Create A Mood With Colour

The colours you choose for your decorating schemes will affect the atmosphere of your room. Here's what you need to know to choose wisely.

By Sarah Warwick

Pick the right colour for your room and you can create just the feel you want in there - sophisticated or fun or relaxing and so on. The colour can also affect the space in other ways - perhaps enlarging the room or making it cosier - which will also make you feel differently about it.

However, the trick is in choosing the right version of a particular colour. There are many blues, for example, and they won't all create the same atmosphere or effects. Use our guide to get exactly the mood you want in every room.

Blue

Traditionally associated with calmness, blue is a particularly popular choice for kitchens, bathrooms and bedrooms. Of course, it also has associations with sadness, which may mean it doesn't strike the right note for everyone.

Blue is from the 'cold' side of the colour wheel, so it could make your room feel chilly unless it's a south-facing space. If you're attracted to blue for a room that needs a dash of cosiness, think about moving towards purple, where red mixed in with blue warms the colour.

Paler shades of blue are a great choice for making a small space feel bigger. Used on walls, they'll appear to recede from the eye, stretching the dimensions of the room.

Darker blues are great for creating an elegant period feel for a living room. Probably best reserved for high-ceilinged spaces, as they'll make the walls appear nearer to you, team with crisp white for a formal look, or add in accessories in natural textures if you want to give the room a more homely edge.

Green

Like blue, green is a soothing shade, so you might want to use it for a living room or bedroom. As it's the colour of nature, growth and renewal, green can evoke a feeling of energy without being overstimulating.

Although it's from the 'cool' side of the colour wheel, green is actually a mixture of cool blue and warm yellow. For a great boost for a north-facing room, a green with plenty of yellow tones will look sophisticated but still add cosiness to the space.

Representing both the vitality of nature, and its calming influence, green is great for creating a studious feel in a home office, or book-filled living room.

Darker tones have a seriousness about them, and can work beautifully in a Victorian home to draw attention to the detail of the architecture.

Team green with tones of brown for a scheme that says organic. Natural fabrics for soft furnishings and grainy wood furniture will continue the eco feel.