The Power of Colour and Senses: Transform Your Home and Well-being
Have you ever noticed how the atmosphere of a space can make you feel more energised or relaxed? The secret might be as simple as choosing the right colours and understanding how they impact our well-being.
Colour psychology is the study of how colours affect human behaviour, emotions, and perceptions, influencing mood, cognition, and decision-making.
The purpose-led approach I teach to creating a home and life is rooted in a set of beliefs and principles about how your home is designed and utilised to best serve those who live there. It involves a deeper understanding of the importance of home environment on well-being, personal fulfilment, and lifestyle choices. Choosing the right colours for specific spaces in your home is a powerful way to enhance your well-being! Colour psychology and decor are incredibly broad topics, and while we could explore them in depth, including aspects like natural light, room function, and purpose, this post will focus specifically on the connection between well-being and colour.
Colour can have a profound impact on our senses, influencing not just how we see the world, but also how we feel, hear, and even smell or touch things in our environment. Over the past five years, I’ve become increasingly curious about the underlying reasons behind the decisions I make—why certain things resonate with me, while others simply don’t. Of course, I could brush it off with a casual “meh, I just don’t like it,” but if you know me well, you know I’m a truth seeker who loves diving into the details. I believe there’s a reason for everything—no matter how difficult that might be to accept sometimes—and often, all it takes is a bit of curiosity to uncover it. I’ve explored how my personal genetics and values have shaped the life I’ve created, both consciously and unconsciously, and how I share that journey with others. This journey has led me to a deeper understanding of not only myself, but also how my children respond to the world around them—especially when it comes to sensory input and their overall well-being. I've observed firsthand how their behaviour, emotions, and perceptions shift depending on their environment and the sensory stimuli they’re exposed to. (Colour included) It's been an eye-opening exploration into the profound impact our surroundings have on how we feel, think, and act.
Quick basic basic overview of colour and visual perception:
Red: Often associated with energy, passion, and excitement. It can increase heart rate and stimulate appetite. It can also convey a sense of urgency or danger.
Blue: Symbolises calmness, serenity, and trust. It has a soothing effect and can promote relaxation. Blue is often associated with professionalism and competence.
Green: Represents nature, growth, and harmony. It has a calming and balancing effect and can evoke feelings of freshness and rejuvenation.
Yellow: Associated with optimism, happiness, and energy. It can grab attention and create a sense of warmth and cheerfulness. However, excessive yellow can be overwhelming.
Orange: Combines the energy of red with the cheerfulness of yellow. It's often associated with enthusiasm, creativity, and vitality. Orange can also stimulate appetite.
Purple: Symbolises luxury, creativity, and spirituality. It's often associated with royalty and sophistication. Purple can evoke feelings of mystery and imagination.
Black: Represents power, elegance, and authority. It can convey a sense of sophistication and formality. Black can also evoke feelings of mystery or seriousness.
White: Symbolises purity, cleanliness, and simplicity. It's often associated with innocence and new beginnings. White can create a sense of spaciousness and clarity.
Gray: Represents neutrality, balance, and sophistication. It's often used as a background color to complement other colors or convey professionalism.
Brown: Symbolises stability, earthiness, and warmth. It's often associated with nature and can evoke feelings of comfort and reliability.
Colour and tactile sensations
Although colour isn’t something we can physically touch, it has a remarkable way of influencing how we feel in a space. Warm colours like red and orange create this cosy, inviting, almost as if you’re wrapped in a blanket of warmth—even if the temperature outside is exactly the same. On the flip side, cooler and soothing colours like blue and green have this calming, airy effect that makes a room feel more expansive and even refreshing, just like the sensation of a cool breeze on a warm summer day. It's these subtle, sensory cues that can completely transform the atmosphere of a space, helping you create a home that truly nurtures your well-being.
Smell Olfactory Perception with colour
Colours can trigger associations with specific scents, even when no scent is physically present. For example, the colour green might remind you of fresh grass or mint, evoking feelings of freshness and cleanliness. Warm colours like red and orange can bring to mind scents like cinnamon, spices, or fruits, creating a cosy or stimulating atmosphere. When the right colours are paired with complementary scents, the sensory experience is enhanced. Imagine the calming scent of lavender in a soft purple room or the refreshing aroma of eucalyptus paired with minty greens—these combinations can evoke a deeper emotional response, strengthening the overall ambiance of a space.
Colour and Wavelengths (Fascinating deep dive)
Light is made up of different wavelengths, and each one gives us a particular colour. The colours we see are simply the wavelengths that are reflected back to our eyes, shaping how we experience a space. The wavelength of light doesn’t just determine what we see, it has a big impact on how we feel, too. These different wavelengths play a key role in either stimulating or calming our senses and influencing how we react to our surroundings. For instance, shorter wavelengths like blues and greens have a calming effect, while longer wavelengths like reds and oranges can give us that boost of energy. It’s all about understanding how these wavelengths interact with our brains and bodies, so we can create spaces that are not only beautiful but also thoughtfully designed to suit our mood and individual needs.
The Impact of Wavelengths on Neural and Sensory Responses:
As someone with heightened sensitivity, I’ve always wanted to understand why certain colours overstimulated me, making me feel irritable, and why I craved soothing palettes with contrasting colours in specific areas of my home. People with sensory sensitivity often find colours with longer wavelengths, like bright reds and oranges, overstimulating, which can lead to sensory overload, discomfort, irritability, or even anxiety. These colours activate areas of the brain, like the visual cortex (which processes light) and the amygdala (which controls emotions), heightening arousal and stress. On the other hand, colours with shorter wavelengths, like soft greens, muted blues, and violets, tend to have a calming, restorative effect by reducing the activity of the sympathetic nervous system and promoting relaxation. Natural Blue light, (not screens!) in particular, helps regulate the pineal gland, (Sleep-regulating endocrine gland.) lowering stress and encouraging a more restful state. By understanding how different wavelengths affect our brain and body, we can create spaces that support our well-being, helping to balance stimulation and relaxation where we need it most.
Creating a home that truly nurtures your well-being goes far beyond choosing a ‘favourite’ colour. It’s about being intentional with how you decorate a space to engage all of your senses with colour—from the soothing hues that promote relaxation, to the tactile experiences that further elevate your environment. By understanding the impact of colour psychology and yes, even wavelengths, we can create welcoming spaces that feel balanced and aligned with our personal and unique emotional needs. (This extends into your wardrobe too…) Whether you're looking to create a space that energises you or one that helps you unwind, thoughtful colour choices can transform your home into a personal retreat. And when you find that ‘suited’ colour palette that speaks to you and your needs you'll see just how much it enhances your daily life. The power of colour is real—it’s time to start using it to create a space and home that supports the way you want to feel.
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