You have probably been asked in many different settings and situations “What is your favorite color?” Most of us have an instant answer. How many of you said blue was you favorite color? If so, you are not alone. 40 % to 45% of people chose blue as their favorite color. And that is globally, not just in the U.S.
Everyone has their own personal associations to individual colors. It influences many things, ranging from memories to emotion to what furniture we put in our homes. It might be something else you have seen in that color that provoked a positive response in your brain. It could be something in your past that processes one color differently from another.
So why do we react to colors the way we do? There is no sure answer. But there are some guesses that come close to a good answer.
Compare yellow and blue. Yellow comes near the bottom of favorite colors. Why? Because people tend to associate yellow with signs of bad health. Think mucus and bile. But blue evokes happy thoughts. It is associated with clear skies or a mountain lake.
Cultural context also influences what a color means to us. Again, blue comes in near the top. Blue is almost always linked to things like trustworthiness and competence.
Even though many color associations seemed to be hard-wired in all of us, we are affected by the pace and change of life in the 21st century. Things like politics, technology, movies, art, sporting events and fashion all contribute to interest in a particular color. The internet has a huge impact on color forecasting. You can sit at your desk and see what color is popular in any foreign country. You can see the latest colors in fashion.
So how does this apply to interior design and furniture?
Color has three different aspects: hue, saturation and brightness. Hue is the base color such as red, blue or yellow. Saturated means how pure a color is. Brightness refers to how much white is mixed in. There are many examples but it gets confusing. Bubble gum pink is not very saturated but it is bright because it contains a lot of white. Baby blue is brighter than royal blue. You get the idea.
One of the simplest maxims of design is that we expect the darkest color to be at our feet (the flooring surface) and the lightest color overhead. If you do a light colored floor, there will be dark rugs or a darker piece of furniture that people will instinctively move toward.
None of this is carved in stone and all rules are meant to be broken. An interior designer can help you harness the power of color in your home.
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