Color is a subtle, yet critical, element of design. Psychologists have found that colors account for 60 percent of our emotional response to a room. When selecting flooring for your home or office space, your color choices will affect the mood, energy level, and productivity of everyone in the space. The following is a guide to help you determine what floor/carpet color best fits the desired mood of your home or office.
Neutral colors are useful for calming and balancing out a room, however they convey little emotional appeal. While they are good, basic, and safe choices, overusing white, gray, and beige can have adverse effects on a person’s spirit.
Yellow will promote a positive, cheerful, and friendly environment. It stimulates the nervous system, sparks creativity, activates memory, and promotes communication. Yellow is welcoming, and is associated with happiness and health. It works well to brighten up darker areas such as a stairway or corridor. Yellow is a powerful color, and therefore should be used in moderation; it can be overstimulating in large amounts.
Blue is a calming color that represents trust, stability and recalls the beauty of nature. It is said to lower blood pressure by bringing a sense of calmness and peace. Blue promotes clear, meditative thinking. Its vibrancy has more drastic effects than other colors which gives blue increased versatility. Light blue typically evokes a refreshing and free feeling, while dark blue portrays expertise and stability.
Orange encompasses the energy of red and the happiness yellow. It has a high visibility, so there is no need to overuse this color. Orange is said to induces enthusiasm, happiness, creativity, fascination, success, encouragement, and determination. The body has a positive reaction when looking at orange; It increases the oxygen supply to the brain which stimulates mental activity.
Green is a great floor color for virtually any room due to its soothing quality. Green is an exceptional choice for people who sit at a computer for long periods of time. It causes the least amount of eye-strain and it is mentally associated with nature, which is calming. Green is tranquil, refreshing, restful, and balancing.
The color red, is associated with high energy and an elevated heart rate. It’s also passionate, daring, and stimulates the appetite. Since it’s such a powerful color, red should be used sparingly. It may not be the best color for a full floor rug, however as a throw/accent rug it would work well. Red also works great as an accent wall in a kitchen or dining room. Due to the strong mental reaction that can occur from red, it’s not the best color for an office setting. If you are set on using red somewhere in the office, limit its use to rooms that little time is spent in – like the bathroom.
Color is also capable of altering your perception of the size of a room. To make a room seem more intimate, select a floor covering that is darker than the room’s walls – dark blue, purple, and rich browns will create a cozier feel. On the other hand, a lighter floor color reflects more light, making a room appear more expansive – smaller rooms should have brighter floors. Install lighter shades of carpeting, hardwood, and stone to make the small room feel larger than it actually is.
When choosing flooring, it is important to consider the patterns and colors in the room. If you already have colorful walls, bold furniture, and patterned throw pillows, you should choose flooring that is more subtle and muted. On the other hand, if your furniture and walls are basic, spice it up with a herringbone pattern for your hardwood floor, or create a patterned tile design.
The power color has to shape the way we feel about a room is almost magical. Used properly, the right color combinations foster productivity, cheerfulness, creativity, and energy, which can transform an ordinary space into a room full of an emotional experience.