Cold and warm color

Color has various characteristics that need to be taken into account when choosing one for a particular interior.

One of those characteristics is that cold colors tend to recede, while warm colors advance.

Colors are separated into two groups, cold and warm. If the color wheel is separated into two equal parts with a vertical line on one side we will have cold colors, with green the first cold color, and on the other side there will be warm colors. Yellow and purple are divided into two parts, green-yellow and blue-purple are cold, while orange-yellow and red-purple are warm.

If the same wall in an interior is colored in a warm color, then in a cold color, it will have different appearances. When colored cold it will seem to recede and when warm it will seem closer.

Cold and warm colors should be applied carefully. Cold colors can be applied in a room which is too big for its inhabitants and they want to make it more compact and intimate.

Warm colors such as orange, brown and red create a feeling of safety and cosiness in a room. Warm colors can be applied on walls to bring them closer, but care should be taken when applying them to the floors and ceilings. On a ceiling a warm color can create a suppressing effect, so it should be used only on uncomfortably high ceilings. When used on floors warm colors create a solid, bold effect. From my own observations warm colors are good for places of entertainment, like living rooms, cafes, restraints and other places which are designed for a cosy and warm pastime.

But in official areas, like banks, studies and offices cold colors are preferred, not only because they are associated with seriousness and create a right mood for mental work, but also because such interiors look better when they are open and spacious.

Cold colors are great for bedrooms, studies, bathrooms as they create a feeling of calmness and purity. They are great for smaller rooms. A small room painted in cold colors will seem wider, walls will recede and create an airy spacious interior.

But this doesn’t mean that cold colors must be used only in small interiors, and warm colors in large ones.

It all depends on the taste, as some people might like that the interior is large and want to stress that wideness, in that case cold colors can help.