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Article courtesy Rhonda Layton at: http://myinteriordecorator.com
When I was in college, I took an entire semester long class on
environmental psychology. This science studies how our environment
effects our being and behaviors. How are we effected by color,
furniture, temperature and placement of furniture were a few of
the things we studied. The studies that have been done thus far
in that field suggest that the color itself does not effect us
but our perception of that color does.
For instance, the color black to me represents stability and elegance.
To someone else, it represents death. To some countries it represents
purity, its what their brides wear on their wedding days. So,
if you were to place the three of us in a room with everything
being black, I would come out of the room feeling very stable
and elegant. The person who sees death would be depressed and
upset and the person to whom that color represents purity will
feel wholesome and good. Now, we were all in the same room.
We all three saw the same things. But we all three had different
perceptions about the color black and thus very different experiences
in that room.
The argument then becomes, is it our culture that dictates our
perceptions or our individual experiences in life?
Let's dissect the color avocado green. When this color first
made itself known in the seventies, it was EVERYWHERE. Entire
homes were drowned in avocado green. During that "fad,"
it was the color to have. Now, in the new century and millennium,
if you have a home with ANYTHING avocado green, it not only dates
your home BUT it leaves a very nasty taste in some people's mouths.
Why?
As a culture we over did it with the avocado green. It represents
to us a time in our past, we did it, we were there, and we have
moved on. For some people, however, that color represents the
limited funds they have had in their lives to change appliances
to newer fresher colors. It limits them and causes strife. For
someone who did not grow up in the seventies that color means
nothing to them.
It's a combination of many things, including culture and individual
experiences, but ultimately its YOUR perception of a color that
determines your mood or feelings towards or about a room.
by Rhonda M. Layton
Copyright 2000-2001
Owner, MyInteriorDecorator.com
Author, The Decorating Bible
http://MyInteriorDecorator.com
1-877-437-8875
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