What role does color play in the interior | Professional design and repair

Would you like to live in a house with red, black or purple walls? Does that sound scary? But there is nothing terrible, neither mourning, nor depressing. Let's figure it out.

What is color

The first thing you need to know - color, in nature, does not exist. What we call color is really just an individual sensation of light. The reflected spectrum of sunlight from the surface of surrounding objects. If an object completely absorbs light, we see it black, and if it reflects it is white. An object that absorbs all colors of the spectrum except green will be green for us, etc. Mirror and glass reflect up to 90% of the light, taking into account the density of the object and the environment in which it is located.

Color in world culture

Already in prehistoric times, people used paints to decorate the walls of caves (cave paintings), later dishes and ritual objects were painted. Mineral pigments were used for paints. Dyed some colored minerals, clay, plant juice.

Rome is the foundation of good taste. The purple color has become a symbol of strength and power. In Russian, this color is defined as a shade of red. In English, "purple" means purple and its shades. The Roman Empire was very popular mosaics, which were assembled from marble of different shades, stones and pieces of different glass. Roman mosaics were distinguished by a large set of shades of color.

India is the mother of history. In this country, color preference has a religious connotation. Since the blue color corresponds to the god of love, therefore Krsna is painted with blue skin in yellow robes. Shiva - the god of destruction is depicted in black. Red color symbolizes the feminine. Therefore, at the wedding, the girl is dressed in a red sari. White color corresponds to the male principle, so the groom is always in white.

China is ancient and mysterious. In ancient China, color was not only a religious connotation, but also corresponded to the seasons and cardinal points. The main colors - green, red, white, yellow and black symbolize the five primary elements, such as metal, fire, water. tree and earth. Especially vivid symbolism of color manifested itself in clothing. The emperor wore yellow robes, the scientist wore black. Red and blue robes betrayed the war, and brown and white - the dignitary.

Japan is a subtle attitude towards nature. Paints in this country are called not by their constituent components, as is customary with us, but by the name of the medium, for example, “the back of the sheet is ashen - green. Thanks to preparation from an early age, the Japanese can distinguish up to 240 shades of color. In Japan, a subtle understanding of color is reflected in the colors and is used in the national theater “No”, where the character’s clothes can be used to determine his position, character, gender, age, etc. The most noble color is white.

Egypt is the cradle of civilization. The favorite colors of ancient Egyptian artists were blue, green and gold. In addition, white was used to depict the clothes of the pharaonic gods. The shades of ocher in the drawings conveyed the class position of the depicted people — the darker the skin — the lower the class. Surprisingly, after centuries, the colors of the drawings practically did not change, did not fade.

Greece is the mother of the classics. In this country, the colors corresponded to the gods of Olympus. Often used black and red to depict scenes of the Olympic Games, the exploits of the gods and heroes.

At different times in different cultures, color was given a different meaning. In many ways, this has an impact on us now. For example, we put on black clothes for funerals - symbolizing mourning and grief. In the east, white clothes are put on for funerals, black is forbidden.

Color psychology

Psychologists who study the influence of color on people advise using some colors and trying to avoid others. But each nation has its own story and its own associations with each color.In addition, each of us has our own preferences, and they do not always coincide with the opinion of psychologists.

In the style of the interior, when choosing a color palette, the designer tries to take into account the preferences of the owner and reflect his personality as well as the functional purpose of the room as much as possible. In addition, for companies, when designing, corporate colors are primarily used. Also, lighting has a huge impact, from which the color can change beyond recognition. It is also important to combine with other colors, which can both emphasize and extinguish each other.

Basic design rules

So what if you want a room with red walls? Psychologists do not recommend using red - as the main tone for interior decoration. However, if you want red, feel free to decorate the walls in your favorite color. The main thing here is to balance the main color, combining it, for example with gray, which will muffle it and neutralize the negative effect on the psyche. Violet tone goes well with a pale yellow tint, and black - in general with any color, especially with white. Also, the color itself can be weakened by choosing a lighter shade. Or apply pastel colors. In addition, we should not forget about interior decoration. Furniture, curtains, pillow rugs, mirrors, all these items selected in accordance with the main color can soften and at the same time emphasize the style you created.

In addition, a person has the property over time to stop noticing the environment. For example, if after repair we say six months later, a new person comes to visit you and is very surprised to see red walls, you will be surprised no less than him. Because you have been living here for some time and just stopped noticing, “forgot” that you have red walls.

How color is seen by living things

Everyone knows that the red color drives the bull into a rage. But actually it is not. Most mammals see the world in black and white. The bull is annoying that someone dared to disrespect his person, and not the red color. Wolves that cannot cross the barrier with red flags see red as black - and black in their understanding means danger. Some species of animals see colors, but not like we and not all shades.

Insects see an ultraviolet color that we do not see, as well as some colors. However, it’s completely different than people. Birds have the most difficult eyesight. In addition, they distinguish colors perfectly. But whether they see colors, just as we do, is not exactly established by science.