Passonno Paints | The Power of Color

Warm and Cool colors

Cool
Blues and greens can introduce a cool mood into a room. The level of coolness will depend on the intensity of the colors. Cool colors can also be used to change the appearance of a room, pushing back walls and furnishings and making the room appear more spacious. They look best in a room with a sunny exposure, where the colors counteract some of the strength of the direct sun. They should be avoided in shaded rooms.
	Warm
	Warm colors, such as red and apricot, have an opposite effect, closing in the walls of a room. If the room is large, its dimensions seem decreased. Warm colors look their best in a not so bright room with southern light, so that the bright effect of the sunny colors is not too overbearing.

Properties of Color

HUE:

Hue is pure color - any primary, secondary or tertiary color that is unmixed with black or white. It can be another name for color.

REFLECTIVE VALUE:
This is the degree of lightness or darkness of a tint, shade or tone. White has the highest reflective value and black the lowest.

TINT:
A tint is the pure color (hue) with white added. This new color has higher reflective value (is lighter) than the original hue.

SHADE:
A shade is the pure color (hue) with black added. This new color has a lower reflective value (is darker) than the original hue.

TONE:
This is pure color (hue) with gray added. This new color is a softer variation of the original.

INTENSITY:

This is brightness or dullness of colors. Less intense colors (blue) have a calmer effect and are easier to live with than the more intense colors (red). Intense colors are often used as highlights and contrast.

Color personality

Color is a way people express their creativity. Choice of particular colors says a lot about the way we feel and want to feel. Colors have traditional values and associations, and people's attitudes to color are very much influenced by these values and associations. So what do certain colors signify?

RED	is a traditional symbol of love, romance, courage, danger, passion and rage. It gives an impression of richness and luxury and is an adventurous and ambitious color.
ORANGE	is a social and exuberant color and represents ripeness, warmth and happiness. If used extensively, orange can be a very forceful color.
YELLOW	is the brightest of all colors and has the greatest illuminating power. It is warm and cheerful and stimulates activity and communication, circulation and appetite. It can also, however, indicate a tendency to be frivolous and superficial.
GREEN	indicates a well-balanced personality and is conservative, traditional and conventional. It inspires feelings of restfulness, freshness and informality.
VIOLET	is the color of royalty and is associated with noble traits such as love, truth and justice. It is dramatic, sophisticated and sensual and indicates an imaginative and lateral-thinking personality. It can also indicate a lack of realism and feeling of self-importance. It also has the ability to lower blood pressure and respiratory rates.
BLUE	is a color of peace, tranquility and wisdom and can generate a sense of well-being. Blue gives the impression of space and coolness and represents serenity, loyalty and truth.
BLACK	represents an absence of light and color, but can be a deep and restful contrast. It is sophisticated, elegant, dramatic and formal and gives a feeling of solid strength. It can be powerful, aloof and intimidating.
WHITE	symbolizes light, triumph, innocence and joy and it gives the effect of enlarging a space. White can indicate an individualistic and idealistic personality and it creates an atmosphere of coolness.

Proportion, Contrast and Effects with Color

Use color to create an illusion. Color can highlight the good features of a room and camouflage defects. You can actually change the shape of a room visually by the use of color. Identify the character of the room you are about to decorate, follow the guide-lines for using color, but remember that rules are flexible, and also that there is a much more comprehensive range of colors available today than ever before.

Use a strong colour on the lower part of the walls, from picture rail down, and a lighter color above and over the ceiling. This will make the room appear more enclosed. Resene (Paint and Coatings)

A dark color on ceiling and walls down to dado height, with a lighter color on the lower part of the walls to match the floor, changes a room's proportions.

Floor and ceiling in a similar color, with the walls painted a lighter color will seem to widen the room. Resene (Paint and Coatings)

Lower a ceiling visually by painting the ceiling and the walls above the picture rail in a deep tone. Paint the walls, from the picture rail down, a light color.

To give the feeling of airiness and space, paint the walls to match the floor and use pale, cool colors. Resene (Paint and Coatings)

A warm, deep colour on short end walls with a lighter color on the adjoining longer walls will make a long, narrow room appear more evenly proportioned.

Paint Effects

Different paint techniques can be used to create a wonderful variety of textured effects and they offer an exciting alternative to plain, painted walls or wallpaper.

Resene (Paint and Coatings) - Colourwash Colorwashing
Color-washing produces a soft. dappled effect, which is achieved by a two-step process. A colored base coat is washed (brushed) over with a premixed coat of diluted color. The end result can provide striking contrasts depending on the combination of colors you choose.

Sponging Sponging
Sponging creates a gentle, mottled or cloud-like effect with multi color finishes, either stimulating or restful, depending on your colors. The number of effects you can achieve depends on the type of sponge, the way you use it and your choice of colors, making this technique ideal for coordinating furnishings and fabrics.

Rag rolling Rag rolling
Rag Rolling can replicate the appearance of suede or crushed velvet, creating the subtle or rich finishes normally associated with the most expensive wallcoverings. Distinctive effects can be obtained by rag rolling with successive colors. These may be either ragged on or ragged off. The effect is obtained by using a bunched rag, which is rolled or dabbed over the surface.