Your favourite colour could say an awful lot about you. On the walls of your home it can affect your mood and change the atmosphere of a space, so think carefully about how and where you use it, advises House and Home Editor Roisin Carabine.
Red is the colour of energy, warmth and optimism, choose red and you are adventurous, ambitious and passionate. Use it with caution as it can be overpowering and give you a headache. Red is the perfect choice for dining rooms, as it promotes conversation and stimulates the appetite.
Pink is not just for little girls, it has a calming effect and suggests a warm and relaxed personality. Even the smallest touches of pink will bring any room to life but if it makes you feel too daunted, just use it on one accent wall or pick it up in key accessories. It's the perfect colour for bedrooms and forgotten spaces like hallways. Avoid using hot pinks in small spaces as it can overpower a room and make walls look closer.
Blue is calming and refreshing, it promotes intellectual thought and is believed to keep hunger at bay - ideal for bedrooms, bathrooms and studies. It can look cold and unwelcoming so choose blues with more red in them than yellow. If you are drawn to blue you like calm, and you're loyal too; you are unlikely to trade friendship for position. On the debit side you may sometimes appear to be withdrawn and reluctant to commit.
Orange is believed to aid digestion, and is therefore perfectly at home in living rooms and dining rooms. It's an advancing colour and can make a room look smaller so make sure the room gets plenty of light. Fans of orange have a sunny-loving nature.
Yellow is welcoming, stimulating and energetic - the colour of optimism. If yellow is your favourite colour you're likely to be cheerful and happy-go-lucky, however it may also indicate a tendency to be frivolous and superficial. If you're feeling emotionally distressed, it's thought yellow will make you feel worse. In the home, yellow is perfect for halls, dining rooms, kitchens and north facing rooms that don't get a lot of light.
Purple is the colour of creativity and joy, but also magic, evil and death. It combines luxurious connotations along with visionary qualities - its lighter partner violet, is believed to lower blood pressure and respiratory rates. Purple is one of the most difficult colours to use in interior decorating, and at full strength can certainly be overpowering and demanding so don't use it on large surfaces or as the only colour in a room. It's best restricted to accent walls, accessories and woodwork.
Green relieves stress, calms, balances and also energises. If green is your favourite colour you're well balanced with a tendency towards conservative and sometimes self-satisfied attitudes. Too much green is thought to make you too complacent or too laid back, so inject some red or orange into the scheme to counteract this. Green harmonises with other colours in nature and natural materials and is perfectly suited to kitchens where wood, granite and stone feature large.
Black absorbs colour and reflects nothing black, it's also very overpowering - best used in moderation. Black and white is a classic combination and looks stunning in a dining room or living room. Enhance black's romantic side in the bedroom with fragile pieces and a touch of pink.
Brown is safe and practical, it represents contentment and security though too great a liking for brown may indicate a tendency to depression. Avoid saturating an entire room in this earthy shade as it can look too bland and boring. Introduce a livelier colour for some mental stimulation such as green, pink, red or blue.
White symbolises purity and innocence but too much white can also look cold and sterile. It's a popular colour in interior decorating because it goes with everything, but for white to look truly effective it needs plenty of natural light - Irish skies can make it look grey and depressing. The main concern with white is that it shows up dirt and is therefore more difficult to keep clean - not a good colour choice if you have children.
