Spending more time at home is inspiring many people to get into some DIY projects. One of the popular ones right now is painting and decorating. Step one in the painting process is selecting your paint, including the colour.

While the safe choice might be to go with one neutral colour for your entire home, did you know that certain hues can have an enormous impact on the way you and your family feel at home? While some hues lift your mood and make you feel happy and inspired, others can have the opposite effect. Some hues can even make you feel agitated, sleepy, stressed or sad. Even small changes to the use of colour in your home can make a surprising difference to the way you feel. So if you choose a neutral paint colour throughout, that’s fine, as long as you introduce the right colours, depending on the room in the home and its purpose, in your decorating elements.

Here are some tips for using colour to enhance your mood at home.

The home office/study

With so many of us working from home right now, the last thing you would want to do is decorate your home office in colours that leave you feeling sleepy, uninspired or stressed! Views of greenery have been found to make people more productive and happier, so consider the position of your desk and see if you could move it so you have a view out of a window that looks over your garden or trees (many people don’t think of this and have their backs to the window and view). If that isn’t possible, consider adding some indoor plants to the space. Ideally, you would do both!

If you work in a creative field, dare to be different with your colour choices in the home office by opting for colours scientifically proven to inspire creativity and make you feel happy, confident and motivated. Bright tones like orange and yellows have this effect, while also stimulating the left side of the brain to encourage analytical thinking and decision-making.

The living room

The living room is the most well used space in the home. It’s a space for the family to come together, enjoy a meal, play games or watch a movie together. Neutrals are a great colour choice for the walls, but if you’re looking for something a little less predictable, sage greens are lovely in a living room, as are indoor plants and soft, muted green accessories combined with warm, earthy neutrals.

The master bedroom

Consider using a different colour scheme in the master bedroom from the rest of the home. Choose hues that send signals to the brain that it’s time to sleep, not work. Soft blues, calming greens, muted pinks, grey-toned neutrals, lavender and soft yellow all create a sense of calm and serenity, making them excellent choices for the master bedroom.

Kids’ bedrooms

There aren’t too many colour rules when it comes to the use of colour in kids’ bedrooms, other than avoiding a colour like red or bright orange on the walls if you want your kids to sleep! In fact the only room in the home that a colour like red should be used is a home gym, as it will make you feel like you need to get moving and get things done.

But there are a few suggestions that have been scientifically proven to have certain positive effects for children. For instance, if you’re looking to create a calming effect, soft pinks and soft blues are excellent choices. Soft pink, in particular is a colour being used more frequently in schools, and even in hospitals and prisons, due to its calming effect. Other shades to consider are orange for motivation and yellow to spark imagination – just don’t overdo those tones or your children may be too energised to sleep!

The kitchen

The kitchen has always been known as the heart of the home for good reason. It’s a place to come together, to cook, enjoy a meal or simply gather for a chat. It’s meant to be a happy space, so to encourage this, try incorporating yellow into your colour scheme. It doesn’t have to be as bold and vibrant as the example in the image, although, how inviting does that look! Even a few pops of yellow here and there will enhance the mood of your kitchen, such as a bunch of sunny yellow flowers on the benchtop, yellow accessories and even adding some appliances, like a toaster and kettle in bright yellow.

Click here to browse through some visual examples.