Did you know there’s a field of Psychology called ‘Design Psychology’? It uses interior design to improve the way people feel. People find certain colours and textures more pleasant than others and being in a place that makes us feel good is good for our mental health.

According to Psychology Today, brighter colours are more pleasurable and relaxing, but they mustn’t be too saturated. In other words, baby blue or light pink is more relaxing than navy blue or fire engine red. In places where people need to relax like a bedroom or concentrate like a study; relaxing colours are a better choice.

The closer colours are to each other on the colour wheel (blue and green) the more relaxing they will be when used together. In contrast, colours that are opposite to each other (red and green) make an exciting combination.

Across the world, people report that blue is their favourite colour whereas yellow is less so. If your ultimate goal is to sell your house, blue is a safer choice, but yellow is quite acceptable in a kitchen.  Don’t forget to factor in the different cultural meanings of colours. For example in the West, blue and pink are associated with boys and girls respectively and in China, the colour red is associated with good luck. Also, people might have strong associations to certain colours that effect how they feel about it.

Don’t be scared to use colour, according to psychologists’ humans find beige stressful!