SM, Boysen hold talk on the color for one’s moods

WHILE THE eye sees color, the heart sees emotion, and the rich varieties of both shape the human experience. SM Home, in collaboration with Boysen (the paint company) gave a talk earlier this month in its Makati City branch to show how color can change your space, and maybe, your life.

The colors used comes from Boysen’s 2018 color palettes, Be Bold and Be You. Be Bold reflects a range of colors from Marquee Moon, a soft yellow, to Space Cadet, a softer green, and Crown Prince, a rich but muted purple. Be You, meanwhile, likes it neutral, where even the muted blue, Blue for You, takes on a subtlety akin to an almost-invisible gray.

One of the speakers, interior designer Grace Moslares, studied the psychology of color, and came up with a space optimal for creating emotional health. Both philosophers and psychologists have studied how color affects the human experience, with even German thinking heavyweight Goethe dropping his hat in the ring. Most agree that colors can affect our mood, and we are sometimes drawn to a color based on the mood we are already feeling. Studies have also shown, for example, that men can be drawn to women based on the color they’re wearing — and it’s usually red. Ms. Moslares’s talk touched on this, saying that warm tones like orange can make us feel hungry, which is why a lot of fastfood joints incorporate the color in their branding.

She then talked about each part of the house, and what colors would be perfect for each. A resting area would benefit from blue, apparently. “You will be very calm, you will feel very collected. You cannot think so much because you would feel sleepy.”

Kitchens, meanwhile, should be splashed with orange. “Though if I’m dieting, I will paint it gray,” she said, perhaps to minimize the appetizing tints of food.

A living room used for entertaining would benefit from splashes of red, to create a feeling of congeniality. “All the bars are like that,” she said.

A study or work area should be green, she said, precisely because the color is calming, which means your mind would be relaxed enough to finish tasks.

Color psychology can also extend to clothing. For meetings and dates where you need to make an impression, wear subtle hues with a pop of red. “So the person who would see you would really remember you,” she said.

A surprise for those looking for some loving: purple. “There’s a certain effect of passion in violet. When you see violet, you could feel so [horny].”

Of course, color psychology aside, color preferences for home and the body always boil down to personal preference. “I wouldn’t gamble without asking about my client about their preferences before doing anything,” said Ms. Moslares. — Joseph L. Garcia