Ideas about color abound, and new ones come up all the time. If your walls could talk, they would tell an interesting and maybe even surprising story! But who are you? The powerful message includes minimalist, brave, shy, bold, extravagant, frugal, cautious, athletic, social…? The list can go on and you can add your own ideas in the comments!
What is “Applied Color Psychology?” For now, I’ll offer a few ideas according to theories of “applied color psychology.” I’ll even offer a little “quiz” right here, for you to have fun with. When you think about your answers and how you match up the color blocks with the various descriptions, remember it’s not for selecting a house color or a room color. That’s a more detailed set of questions and personal considerations. And, it’s a topic for another time!
If this quiz image inspires you to share it–and I hope it does–please remember and respect that, as with all copyrighted materials, this requires permission to reproduce or share directly. Just share the post instead!
I look forward to hearing about your ‘answers’ and your ideas, in the comments to this post.
Where do our personal preferences come from? It’s a complex and multi-leveled process…So from the bottom up, please consider these levels of influence:
Biology-Physiology: the lightwaves that make up all colors do have an effect on us, we’re just not usually aware of it.
Colors in Nature and materials: From plants and rocks, water, animals and more, we are surrounded by colors of nature
Colors as archetypes: Consider how a bee, if black-and-yellow, carries it’s own warning signs. We use these colors intentionally i our world also.
Social and cultural constructs: Different cultures assign a variety of important characteristics to various colors. Red, and white, being two of them. Opposite in one culture from another!
Fashion, politics, trends: I call it “planned preferences” when color trends take center stage. It’s about marketing and sales. But on the bigger and more fundamental level, these ‘color trends’ have a deeper beginning.
Personal life experiences: Do you have a color you Love or Hate, that was present in your youth or in a relationship or other experience? That carries onward as we get older.
I am often asked by clients to state my favorite color. My answer is typically something a question, like…For what purposes? orIn what situation? or even more often, just stating thatI don’t really have one single favorite color.Take yellow, for example…a color that is often difficult to use for interiors because it can easily become dominant–not connecting–and loud, too bright, and creating discomfort. (Clue to the above ‘quiz.’)
Personally, “yellow” is not a color that I’d use in clothing for myself. Why? It doesn’t do anything positive for my appearance (!) BUT, I can use a chartreuse, a very strong green-yellow, in some cases. Then also, however, in a home there could be many wonderful places where a strong yellow color could be beautiful. Accessories, for example, are a great way to include a more “extreme” color to great advantage, depending on what else is in the room. Of course, a warm, pale type of yellow is often a beautiful color to be surrounded with.
A client “case study” story…for an example For Exterior color for a Victorian style home in the Boston area, the client very strongly stated they wanted PINK. Ok it’s an unusual request. In that case, as with in other similar situations where a client felt attached to a particular color, I always try to be collaborative. I believe it’s important to always consider client wishes. I can be definite in my recommendations and am always happy to state the reasons for my choices that I consider to be in the best interest of the client’s stated needs. But I have no interest in being a designer-dictator, making it only my own way.
What happened in “The Case of the Pink House” was that I created a few different color schemes with “pink” as the focus. While it would not have been my own, personal first choice, the goal was to find the Right “pink” that would satisfy the client while being in alignment with my professional concerns. So, in collaboration with this enthusiastic and happy client, the outcome was what you see in image #13 here, in the slideshow gallery, aboutThe Pink House.
Focus on detail of this multi-owner condo group, a typical type of structure: Triple-Decker in Boston
So you Want to Paint Your Home? First Step – test your colors!
Q: If you’re a homeowner… Are you about to make decisions about paint color?
Q: If you’re a builder or design professional… Are you about to recommend paint colors for a client?
Q: What are the best ways that you can… Make high quality color test samples to help you make your color recommendations and decisions?
You are Not Alone! Color Overwhelm is A Common Experience!
Are you a homeowner who is overwhelmed by the thousands of color choices available? If so, you’re not alone! In fact, even building professionals, who have been asked a thousand times “how will it look?” can sometimes feel like there are just too many colors out there to sort through to provide clients with something unique yet suitable. Either way, how much time and diligence do you have, to test a lot of color swatches and come up with the very best answer?
Whether you are doing this yourself or perhaps even suggesting that your client do it and let you know what they want to use (and some people will actually want to do this), I’d like to share a few tips that you can recommend, or even use yourself if they are new to you. It’s not “rocket science,” we all know that. But as with many things that seem simple and yet become overwhelming, there are proven methods to help.
Tips for Testing
Keep it simple – see the light
The approach is similar for interior and exterior color testing.I recommend starting with the premise that color looks different in all types of lighting and of course throughout the day—and evening—on different surfaces. Color changes in corners, also, as it intensifies where two walls of the same color meet, and it changes in other ways depending on the actual lighting and also when two walls or surfaces (ie: wall and ceiling) of differing colors meet. It’s the angle that does it – whether the typical 90 degrees or something else, as in a vaulted ceiling, and the reflection of light causes the colors to affect each other.
Test the color in the sheens you want to use.
Therefore, the following apply 1. Make the paint test on a moveable and reposition-able surface. Something that can be affixed temporarily to any wall, ceiling, or even floor (when you are painting a floor).
Note: do not use your blue tape on the edges of this! Tape the back side only.
2. Make the colored surfaces in proportion to each other, for example: Trim colors will usually be narrower than the wall or siding color surfaces.
3. Be sure the surface you paint the test on is primed, or at least under-painted with a color similar to what you’re testing. For example, you can of course use poster board but since it’s paper, it must be oil-primed so it does not warp. Personally I like to use a flat-finish, fast drying low odor product for this. You can also use one of the available professional quality paint testing surface products. “Mighty Boards” at 18″ x 24″ is the best, does not require any preparation –just paint them–and they have smaller sizes also.
Don’t paint your tests right on the wall.
Note to professionals I’ve typically prepared up to 20 or so poster boards with a fast drying, low odor, matte surface oil primer, to have ready to go in advance–and easy to use at a moment’s notice–when preparing color tests for clients.
Roll on 2 coats of your finish (test) color, making the application as close to what you intend to do on the final surface. Use a roller or brush similar to what you plan to use on the job.
Use a stable surface with a texture similar to the wall or surface to be painted. IF the target surface is textured, it’s worth it to make a replica since color reacts so differently with the light falling on textured or smooth surfaces.
Be sure to do the test with the same finish you’ll be using on the actual surface (Flat? Eggshell? Semi-or-high-gloss?)
Label your sample cards.
Size: even if you have to create a few boards to make up each test color, try to end up with at least 4 square feet of new color. You can configure it in any way that they fit for your house view.
For exterior color testing, paint an area about 5’x5’ minimum of white, right on the house, so that when you test your new color boards you are not influenced by the existing house color. If this is not possible, hang up a white sheet on the side of the house (Pin, or even staple it to the siding) and put your test color boards on that. Be sure to include your new or existing trim color in this method.
Compare…
Image 4: Testing 2 colors right on a colored wall is confusing.Using the white background: Can you tell which of the 2 colors in image 4 this one matches?Using the white background with another test color: Can you tell which of the 2 colors in image 4 this one matches?
What about materials? I mentioned using wood, (smooth and primed, of course), poster board and foam core (oil prime first), and you can use other substrates like gator board, or drywall (also prime).
Interior or exterior, the same process applies. For exterior work you might want to have some siding pieces available that are at least very similar to the house, if not the exact same thing. Doing more than just one “strip” (minimum 4 to 6 strips high, of clapboard style) will give a more accurate view of what the shadows will do at various times of day. Remember to make trim samples also, in the same widths as the actual trim and casings or other details.
Further Guidance
Block the other colors by hanging a white sheet, using white paper, or painting a white primer background.
Note: Using a roller is best to get the most solid coverage (yes, apply two coats) and no streaks. The point is to replicate the actual color appearance of the final surface.
Placement is important—Try to place your siding sample color strips next to the window or door casings, for the most accurate view of the colors and how they relate to each other.
Patches are confusing—use one color at a time. This is a useless waste of time, money and emotion.
What if you would like to see what your house or other building would look like with new colors…BEFORE it’s painted? That’s possible, and I can help!
Digital Color Views! Check out Designer Color Palettes on this site. For any interior and exterior projects, there is one more thing you can offer, that some painters have even used as their palette application guidelines: You can order a digital rendition of what the house will look like (exterior) with the various colors on the different parts of the house. That’s a great way to show a couple of color options in an overall visual. The output you receive is in .jpg or .pdf format. We can even show up to 50 different color areas on each image we prepare for you, if needed! Any detail can be included in the views. Just ask me about this service.
So, you might ask, why go to all this trouble, anyway? The main reason is: Minimize confusion, and make the color choices easy. Stripes and color patches on the walls – and that includes exteriors – look messy and are visually confusing. You can’t see the specified colors next to each other on a large enough surface because there is just too much going on and the existing colors will inform the appearance of the tested colors.
To review, and illustrate a few notes about color testing…
Testing color strips right on the building is confusing and you can’t move the colors.
Instead of painting one or more “new” colors right on the house body, be sure to put the test colors on a moveable surface as described. It’s confusing to test multiple colors on the same surface (Note in this picture the blue is above, yellow is existing, and the brown is another test color.
Narrow strips for testing trim and detail colors should be placed right where they will be used.
Testing colors in proportion to their use
Make narrow strips proportionate in size to the overall area when testing detail trim or other accent colors.
Q: Homeowners: Are you about to make decisions about paint color?
Q: Builders and Painters: Are you about to recommend paint colors for a client?
Q: What are the best ways you can make high quality color test samples to help you make your color recommendations and decisions?
Are you a homeowner who is overwhelmed by the thousands of color choices available? If so, you’re not alone! In fact, even building professionals, who have been asked a thousand times “how will it look?” can sometimes feel like there are just too many colors out there to sort through to provide clients with something unique yet suitable. Either way, how much time and diligence do you have, to test a lot of color swatches and come up with the very best answer?
You can start with getting the largest possible print color sheets from your paint manufacturer. Set them up outside and have a look at the differences, even before you start actual paint testing.
For example, this group of colors from Sherwin Williams, as viewed outside in bright Northern California sunlight.
Whether you are doing this yourself or perhaps even suggesting that your client do it and let you know what they want to use (and some people will actually want to do this), I’d like to share a few tips that you can recommend, or even use yourself if they are new to you. It’s not “rocket science,” we all know that. But as with many things that seem simple and yet become overwhelming, there are proven methods to help.
Above: New colors for an HOA complex in Cambridge, MA.
To keep it simple, I recommend starting with the premise that color looks different in all types of lighting and of course throughout the day—and evening—on different surfaces. Color changes in corners, also, as it intensifies where two walls of the same color meet, and it changes in other ways depending on the actual lighting and also when two walls or surfaces (ie: wall and ceiling) of differing colors meet. It’s the angle that does it – whether the typical 90 degrees or something else, as in a vaulted ceiling, and the reflection of light causes the colors to affect each other.
Therefore, the following apply: 1. Make the paint test on a moveable and repositionable surface. Something that can be affixed temporarily to any wall, ceiling, or even floor (when you are painting a floor).
Note: do not use your blue tape on the edges of this! Tape the back side only.
2. Make the colored surfaces in proportion to each other, for example: Trim colors will usually be narrower than the wall or siding color surfaces.
3. Be sure the surface you paint the test on is primed, or at least under-painted with a color similar to what you’re testing. For example, you can of course use poster board but since it’s paper, it must be oil-primed so it does not warp. Personally I like the flat-finish, fast drying low odor products for this.
Note to professionals: I’ve typically prepared up to 20 or so poster boards with this type of oil primer, to have ready to go in advance–and easy to use at a moment’s notice–when preparing color tests for clients.
4. Roll on 2 coats of your finish (test) color, making the application as close to what you intend to do on the final surface. Use a roller or brush similar to what you plan to use on the job.
5. Use a stable surface with a texture similar to the wall or surface to be painted. IF the target surface is textured, it’s worth it to make a replica since color reacts so differently with the light falling on textured or smooth surfaces.
6. Be sure to do the test with the same finish you’ll be using on the actual surface (Flat? Eggshell? Semi-or-high-gloss?)
7. Label your sample cards.
8. Size: even if you have to create a few boards to make up each test color, try to end up with at least 4 square feet of new color. You can configure it in any way that they fit for your house view.
9. Paint an area about five feet square (minimum) of white, right on the house, so that when you test your new color boards you are not influenced by the existing house color. If this is not possible, hang up a white sheet on the side of the house (Pin, or even staple it to the siding) and put your test color boards on that. BE sure to include your new or existing trim color in this method.
OK, so what about materials? I mentioned using wood, (smooth and primed, of course), poster board and foam core (oil prime first), and you can use other substrates like gator board, or drywall (also prime).
Interior or exterior, the same process applies. For exterior work you might want to have some siding pieces available that are at least very similar to the house, if not the exact same thing. Doing more than just one “strip” (minimum 4 to 6 strips high, of clapboard style) will give a more accurate view of what the shadows will do at various times of day. Remember to make trim samples also, in the same widths as the actual trim and casings or other details.
Placement is important – try to place your siding strips next to the window or door casings, for the most accurate view of the colors and how they relate to each other.
So, you might ask, why go to all this trouble, anyway? The main reason is: Minimize confusion, and make the color choices easy. Stripes and color patches on the walls – and that includes exteriors – look messy and are visually confusing. You can’t see the specified colors next to each other on a large enough surface because there is just too much going on and the existing colors will inform the appearance of the tested colors.
To illustrate…
Instead of painting one or more “new” colors right on the house body, be sure to put the test colors on a moveable surface as described. It’s confusing to test multiple colors on the same surface (Note in this picture the blue is above, yellow is existing, and the brown is another test color.
Narrow strips for testing trim and detail colors should be placed right where they will be used.
Narrow strips are proportionate in size to the overall area when testing detail trim colors.
