Creative Living: Psychology of color upcoming topic

link Sheryl Borden

Information on the psychology of color and using a template called AnglePlay for quilting will be the featured topics on Creative Living 9:30 p.m. Tuesday and noon Thursday.

Diane Romick, President and CEO of Castle Design Studio LLC, explains that if a homeowner starts with an emotion they want to feel in a room, then the outcome can be very different compared to starting with the function of a room and/or favorite color. She ll explain more about the psychology of color for interior design. She s from Newport Coast, California.

Author and quilter, Margaret Miller will show a template called AnglePlay, which makes working with the long right triangle edges in quilting much easier to piece regardless of the excess seam allowance. She owns Miller Quilts, Inc. in Bremerton, Washington.

Information on floral arrangements and survival sewing will be the featured topics on Creative Living noon Tuesday and 2 p.m. Saturday.

Jill Slater, spokesperson for the California Cut Flower Commission, says using the perfect vase for your favorite flowers is like finding the perfect picture frame for a cherished photograph. She ll talk about the four classic styles of vases for floral arrangements. She s from Watsonville, California.

Sheri McKillop, Executive Vice President for Unique Solutions, will demonstrate what she calls Survival Sewing, which includes sewing on buttons, doing various hand stitches, hemming techniques, and other quick ways to do common sewing tasks. She lives in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia Canada.

The Psychology of Color

Most likely our favorite color and least favorite color is due to personal (mainly childhood) experiences. The study of color is a true science, and colors can affect your state of mind and surprisingly, your physiological state. There s an organization that meets annually to determine the next year s colors. That s why we see all the manufacturers using the same color palette. The color trends and forecasts impact nearly everything. Also, the state of the economy is a strong driver - today s popular neon colors are a reflection of growing financial optimism - a few years ago, people weren t buying anything but neutrals. Colors impact us so much, that if we just say our favorite color should be in every room, we are missing an opportunity to put color to work for us. So first we need to learn the basics of Color Psychology. Colors can increase or decrease appetites, encourage people to be more social or introspective and even cause people to concentrate harder at work or be more creative. For example, temporary holding cells for prisoners are often painted pink to calm them down. Note that it s just the temporary cell because prolonged exposure can cause more agitation.

Visiting sports team locker rooms used to get painted pink but then it became against regulations. Marketing efforts constantly use color psychology. If a company wants to be taken very seriously and trusted, they often use dark blue in their logo and company materials. Also, if a company wants to appeal to young buyers, they make something orange. To many young people, orange is fun and exciting; to many older people it is annoying and insincere.

“Creative Living” is produced and hosted by Sheryl Borden. The show is carried by more than 118 PBS stations in the United States, Canada, Guam and Puerto Rico and is distributed by Westlink of Albuquerque.