It’s scientifically proven that Color can affect how people feel and behave. While there are some variations based on culture, most of these are universal.
For instance, people associate red with passion and energy. It’s also believed that red increases appetite in people. This is the reason you often see food-based companies using red in their logos.
That said, the right door colors can also help rooms work for their purposes!
Door Painting Ideas Based on Color Theory
Before you read the color psychology tips, read this first. It’s not a good idea to base your door’s color scheme on feelings and actions alone.
If you do, you might end up with room colors that don’t work with each other. This can give a poor impression to any guests or housemates. In the end, this may make your psychological manipulation useless.
To know how colors work, you have to learn a bit about color theory. This is basically a set of guidelines that help one achieve certain effects with colors.
There’s an immense body of knowledge associated with this. To decorate your home, though, you can stick to learning about color harmony. Below, you can find some ideas for painting doors based on these concepts.
Color Wheel
To use color harmony and context, you first need to find a color wheel. This is a circular chart that displays all the colors. Clockwise, they usually follow the same order of the colors of a rainbow with other mixes in between.
Before 1666, people used various other charts to organize colors. Then, Sir Isaac Newton created the first color wheel. This took various shapes over the centuries until it became the one used today.
The primary purpose of the color wheel is to find harmonious relationships between colors. The relationships are based on where the colors are located relative to each other on the wheel. Many of these relationships have specific names.
After you learn what makes these relationships, you can then find examples of them. You can then use these to make combinations that are appealing to the eye. Some examples of these relationships and how to use them on doors are below.
1. Complementary Colors
Select a color on the color wheel. Move your eyes in a straight line either left to right. Be sure to stay within the confines of the circle.
The next color that you land on is the first color’s complementary color. Examples of these include red/green and purple/yellow. Putting one color next to its complement makes both of the colors look stronger.
With home decor, it’s best to use one color much more than its complement. Therefore, if you have a room with, say, yellow carpets and walls, paint the door purple. The opposite combination can work as well.
2. Analogous Colors
Analogous colors are neighbors. You can select a color and then the colors to its left and right. Then, you use all three colors to decorate a room of your home effectively.
For example, yellow will look great with yellow-green and yellow-orange. If you have a yellow-painted or yellow-decorated room, consider painting the door a different but not too different color.
It’s probably also best that you include this color in some other features of your room as well. In the above example, you can add yellow-green or yellow-orange furniture in a yellow room.
3. Triadic Colors
This one’s trickier to pull off well. With this one, you’re using colors at each corner of a triangle placed on the color wheel. Doing so creates a playful look.
An example of a triadic relationship is red, yellow, and blue. It’s a good idea to use one color more than the others. You can then use the other two as accents.
For example, consider using a red or blue door in a mostly yellow room. You can then have red or blue furniture, trimmings, and so on.
Keep in mind, though, that basic red, blue, and yellow often get used in situations where children are present. Unless you’re using these colors in a nursery or child’s room setting, consider using lighter or darker versions.
Door Painting Ideas Based on Purpose
Did you know blue streetlights may prevent crime? The same thing happens with many other colors.
By using certain colors in certain rooms, you can help guests use your rooms for their intended purpose. Look at these color psychology interior door painting ideas for some inspiration on this.
4. Bedroom
You may look at the analogous relationships above and decide you want, say, orange laminate flooring and red walls. Before you look up painting ideas, though, take a step back. This would work color theory-wise, but it wouldn’t work color psychology-wise.
Like red, orange gets associated with energy. It can make people feel excited or gain a lot of energy. For this reason, a lot of sports teams will use orange in their uniforms.
This can work well when you need to get up in the morning. However, you may struggle to relax and sleep in the same room as well. Calming colors like blue or green may be better closet door painting ideas.
5. Dining Room
Unlike the bedroom, the dining room is fairly multipurpose. People eat their meals in this room. However, they also use it to chat and relax with their families during these meals.
Which color you choose here should depend on what matters more. Are you a single, hard-working person who needs to eat quickly and get back to work? It might be best for you to have a red door as well as a red room.
Is your house filled with your family, and you want to spend meal time with them? Experts believe that the color blue improves collaboration. You can use it and have the dining room double as both a calm and friendly space.
6. Front Yard
The HOA in your neighborhood may want you to keep your home’s exterior a certain color. If you have the freedom to choose what you wish, consider more welcoming front and garage door painting ideas. Colors that people will judge as welcoming are usually warm colors like orange.
Are you not a very sociable person? One way to keep people away from your home is to paint it with colors that have poor relationships. However, you probably don’t want to do this, as it will decrease your home’s market value.
It’s better to just choose garage and front door painting ideas that repel people. Consider that manufacturers often use red and yellow on warning signs. People may subconsciously associate these colors with danger along with any emotional feelings.
7. Back Door
Do you have a fenced-in backyard? Is that backyard filled with various exercise and physical activity equipment? Do you or others in your home engage in physical activities in the backyard?
Unlike in the bedroom, the energetic orange can work well on your back door. As long as it’s facing the backyard, it can give energy to whoever is in the backyard. They can then perform many physical tasks without feeling as tired.
Is your back door not facing the backyard? If so, you can just match it with the color you have on the front. Neighbors who can see your door from their yards may feel welcomed or repelled from that angle as well.
8. Living Room
Like the dining room, people often use the living room for multiple purposes. It can be both a place to relax and a place to have fun. For example, you may spend your time there relaxing and playing games with your family.
Do you want to facilitate both of these activities at the same time? If so, remember that there are other colors between the basic blue, yellow, and such. Consider painting the door a shade that’s between colors that are playful and relaxing, like yellow-orange.
It’s also possible to paint a door two colors at the same time. You may or may not want to put these two colors on the door. You can, however, paint the door itself in one color and put another color on the trim.
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Along with the information here, be sure to research more. You can find a lot of information online about how colors work together and make people feel. This knowledge should give you plenty more door painting ideas.
A bit overwhelmed by all the moving parts? We hear you! Home painting can be extremely overwhelming and the worst of all, if you don’t have the experience you can make a mess.
Whether you’re ready to start door painting now or need a professional advice, our Home Painters can help. Within a few clicks, Alpha Living will pair you with top-rated professionals near you. Get Started Here!
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