Colors, they make you feel a certain way just like lightness and darkness. They evoke emotion both positive and negative. It gives us moments to be playful, then moody, and then calm.
We as designers/architects carve out space and the spaces become defined through shape, color and texture. Lightness gives humans a sense of openness and awareness. It also makes space feel larger than what it actually is. Lightness also has qualities when infused with natural light that will also make it feel larger than what it is. Lightness can be considered a cool or warm color depending on what materials it is adjacent to. Steel will make whites and creams feel cool, while wood and bricks will make whites feel warm. This starts to play into the textures that are around lighter color. A flat matte sheetrock wall will appear cool and dull compared to a textured plaster or mason wall that is light in color.
Dark colors tend to make the space feel moody and somber if the palette is cool, and matte in finish. Dark colors that are warm will make the space feel energized and sometimes electric.
Natural color on raw materials should be considered. And in my humble opinion preserved for what they are.
Colors affect your behavior and attitude. I don’t think anyone would advise placing red in a bedroom. Colors can also affect you negatively. They can be uncomfortable, uninspiring, and affect your mood. Color sets the tone of a space and evoke feelings. Colorful tones have energy and muted tones can make a human feel more somber. That is why setting the tone for the space becomes vital where you’d have bright, playful and dynamic colors in spaces that need to be energetic. These spaces would be residentially a dining room or powder room. Commercially a meeting or conference room or a kitchen could handle the power of color. Subtle colors in a residence would favor a bedroom, where you would want to set the tone to be calm and cooling. Commercially a calming area would be the HR department where there may be heated discussions or personal offices. Creating a neutral background also helps allow the end user of the space to have flexibility if they gravitate towards bright colors or subdue pallets. Often bright objects in the room tend to dance off a clean pallet when the walls are painted a neutral.
