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A LITTLE BIT OF SOL:
Color and the Winter Blues
By Diantha Harris, ASID, IACT, FSII
About this time every year, I begin feeling the effects of the shortened daylight hours and day after day of gray skies. Like many of you, I also suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder, better known as SAD.
And SAD is what it makes me feel. I’ve learned over the years that surrounding myself with lively color helps me get through the darkest time of year with “flying colors!” This article is about the colors in our environment more than the colors we choose to wear. And color preference, our desire to be around certain colors, is not the same thing as color response, which is both inherited in our genes, and learned behavior. Today we are just talking about generalities in terms of color response, so try to leave your preconceived ideas about color behind as we explore color as it affects us during the winter months.
Color is an amazing tool we have every day of our lives to support us. Learn to use it wisely and you will have an ally for the rest of your life!
 The color associated with the sun, or the SOL in our title, is YELLOW. Too much yellow, though, can actually be depressive and create anxiety along with aggression. Small amounts of yellow such as we find in accessories and flowers will lighten our spirits, and fill our souls with the best qualities of the sun: happiness and relief from dull colors around us in the out-of-doors.
Colors in the RED family also help to cheer and brighten our lives. Additionally, the red family of colors actually causes a physiological reaction in the cells of our body that makes us feel warmer. The Reds encourage us to be social and to linger with friends for a longer time than we might otherwise do.
ORANGE is often associated with the feelings of bliss, a deeper happiness than that associated with yellow. Oranges come into season in the middle of our northern winters and as such are a welcome relief for many of us who seek fresh fruits and vegetables during the long winter months! Generally I am not an orange juice drinker but come February, I crave it. And I often buy flower bouquets full of orange during the winter months! Orange, especially that color known as terra cotta, is a color that also promotes sociability just like red does. If you like to create a mood for gatherings and friends, add some red or orange to promote it.
GREENS begin to move toward the cooler family of colors but are still great colors to live with as they tend to relax us. They also are the color most seen in nature and, as such, seem friendly and nurturing.
BLUES are sometimes associated with feeling blue, or depressed. If you have SAD but love blue, simply alleviate it with dashes of yellow, reds, and oranges. Otherwise the blue can cause you to feel isolated, sad, and unmotivated.
VIOLETS and PURPLES begin to bring red back into the mix so they are like the green family: a combination of both cool and warm colors. The particular shade can vary from cool violet or purple to warm depending on the amount of red contained in the shade. Too much of these hues can overwhelm and feel smothering to some, so be careful when considering using them in large areas like walls. Generally speaking, they make better accent colors than wall colors. This color family encourages spiritual pursuits and is also associated with the emotions of grief and sorrow. They are well used as support colors during those times of life when these emotions arise.
Diantha Harris, ASID, FSII, IACT has been in the world of Interior Design for over 25 years. The author of Simply…Color, she teaches about color on her own, for the Feng Shui Institute of America, and for the International Academy of Colour Therapeutics. To learn more, see her website www.lifepnet.com or email lifepnet@aol.com. |
