Some situations and your circumstances may force you to stay at home. A pandemic, recent surgery, working from home, caring for kids or elderly parents, any of these may require you to stay at home for hours or the entire day.
Spending a lot of time at home can sometimes encourage people to get creative or perform tasks they would not normally do. Some people take up painting, gardening, pick out drapes online, or start painting the walls of their residence. With the last activity, it would be beneficial for you and the people you live with to create a space that keeps you calm and does not add to your current stress levels.
Painting the walls of your house can take a lot of time, effort and resources, whether you choose to do it yourself or hire experts to do it for you. Given the longevity of paint, it is worth considering what colors to use to make it worth the cost.
In this post, our team of concrete flooring and wall paint experts have provided a list of stressful and soothing colors with insights on why they are so. This way, you can be more discriminating in your color selection, should you decide to paint your home.
Stressful: Red
Red is known to be one of the most emotionally stimulating colors. It can increase a person’s heart rate, blood pressure and respiratory rate. The color really stands out, wherever it is applied.
When viewed alongside other sides, bright red sticks out. Because of its ability to be conspicuous, stop lights, signs and fire trucks are painted in this color.
Red is such a rousing color that it has permeated culture in other ways. The term “seeing red” refers to people who have been roused up because of what was said or done to them.
Even animals are stimulated by the same color. In bullfighting, matadors use red fabrics to get the bull to charge at them. Given its ability to fire up people and animals alike, it’s a color that is best reserved for rooms where energy is needed – such as a living room, or your home office, especially if you work in sales.
You may also see this color in ultra-modern spaces. But unless you intend to feel riled up all day, every day, avoid filling entire spaces with red. Instead, you can pick out smaller decorations in red to liven up the area but not leave you overwhelmed.
Alternative: Lavender
At the other side of the spectrum is the color blue. Blues are often seen as calm and soothing. The paint can reduce tension, which is why it is commonly used in bedrooms or other spaces designed for rest and relaxation.
Lavender features a combination of blue and red. As such, it has the ability to spark creativity without leaving you stressed or agitated. If you have rooms filled with red and leave you in dread, our experts recommend replacing the hue with lavender instead for a more soothing effect.
Stressful: Plain White
Rooms painted in stark white may not sound so bad at first. Many houses and spaces, both old and new, are often left in a dull white color. However, certain types of white can leave people feeling stressed.
Take hospitals, for instance. Although there are no restrictions on what colors they should use on walls, they are typically painted in stark white. In many situations, the only variations between different parts of the hospital, such as wards, labs, or departments, involves lines along the walls.
Stark white, in a hospital setting, is not because architects or designers were being lazy. It serves a purpose.
Some patients who enter the halls are visually impaired. White provides the best contrast. As such, people can quickly see any color when placed alongside white.
Although white is useful, it is too common and sometimes associated with a hospital setting. Painting a home in stark or glossy white makes it appear like a clinic or medical facility. Glossy paint can also reflect much of the light inside, creating flare spots within the space.
Alternative: Neutrals
Creating a different look or feel doesn’t have to involve a stark change from red to blue or green. Even a small change in the hue can work wonders for the space and the person’s psyche. For a less clinical feel, go for neutrals.
Neutrals consist of many colors that look close to or appear white. This includes gray, ivory, beige, taupe and green. What varies between the colors is the undertones between them. For instance, cream has more of a yellow undertone, while taupe can feature a more grayish-brown one.
Black is also another neutral color. However, care must be taken when using black. Although a combination of blacks and whites are typical in chic and contemporary designs, using too much can make the space look cold and gloomy.
What you can use instead is gray or charcoal. Charcoal is both deep and cozy. Applying charcoal paint creates a more dramatic and sophisticated ambiance without appearing heavy or depressing.
Stressful: Bright Colors
The neon-colored paints that dominated the 80s are making a comeback. Using a lot of striking colors may be one way to attract attention, if you’re inside a shop or running a disco bar. However, it is not a welcoming feature inside a home.
Much like being surrounded by red or orange walls, the bright hues can be too much. In some people, it can induce headaches and heighten stress levels. Splashes of fluorescent color are acceptable, but not when they dominate the space.
Alternative: Jewel Tones
Jewel-colored paints add color to a space while still being soothing to the eyes. Darker tones such as teal, eggplant, and mustard yellow are a better alternative to neon colors. Use these in your home instead of neon, especially if you plan on staying home for many hours per day.
You might find yourself in a situation where you may need to work from home or spend more hours inside the house. Help keep your stress levels down by painting your house in a more soothing color. If you have any of the problematic colors on your walls, consider repainting with the hues our experts recommend above.
AUTHOR BIO
Ralph El Eid is the Business Development Manager at COLORTEK – Wall & Floor Fashion. EQUIPAINT is the franchise owner of COLORTEK in Dubai (U.A.E.) and Doha (Qatar); an international paints manufacturer specializing in the widest range of decorative paints and seamless concrete & resin flooring, with a unique showroom concept, and thus an ideal destination for homeowners, consultants, architects, interior designers and paint applicators.