What Your Paint Color Says About You

The luminous quality of the colors is also energizing, stimulating conversation and appetites, says Eiseman. Still, to some, warm can be cloying: Eve Ashcraft, author of The Right Color, had a client who compared a buttery yellow room to “cholesterol.” To “bring the temperature down,” she recommends mixing in cool blue gray or green furnishings. Also consider less saturated versions of your favorite shades.

“Most reactions to color come about because of what’s around us in nature,” says Eiseman. So there are certain universal truths. In studies, people tend to associate pale to medium blues, lavenders, and greens with the sky, a body of water or wide-open field—elements we perceive as being tranquil and soothing. And because mild, cool shades have a lower intensity than warm or bright ones, they are literally easier on the eyes, says Ron Reed, assistant professor of interior design at Texas State University in San Marcos and author of Color + Design: Transforming Interior Space.

If you are drawn to blues and their brethren, you probably view your home as an oasis of calm in a hectic world. You may also be a bit of an introvert. (And we don’t mean that disparagingly—check out the bestseller Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking for a celebration of the introspective among us.) To prevent watery shades from feeling chilly, Ashcraft, suggests balancing them with hints of yellow, orange, or brown in your furniture and accessories.

If color isn’t your thing, you can still avoid the most common critique of neutral spaces—they’re “boring”—by working in dark and light tones (say, an ecru sofa and chocolate brown rug) and plenty of texture, says Reed. His advice: Combine smooth and nubby fabrics with wood, glass, metal, and mirrored surfaces. “Playing up contrast keeps a neutral environment from feeling clinical,” he says.