Color Psychology: How to Make Your Home Feel Good

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What if your teenager has a few ideas about how to paint his or her bedroom? In the name of family harmony, it probably makes sense to let your teen pick the paint -- within reason. Harrington says she let her own daughter pick a wild paint scheme for her room -- with the proviso that her daughter would repaint it white when she moved out.

Bathroom paint colors. Whites and warm colors have always been popular choices for bathrooms, in large part because they connote cleanliness and purity. But nowadays the bathroom is used not just as a place to wash up, but also as a private retreat for relaxation and rejuvenation. Says Harrington: "Most people feel comfortable with blues and greens and turquoises because these colors give a sense of being clean and fresh -- and calm."

But spa colors in the bathroom make sense only if they flatter you. "When you look in the bathroom mirror, you want to look great," says Smith. "If you would never wear a particular color, don't paint your bathroom that color. That's a recipe for disaster."

Workout room paint colors. "Reds and oranges can help you move," says Harrington. "But they can also make you feel hot." For this reason, blues and greens may be better choices here. Harrington says that yellow-greens and blue-greens may be the best choices because, in terms of color psychology, they're "happier." 

Home office paint colors. The name of the game here is productivity: the faster you complete work-related tasks, the more time you'll have to spend enjoying family and friends. And color consultants agree that green can be a great choice for a home office. "Green is the color of concentration," says Harrington. "It's one of the best colors to be surrounded by for long periods of time."