Cool colors often make a room calming.
Often you choose a color for a room based on your tastes, furniture or current design trends. However, a 2004 study at the University of Georgia suggests that certain colors are associated with creating positive or negative feelings. You can use this information to impact your children by painting your child's room with colors that are soothing or energizing, depending upon the feelings you want to encourage. You can also choose colors that make the room seem brighter or darker, which also impacts mood. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Look at the lighting in your child's room. If the room is small or has small windows or dim lighting, very strong colors will make all of these features more noticeable. Choosing pale or pastel shades of any color will make a room seem brighter and lighter than darker shades. The University of Georgia study found that people tend to find dark colors more depressing than lighter or brighter colors.
2. Determine what colors are not suited to your furniture and carpeting. Regardless of the mood you want to create, a room will seem busy if you have too many colors or colors that clash. Use a color wheel or pick up some paint chips from the store to help you eliminate a few colors from your choices as unsuitable.
3. Talk to your child, if she is old enough to have a meaningful discussion, and try to use a color your child also finds appealing. You may find that your child likes only certain shades of a color -- such as greens that lean toward blue rather than yellow, for example.
4. Choose your paint color, and purchase latex wall paint in this color. Reds are often heavy and rich. Oranges are vibrant and seldom used as the sole color for a room. Yellows are sometimes off-putting. However, in light shades, all of these colors can be appropriate and add a cheerful feel to a room, making a dim area seem bright. In the University of Georgia study, yellow in particular was associated with energy and happiness. Purples and blues are typically calming, making them good for children, especially children who are young enough to need naps. However, if blues or purples are too gray in tone, they can be depressing. The University of Georgia study found that people regarded gray the most negatively of all studied colors. Greens are often good for a relaxing room because they are typically calming, and were regarded the most positively of all studied colors in the University of Georgia study. Many hospitals use green color schemes because of their calming effect.
5. Remove all furniture from the room, and remove curtains and pictures from the walls. Tape around door and window frames as well as any floor or ceiling trim to protect them from the paint. Place drop cloths around the perimeter of the room to protect the floor.
6. Paint the room with a latex-based primer using a roller for large areas and a brush for small areas. If the room is already a color similar to the one you have chosen or is white, you can use more latex wall paint for the base coat instead of primer. Wait for the primer to dry.
7. Paint over the primer with latex-based wall paint in the color that you have chosen using the same technique you used for the primer. Wait for it to dry, then add an extra coat if needed. Remove the painter's tape and drop cloths. Let the paint dry overnight, then move the furniture back into the room. Wait another day before replacing any pictures or curtains on the walls.
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