Hue are You?

Your favorite color reveals more than you think.

Part one of a two-part series
by Marion Butterworth

Photo by Gordon Beall, courtesy of Great Falls Distinctive Interiors Inc.

“The colors that people choose tell me a lot about them,” says Alice Busch, owner and president of Great Falls Distinctive Interiors Inc. “Those that like warm, vibrant colors (such as these) are secure within themselves.”

Feeling blue? Seeing red? Psychologists and marketers have been studying color preferences for decades, beginning with Dr. Max Lüscher, a Swiss psychologist who created the Lüscher Color Personality Profile Tests. Although conclusions from such instruments are largely anecdotal due to fluctuations in human emotion and perception, researchers agree that colors elicit physiological responses. Colors can excite or depress, stimulate or soothe. While our preferences aren’t entirely fixed, the colors we choose to live with and wear hint at who we are.

Getting Personal

People who prefer warm colors such as red, yellow, and orange tend to be more outgoing than those who prefer cool blues and greens. Generally, men gravitate toward cooler colors while women favor warmer shades. Japanese researcher Choku Akashi found that we perceive warm colors as active and cool colors as passive because red and its neighbors on the color wheel stimulate the autonomic nervous system. The reverse is true of blue and green.

Nothing injects character into interiors more quickly or easily than color. Part one of our two part series will help you to discover the subliminal message that colors send and what your favorites say about you.

Sunny Yellow

Photo by Mark Finkenstaedt, courtesy of Designing Solutions

Working with Debbie Wiener, principal designer at Designing Solutions, Lynne and Paul Myers of Rockville chose Benjamin Moore’s “Soft Pumpkin” for their dining room. Lynne says, “Orange is an active color and we tend to be very active. Our house is always full of commotion. Warm colors are the perfect backdrop for our lifestyle.”

Vincent Van Gogh, a man who knew his colors, said, “Yellow is a color capable of charming God.” The shade of warm summer sun, as cheery as spring’s first bunch of daffodils and as fresh as a bowl of lemons, yellow is chosen by mentally adventurous individuals. Optimistic, independent thinkers, yellow folks are creative and young at heart. Not everyone loves yellow, though. Research reveals that babies cry more when in yellow rooms, and many people find yellow more irritating than refreshing.

Juicy Orange

“Notice me,” orange says. The high intensity color of safety cones and vests, it advances in space. A little less energetic than red, a cantaloupe couch, tangerine pillow or terra cotta wall still jumps out at you. Orange’s bravado elicits an instantaneous love-it-or-hate-it response.

Lovers of orange are athletic, active folks. Exuberant, oranges are highly social, fun-loving and popular. Talkative and energetic, orange lovers like to be busy.

The apricots and pumpkins that have been in style the last few years aren’t going away anytime soon, experts said. Orange mixed with yellow or copper will supplant red in popularity in 2007, according to the Color Marketing Group, the association of color consultants. While not generally one of America’s favorite colors, orange became mildly popular in the 90s and continues to gain acceptance, says Leatrice Eiseman, author of Colors for Your Every Mood.

Color affects us in interesting ways. “Orange is happy. It makes me hungry,” says Fairfax homeowner Judy Kopach.

For more information on these products, please refer to our Resource Page or send an e-mail to resource@whgmag.com.