How Color Affects Mood Relying strictly on the colorwheel to make decorating decisions leaves an important factor out of the equation: the moods that colors can create. The colors you live with really do influence your emotions. Some palates lighten and brighten your mood while others pacify or purify. We respond to color with our hearts, not just our heads, so it's important to choose wisely. Understand that colors behave in three basic ways-active, passive, and neutral-and you can easily match every room's colors to your personal desires and taste and to the room's purpose. Active Colors On the warm side of the colorwheel, active colors include yellow, orange, and red. Extroverts, these advancing hues step out in the room to greet and sometimes dominate. They inspire conversation and an upbeat attitude. Red, the most intense, pumps the adrenaline like noother hue. Small doses of the fire-engine hue wake up an entry or turn up the heat on a hearthside den. Golden or lemony yellows-good for home offices and kitchens-unleash creative juices. Passive Colors The cool colors-blue, green, and purple-will pacify, staying quietly in the background to calm and restoredepleted spirits. They're ideal for bedrooms or private retreats, but if yours is a cold climate, you may want to work in some sunny accents for warmth and contrast. Neutral Colors Neutralizers are the"uncolors": browns, beiges, grays, whites, and taupes. They neither activate nor pacify but combine and cooperate, bridging together different rooms and colors. They're good transitions on woodwork, trim, hallways, andfunctional spaces like kitchens and baths, but even living rooms can benefit. Darker neutral stone down other colors; crisp white intensifies them. Color Language Curious about how color influences mood? Here are a few examples: a.. Pink: soothes, acquiesces; promotes affability and affection. b.. Yellow: expands, cheers; increases energy. c.. White: purifies, energizes, unifies; in combination, enlivens all other colors. d.. Black: disciplines, authorizes, strengthens; encourages independence. e.. Orange: cheers, commands; stimulates appetites, conversation, and charity. f.. Red: empowers, stimulates, dramatizes, competes; symbolizes passion. g.. Green: balances, normalizes, refreshes; encourages emotional growth. h.. Purple: comforts, spiritualizes; creates mystery and draws out intuition. i.. Blue: relaxes, refreshes, cools; produces tranquil feelings and peaceful moods. begin 666 s_0.gif K1TE&.#EA`0`!`( ``/___P```"'Y! ``````+ `````!``$```("1 $`.P`` ` end