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Prescription for a Better Home Mood: Paint Your Walls Happy

Walls painted in neutral colors are a favorite of house flippers. A neutral palette, after all, is reliable and flexible for home staging purposes. And it’s cheap to buy in bulk. But after awhile it’s a complete ho-hum bore to live with and can even have a negative impact on your mood.

Color affects people in many ways and it’s one reason restaurants and hotels are as meticulous about choosing color palettes as they are menus, décor or design schemes. There’s a certain level of predictability to the way most people respond to colors or groups of colors, especially shade and tones of primary colors. Experts in color psychology say that room wall colors, in particular, can influence mood and wellbeing. So when it comes to painting your home’s walls, it pays to be thoughtful in your choice.

Here are some colors to consider to help improve your home’s energy vibe.

Red
In the kitchen, vibrant red inspires cooking and eating. Choose a softer hue of red for a library, siting or family room to improve engagement and make the room vibrate with positive energy. In the dining room, put guests at ease and in the mood to enjoy your food with walls painted in toned down red, or a dusty pink shade.

Orange
Or apricot. Both are grounding colors. They balance skin tones nicely and nudge family members toward feelings of happiness. These are good colors for gathering places—TV rooms, sun porches, dining rooms.

Yellow
Here’s another gathering room color, especially sunny kitchen nooks, but go easy on a too vibrant shade because intense yellows can heighten anxiety.

Green
Sage Green is the new neutral. It’s a harmonizer. A middling in the color spectrum, it’s a great alternative to beige in the bathroom or a bedroom, even a hallway where it acts as a bridge between warm and cool colors.

Lavender or Periwinkle
Ideal colors for bedrooms, these shads of purple will make you feel relaxed in the evening and rejuvenated in the morning. Both can also be excellent bathroom colors, especially when paired with sage green.

Blue
Though both intense and soft blues can be appetite and conversation killers in the dining room, in the bath they’re relaxing and uplifting.

Deep Brown
Boring brown-beige can be depressing, but intense vibrant browns—heavy on the black side of the spectrum—add drama and graphic contrast to living rooms and even bedrooms. Deep brown also makes the perfect backdrop for most art. Don’t be afraid of this color. Use it sparingly but daringly. Paint one wall in deep brown and an adjacent wall in a soft yellow or gray for full mood affect.

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