Color Affects Mood

Color has always been a big part of my life. As a child, the apartments I grew up in were always painted white until my mother dared to ask the landlord to let her paint our living room a color. Instinctively, I think, the landlord knew my mother had great taste and gave in to her. Our kitchens were always See's candy white, but the living room and dining room were a beautiful federal gold. The front door was painted red on one of the last apartments I lived in with my mom and sister. My passion for a red front door came back to me in my adult life.

In the seventies, I painted and wallpapered the first house my husband and I owned in blues and oranges. In the eighties, I traded in the orange for pink, but kept the blue. I found that the pictures taken in my home with blush pink walls always flattered every one's skin tone. In the nineties I traded in the pink for a sage green on the walls. Green is a very healing color, it was always a favorite of my mom's. The last ten years of my mother's life were difficult for me, as well as her, so it makes sense that green was the color most needed. In the new mellenium, I traded in the green for red and butter yellow with a hint of sage and blue. Yellow is a happy color and red is, of course, the color of passion. Decorators will sometimes recommend red for the dining room as it stimulates the appetite and conversation. At any rate, it seems with each new decade and transition in life, I am attracted to a variety of new colors.

You may have noticed that the use of color has its trends in the collective unconscious as well. Tuscan colors have permeated the decorating aesthetic in California for quite some time and taupe has become the new white. In Europe, it seems that several shades of white is the chic backdrop for vibrantly colorful paintings to be displayed. Different parts of the country have their color trends as well. The Southwest has a distinctive array of Sante Fe colors to penetrate the desert aesthetic.

There are colors that are not only appropriate but also soothing for every environment. Even black has its usefulness. Black has long been known for evoking a sense of independence in the person drawn to it. Whether you are at the beach or in the mountains, in the desert or in a big city color can have a powerful affect on your mood, even when you are not conscious of it.

There are different colors for every mood. Whether you like lively colors or serene colors, romantic colors, or playful colors, fiery colors, stimulating colors, or soothing colors my motto is to live life in color!