Thursday 22 September 2011

Go…colour your home…!!!



Are you scared of colours…bright colours in particular? Don’t be…!! Have you ever heard of a person expressing his dislike for a garden which is full of brilliant, beautiful & colourful flowers set against lush, leafy shades of green? Never... right!! In the same way, fresh and lively colours, that give pleasure to the eye and boost up the spirit, can be used in our homes, off course combined with a level of arrangement. If a garden can be a visual treat, so why can’t our homes be?

Why do people find bright colours shocking? Reasons may be many... The most common belief is that subdued & light colours are safe whereas bright colours is a bit of a risk. If a person has been brought up in an atmosphere which was full of subdued or soft colours…then yes…bright colours can be a huge visual shock for him.

Many feel that bright colours will be too dark or strong. But, there is a huge difference between “bright” & “strong” colour. A “bright” colour is pure blue or yellow or any other clear colour, without any white or black added. Bottle green or burgundy red colours for e.g. are strong colours because they have black or some other pigment mixed into it. Natural sunlight & artificial light is another factor which can make a room look dark or light. 


Another reason why people fear using bright colours is- they feel their room may look too flashy or the glare of the bright colours will be too much for the eyes to put up with. There is no need of painting the whole house with bright colours. To start with, you can take a room and paint it with white or pale shade of any true colour. Now throw in some bright colours in the form of cushions, vase, picture frame or even the sofa cloth… Or you can just paint one of the walls with a bright colour. 


Paint is one such material, amid all the decorating materials, which is comparatively cheap and extensively accessible today. If you have gone wrong somewhere with the colour…no worries…you can always change it and make it right. It’s always better to do some study work & plan before you take up any task.


So... go ahead and take the risk to reap the benefits…!!


In the 1970s, there was an experiment in which a group of people lived for a year in a village planned to imitate an Iron Age settlement. One of the things that these people missed was ‘colour’. In our own country India, Rajasthan which is known for its deserts…people love to wear bright clothes here. Why? Because they miss the bright colours in their surroundings.  

According to a research reported by Colour Matters, adults associate bright colours with fun & happy times. For this reason, many parents shower their kids with brightly coloured gifts, paint their rooms with bright colours & put brightly coloured cartoons in their rooms. Because children are almost constantly showered by bright colours, they often become comfortable with the bright, highly saturated hues and learn to connect them with pleasant memories. Let’s not restrict these beautiful & bright colours only for our kids’ rooms. Bring them on to other spaces as well with a certain level of arrangement…!!