium gray.  Saturation contributes to vividness and brightness.  The more saturated a color, the more bold and vivid it looks.  The less saturated a color, the softer or duller it appears. 

⦁Hue

Hue refers to the color in itself.  Color and hue are synonymous, in that it depends on the physics of light being reflected and produced.  However, remember that not everyone perceives color in the same way. 

Lighter colors are airier and tend to lend towards visual enlargement of a space by making rooms feel larger and brighter.  On the other hand, darker colors give off a warmer and cozier vibe, making rooms feel more intimate. 

Hues are the aspects of color that can greatly influence emotions.  In this regard, it is important to keep the goal of the space in mind.  If you desire a more energetic space, more exhilarating tones and hues such as red or yellow should be considered.  If a more relaxed space is desired, cooler tones such as blue or green can make atmospheres more relaxing and soothing. 

Color behavior

Colors generally act in three ways.  They can either be active, passive, or neutral.  Neutrals include shades such as black, white, gray and even beige.  Neutral colors often serve as a good backdrop, establishing balance and harmony in any space.  However, the choice of active and passive shades help brings more visual interest.  In essence, there must be a healthy mix of both active and passive shades to help create a harmonious environment. 

Color stimulation

Depending on the type of colors used throughout a space, the overall effect towards visual perception can be altered.  If color choices are wrong, the overall environment can become either understimulated or overstimulated.  An understimulated environment occurs when the colors chosen are of weak intensities, or weak color contrast (as you might find with monotonous color palettes.  Concurrently, an overstimulated environment features too much saturation in colors, strong contrasts and sometimes too many complex visual patterns.  This affects the way our eyes perceive a space: our eyes get bored by the monotony of understimulated environments and get tired out by the strong contrast of oversimulated environments.  Thus, it is important to achieve a balance throughout the color choices in any space. 

Color impact

Color choices in interior design can greatly contribute towards the atmosphere and ambience you create in you space.  Thus, is it crucial that you have an overall idea of what he resulting ambiance needs to be before you start with color choices.  For example, lighter colors like pastels and whites can bring a more relaxed and calming vibe, whereas bolder colors such as electric blue or emerald green can look more exciting and energizing. 

Other thoughts

Practicality or utility is almost always an afterthought in design.  This shouldn’t be so in your color choice.  Before you decide on a color palette, remember to think about practicality.  Do you have small pets or children?  If you do, chances are whites and lighter colors are more difficult to care for.  Also think about how durable the color palette is.  Will it stand the test of time, especially if your room gets a lot of sunlight, which tends to fade wall paint? 

Last words

There are many factors that need to adequately be taken into consideration when it comes to choosing a color palette for any space.  Whatever your choice, make sure you have considered all aspects in careful thought in order to achieve a space and style that you are truly proud of.