How Does Colour Make You Feel
As ever, you can listen to the show here (series 6 episode 2) and for those who have come from their preferred platform to this page, you will find pictures to illustrate what we talk about but, equally, this post works as a standalone so you don’t have to have listened to the show to, hopefully, find something worth reading.
Now we began by talking about The Red Thread, which I have written about before here and here, but in summary creating a cohesive look isn’t just about sticking to a colour palette in your home, it’s also about linking materials; stone, velvet, wood and metals as well as paying attention to the architecture of your house. Sophie has used tongue and groove paneling in each of her downstairs rooms from the green kitchen cupboards, to the white office storage and the pink shelves in the sitting room. That style works for her country farmhouse whereas my city Victorian terrace might want something less rustic and more period.
But first colour. Our sponsor Topps Tiles spoke to 2000 people about the link between colour and wellbeing and found that 71 per cent said that green and yellow made them feel well, energised and ready to exercise and eat well. In second place was white with blue also scoring highly. However, when it came to colours that don’t promote health and well-being pink, orange and beige scored highly. Which is the complete opposite to the current trends and this is where the nuance comes in. Pink, orange and beige don’t sound very exciting. But how do you feel about blush, terracotta and ecru? Or coral, rust and linen?
Sophie painted her office white because as a colour-loving maximalist she thought it would provide the perfect backdrop to all her samples and swatches. But a year later her heart sinks when she has to go in there and work because she finds it utterly draining and uninspiring. Instead she wants to cover the walls in a vibrant wallpaper (House of Hackney Artemis Pink, as opposed to the more subtle blush) and add patterned rugs and a strong colour for the woodwork. She also painted her sitting room in a very pale pink in deference to her less pink loving husband and now thinks she could have got away with a stronger shade.