Colour and Psychology: Tones, Shades and Moods in Interior Design

Colour involves so much more than just perception - it is all about psychology. In this article, I will share some lessons learnt from my observations of London's most prestigious interior designers and their deep understanding of the psychology of colour.


Many people think of psychology and they imagine heavy university textbooks, forbidding journal articles and plenty of theory. But in reality, psychology is a practical everyday subject for interior designers. When we see colour, it connects our senses to our subconscious. Specific tones and hues can evoke certain emotions and enhance or subdue certain types of mood - all of which can be fine-tuned by experienced interior design teams.


London has always been a top city for colour trends. Fortunately London also has a burgeoning and innovative multicultural interior design community. This combination has led to a real focus on the psychological associations of colour in the context of interior design. London Interior Design professionals will often employ "earth colours" as either a centrepiece or a subtle enhancement to a comprehensive design scheme. The "earth colours" include hazels, dusky reds, russets and burnt siennas. In terms of psychology, earth colours can create feelings of warmth and good cheer among those who like them. More reticent and retiring individuals may find these colours soothing and restful, and interior designers in London often use them to carry the mind away from the city streets and evoke countryside farms and well-tilled fields in autumn. Darker chestnut colours in particular are often interpreted as being sumptuous, rich and welcoming.


However, for some projects, a professional interior design team will avoid earth colours if the client considers them too uninspired and characterless. In such cases, it may be appropriate to focus on sunnier earth variants, such as oatmeal or camel.


Interior designers will also refer to the "life colours" when thinking about composites or envisioning fresh new designs for London residences. The life colours include greens, which often call to mind feelings of solitude, serenity and forest-fresh organic lifestyles. Another life colour is blue, which is adored by individuals who have an affinity for deep waves, space, stillness and relaxation.


As with the earth colours, interior designers often have an innate sense of "how much is too much" in respect of the life colours. In London homes, which are often smaller and feature awkward spaces, interior design teams need to be wary of using too much green, which can be seen as uninspiring or overpowering in tightly-dimensioned living areas. Similarly, a focus on blue can engender feelings of frigid isolation. The professional interior designer or colour consultant will know exactly how to create precisely the effect you desire for your London home or office.


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A London Interior Design Consultancy Goes Exterior - Lighting for Expansive Gardens

As in the case of smaller London gardens, a top interior design consultancy will come up with a phenomenal outdoor lighting scheme by first making a list of the best elements of your more expansive city or rural garden. By "elements," I refer to any areas or features in your garden that are especially unusual or pretty and that can be made into a centrepiece with clever illumination. "Soft elements" can include evergreens, blossoming tulips, or woody plants. "Structural elements" include waterfalls, rockeries or planters. Whatever the top elements of your garden, London's best interior design consultancies will make certain to conceal any fixtures or illumination hardware so that only the light output can be seen.

A London Interior Design Consultancy Goes Exterior - Lighting for Expansive Gardens

London's most celebrated interior design consultancies will always obscure any illumination appliances or installation units such that only the light that comes out of the hardware will be visible to residents or guests. And with any king-size garden, we recognise that it is paramount to not go overboard on the design. Questions abound. For example, is it advisable for your interior design consultancy to lighten up even the furthest reaches of your expansive garden? Or would that create an undesirable effect similar to a floodlit tennis court at your local park? If you live in one of London's urban centres, could local law enforcement point to issues with nighttime security if your garden is inadequately lit? If your professional London interior design consultancy has experience illuminating gardens, they will be able to bring all these issues to your attention.

A London Interior Design Consultancy Goes Exterior - Lighting for Expansive Gardens

Is it too bright out there? Too dark? What questions first come to mind when you look out onto your larger garden after dusk? You and your family's preferences and sense of style will have a major impact on how your interior design consultancy creates the garden of your dreams. Don't forget to think about "use cases" for your expansive garden. Where will homeowners and visitors be situated when they view the garden at night? Will they be walking past on the streets of your local London borough, or will they be inside your house or mansion? Alternatively, will they be sitting outdoors in the garden, and what will it look like when someone glances back toward your residence? London's top interior design consultancies can assist you in addressing these and other questions of importance.

A London Interior Design Consultancy Goes Exterior - Lighting for Expansive Gardens

Illumination-based pollution in larger urban centres like London is eliminating our view of the stars and moons at nighttime. This means that interior design consultancies have to be very cautious about outdoor lighting concepts in order to minimise "light-spill" and keep power bills low. Green design is a major feature of modern garden lighting schemes, and many London interior design consultancies will encourage you to use low-power LEDs and fibre optic solutions in place of the incandescent or halogen alternatives of yesteryear.