Colours play a significant role in setting the mood and tone of an interior space, be it a living room, bedroom or kids room. Colour will either make or break the appearance and aesthetics of your room, hence it is important to take into consideration your room space and layout. A deep purple coloured wall may symbolise themes like royalty or luxury. However, if there isn’t enough space or lighting in a room, the same colour can make the space dull and crammed up.
The tones not only serve an aesthetic purpose, but also impacts our psychology and mood. When you think about warm shades, what colours come to your mind? A warm yellow as that of a sunset or a soothing orange, reflective of the sunrise? Or perhaps the brown tone of an earthen clay pot? The shades instantly evokes the feeling of warmth, stimulates one’s energy, and brings vibrancy to a dull or lethargic mood.
On the other hand, cool tones will bring a feeling of calm and serenity that one would expect from watching a vast ocean, or glassland. What colours do these two have? A soothing blue and a sage green tone. These tones can calm your stress, anxiety and soothes an unsettled self.
Warm and Cool Tones on Your Walls
| Warm Tones for Wallpaper: | Brown, Gold, Taupe, Terra-cotta, Orange, Tan, Beige, Yellow, Red, Maroon, Peach, Teal, etc. |
| Cool Tones for Wallpapers: | Blue, Sage, Turquoise, Emerald, Light Pink, Plum, Purple, Cobalt, Navy, Muave, Sea Foam, Fuchsia, Green, etc. |
Warm Tones:
The warm tones make a space inviting, cosier and lively. They enhance appetite, mood and stimulate energy and happiness. Warm tones would be best for areas where people interact and socialise or sit together for meals. These spaces include living room, kitchen and even dining area. The warm red or yellow wallpapers for walls can create a sense of passion and excitement. Whereas warm tones like tan and peach makes the space more grounding and inviting.
Have you ever thought why so many fast food brands like KFC, McDonalds, or Tim Hortons chose red and yellow as their brand colours? It’s because they try to stimulate hunger, excitement and attract your attention. Would you like to try a similar psychological trick in your interior (commercial or residential) spaces?
Cool Tones:
The cool tones are the ones that generate a sense of ease and comfort. These colours present in nature such as forest, ocean, sky, rivers provide an instant relief from anxiety and distress. Cool tones stand in sharp contrast when placed against the warmer tones. If you want to create spaces for rest and relaxation, apply cool toned wallpapers in such spaces.
Cool tones wallpapers give an illusion of space as they fade in the background of an enclosed space. They make the appearance of a room lighter and give an air of sophistication to it. Think about a room which could use a sense of calm and relaxation in its interior. Most people want their bedrooms, bathrooms or a study room to have a coolness or serenity. Your bedroom is a space where you unwind after a long and tiring day. A bathroom allows you with the right pampering session, and a study room where you curl up in a blanket with a book in your hand. All these spaces require quiet and peace. Hence the choice of cool toned wallpapers would be an excellent choice.
Now that you have an idea of what warm and cool tones are, you can go ahead and select the wallpaper design for your spaces.
Where to Apply Wallpaper and What Designs?
In this section, we look at what wallpaper design and colours in your interior spaces.
Bedroom:
A place for rest and relaxation, a bedroom should ideally have a cool toned wallpaper, however, it is not mandatory. If you have a large bedroom that feels empty and echoey, go for a peach or beige coloured wallpaper. Alternatively, a small bedroom space can be benefited from a light or cool tone wallpaper like sage green or blush nude.
Living Room:
Everyone is gathered in a living room to watch an adrenaline pumping football match or simply for a social gathering. You know which colour wallpaper will take the excitement and joy to the next level? You are right! The warm toned colours like yellow, orange or red. If you have a large lying room space, you can also check out 3D wallpapers for walls to achieve that fuller look for your room.
Bathroom:
A quick photo search on the internet will tell you that the most chosen colours for a bathroom are mostly cool tones. Since bathrooms are smaller than a living room or bedroom, it only makes sense to go for cooler tones. As mentioned above, the cool tones recede in the background to create an illusion of space. Plus with bath fitting, mirrors and lighting all getting attached in one limited space requires cool tones to stand out more.
Puja/Mediation Room:
A puja or mediation room should ideally be wallpapered with a bright yellow or saffron colour. These colours evoke happiness, stimulate energy and are also considered auspicious in many faiths.
Study Room:
An individual needs to set focus and concentration in their study room, whether they are simply reading a book or working on a project. Choosing a cool toned wallpaper like marine blue or forest green will bring relaxation and calm the mind—neccessar for focusing one’s attention.
Kitchen:
The kitchen is perhaps the only interior space that could use both warm and cool toned wallpapers. It depends on the layout and the size of the kitchen. Whether you want to create a serene space for cooking meals or a happy energised space for your loved ones—your call! The best way would be to do a mix and match of both warm and cool toned wallpapers to create a harmoniously synced kitchen space.