Associated with life itself, the color green represents newness and birth. It is nature's hallmark signifying freshness and harmony. As with the trees of the forest, green is photosynthesis, the act of turning light into life. Green also has a whimsical, fun nature and is seen as talkative and stimulating to conversation. This marks it as one of the most versatile and easy going colours.
Red reigns! The color that calls on powerful emotions, either love or hate, red is the arbiter of our deepest feelings. Red is the attention getter. It's the dynamic motion of flame and the color of the blood that courses through our veins. It's all of the things that mean so much to life itself. Full of ego and "inner" flames, red is the life force. As for the color itself, red is associated with the sensual, sultry, passionate and provocative. Red is the most powerful in the interior designer's palette
We're surrounded by blue! We live on this big blue marble consisting of sea and sky. When associated with liquid, blue represents the soft lapping of waves or the running of a clear mountain stream. As the air we breathe, blue is fresh and vital, reminding us of the clarity of a sunlit day under azure skies. Blue is magical, uplifting, relaxing, serene and inspiring all at once. It may be cool but does not have to be cold. Deep shades of navy and denim are timeless and classic.
Orange is warming and uplifting, as in the softer energy found in the last rays of sunset. It relates to our entire lifecycle as the color of fall, symbolic of the end of life. Orange, as clay, has a primitive side as well, reminding us of our antediluvian forefathers.
White is "up in the air," as in marching clouds. It has associations of an upward "heavenly" motion and is pure as the driven snow, innocent in its ultimate nature. White represents cleanliness and the absence of pain and is as inviting as a pure white cotton sheet on which to lay our troubles and our bodies.
Black is the "forever" color - forever night, forever faithful, and forever formal. It's a color that can inspire fear through its association with nothingness and earth but can also feel calming due to its solid, orderly and definite appeal. Nothing wishy-washy here.
Purple brings to mind royalty and ancient civilization. It's the color of the Muse, of soothsayers and prophets. It is clairvoyant and psychic, headstrong and powerful. Yet it is also the color of sorrow and passion intertwined, as in the Christian sense, with death and resurrection.
Yellow an uplifting and uncompromisingly happy colour, it represents vitality, life and energy. Yellow raises the spirit and brings a sense of joy. It is the brightest colour in the spectrum, it is light and vibrant. Yellow fills a home with the sense of sunshine. Yellow is supposed to stimulate the brain and mental awareness making you more decisive. But yellow can also be used to show warmth and relaxation.
Gray is the color of intellect, knowledge, and wisdom. It is perceived as long-lasting, classic, and often as sleek or refined. It is a color that is dignified, conservative, and carries authority. Gray is controlled and inconspicuous and is considered a color of compromise, perhaps because it sits between the extremes of black and white. Gray is a perfect neutral, which is why designers often use it as a background color. Gray can feel warm or cool or no temperature at all.
The great balancing act of neutral beige allows the other colors to come out and play. Beige is the arbitrator, joining disparate ideas together and forming new unions. There is something incredibly restful and uncomplicated about the neutral palette. From ivory and buff to mushroom and chestnut bringing them into the home will give a harmonious look that can be earthy or elegant, subtle or striking.