When people visit your office or home, the colours of the interiors should uplift their mood and make them feel good. On a general level, there are some ground rules that work best for different living spaces.

Bedroom

Avoid using bright or dark colours in the bedroom. A bedroom painted red, for instance, is likely to create tension, stress, arguments and disagreements. However, one which is painted pastel pink—a colour good for love, romance and relationships—promotes these emotions. You can also use pastel blue or green. Lighter shades of blue create a calm and tranquil effect.

On the other hand, dark blue, turquoise, dark greens and other related shades are also not recommended. Avoid using white as it is bland but if you do, add other colours like light blue or light pink in the form of curtains, bedspreads or cushions to reduce the blandness.

Children’s bedroom

Decorating a children’s bedroom is almost an art. Adults spread their day-to-day activities throughout the house but children spend most of their time and energy in their bedrooms, be it playing games, entertaining friends, reading, or listening to music. Colours used in their bedrooms should not be dark since that will create hyperactivity. Light, cool colours such as blue green, light blue, blue-violet, and even white, have a calming effect. Such colours also make the room appear spacious. Also, light and pastel colours encourage children to sleep soundly. Avoid red and black.

White can be used for older children instead of very young kids who may easily stain the white walls.

Bathroom

Pastel turquoise is a good colour for the bathroom, as it creates an automatic connection with water. Using colours like light brown, and light blue will also reduce any negative energy emitted in the bathroom.

Kitchen

Light yellow and light green are good colour choices for a kitchen as they promote good health and wellbeing. Subtle colours make you feel inclined to cook healthy and enhance appetite. Avoid painting your kitchen red, orange and blue.

Living room

Living room is where you spend extensive time with family and entertain guests. That’s why this room should appear larger than it is, giving a feeling of spaciousness. Opt for light and earthy colours like beige, white, lighter shades of blue, green or pink. Light colours also give you the flexibility to create a balance by using other colours in the decorative aspects of the room. Green inspires good fortune and wealth, and is essential to creating harmony and peace.

Colours that are dark or warm make the living room appear small and when there are many guests, the room will appear overcrowded and claustrophobic.

Staircases and corridors

These create the foundation of your house. They should be well-lit and appropriately coloured. Consider light pink, terracotta or light yellow. Here too, avoid using dark red, dark blue and black, as these colours create too much energy, which can be intimidating.

Offices

The colour scheme of an office should be based on the nature of work done in it. Correct colours should be used not only for the interiors but also for other representations of the company such as logos, flyers, newsletters, annual reports, websites, business cards and others.

Generally, blue is a good colour for almost all types of offices. Light colours should be used in those offices that don’t have windows or have windows that do not open.

Use violet, purple or indigo in offices where the work is related to healing, meditation and relaxation such as spas, health centres and yoga institutes. Medical clinics should have a combination of green and blue. Green represents good health and blue is the colour of peace and relaxation.

If your work is related to media, public relations or advertising, red, yellow, orange or blue are the ideal colours for you as they nurture creativity.

Offices of companies dealing in FMCG [Fast Moving Consumer Goods] must use green, yellow and orange.

Offices of fashion designers should be set in bright colours that indicate variety, enthusiasm and creativity. Preferred colours are: orange, yellow, green, magenta and violet. Use a tint of white to create the right balance.

Schools

Creating a healthy temperament and mood in a school is essential. Children should feel happy, enthusiastic, motivated,cheerful and stimulated. Interactions should leave them feeling inspired enough to return the next day.

A combination of bright colours and light colours is invigorating. Walls should be preferably white. Desks and chairs canbe of bright colours like red or yellow. But use a colour like green to balance it out, else the classrooms appears small in size. Limit the use of black tothe blackboard.

Restaurants

Most successful food brands spend huge money in brand building, which includes colour selection. Colours like red, yellow, orange and black are commonly seen in such establishments as the visual impact attracts customers. While it is not advisable to have dark colours in personal kitchens, they are highly recommended in restaurants.

Hospitals

Green is the right colour for hospitals, as it represents health and wellbeing. It’s a colour that is easy on the eyes of the patients. Imagine a hospital that has bright colours like red or orange; such dark colours slow down recovery. In fact, it is proven that a calm and relaxing environment actually reduces pain levels and expedites recuperation. And colours contribute significantly to creating such an environment.

Libraries

Whether it’s a public or a personal library, yellow works well as it is a fresh and vibrant colour. Yellow also stimulates the intellect. You can also use violet here.

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Can colours really heal us? Can they create harmony and calm the nerves? Absolutely. Colours heal in more ways than one. They have the ability to create perfect harmony in our mental, physical and emotional wellbeing.

They affect us in both subtle and obvious ways throughout our lives. We react differently to various colours. Colours around us affect everything—from our mood to our energy levels. You can feel the impact of colours almost everywhere; the clothes you wear, the food you eat and the décor you live in.

A lot of people suffer from medical conditions such as arthritis, depression, anxiety, headaches, insomnia, migraines, digestive disorders, skin ailments and allergies.

While colour therapy is not a substitute for urgent medical treatment, many have experienced visible improvement in behaviour and attitude on account of this therapy.

A study conducted by scientist Robert Gerard in 1958 found that exposure to red light can increase your blood pressure while that to a blue light can reduce it. Years later other studies too endorsed this theory.

Dyslexia and autism sufferers are advised to wear tinted glasses because normal or dark glasses are uncomfortable. Similarly, sunlight is highly recommended for people suffering from vitamin D deficiency.

The rays of light emit powerful vibrations, which are essential for these individuals. Ultraviolet rays, which emit red light, are used in treating back and leg pain. Basically, irrespective of the form, colours help maintain equilibrium in health and wellbeing.

Colours have a connection with the seven chakras in our body. Every colour in the rainbow has a specific energy, which relates to the energy represented by a chakra.

Each chakra is related to a specific gland. To treat a specific ailment, you need to identify the chakra it represents and use the colour accordingly. For instance, red is used to treat liver disorders, blue for the pineal gland.

To maintain complete wellbeing, it is essential that all the energies are in balance. By using the right colour, you can stimulate these energies and create a balance.

Red

The colour red enhances warmth. It increases stimulation, removes negativity, enhances aggression and improves your confidence levels. It helps increase low blood pressure and is useful in haemoglobin deficiencies such as anaemia.

If you are passive by nature but seek to be an extrovert, using red will help increase your vibrations and therefore energy. This will, in turn, be reflected in your nature.

You can also use red to up your energy levels; sip a glass of water stored in a red bottle in the morning to feel energised through the day and avoid sluggishness.

Orange

Orange stimulates creative thinking and helps in generating new ideas. The colour is also useful in combating melancholy and depression. It creates a sense of confidence if used in limits. An overdose of the colour, however, can lead to complications such as developing addictions.

Yellow

Yellow is highly effective in treating the nerves and mind. It increases your concentration span and alertness. It is also helpful in battling anxieties such as fear and restlessness. In addition, using this colour instils a sense of confidence and empowerment.

Green

The colour green has a calming and soothing effect on the mind and body. It is the colour that creates balance and harmony. It strengthens the immune system and stimulates inner peace. It helps reduce stress and relax the nerves. Using green in excess, however, makes a person lazy and lethargic.

Blue

Blue has an astringent-like cooling effect. It reduces inflammation in conditions such as arthritis, brings relief in back and throat pain, fever, high blood pressure, and headaches. Sleeping on a blue bed sheet or lighting a blue lamp at night induces sleep and hence is a good cure for insomnia.

For curing inflammation, drink water stored in a blue coloured bottle. Going overboard with blue however, makes a person cold-hearted.

Indigo

Indigo has a purifying effect. It calms and tranquillises. It is often associated with spirituality. It helps treat ailments of the eyes and ears. It is a balancing colour and helps reduce irritation and restlessness. Overusing indigo, though, leads to developing depression and feelings of insecurity.

Violet

Violet heals melancholy, hysteria, delusions and alcohol addiction. It leads to spiritual insight. This colour slows down an over-active heart and stimulates sleep. It can help those suffering from migraines. By concentrating on violet colour for about three minutes just before putting out the lights at night, sleep comes easier than usual.

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