The human eye can differentiate between several million colours of varying shades and hues, of varying saturation and lightness. Although there may be a great deal of colour awareness, the day-to-day vocabulary used to describe colours is very limited. For instance, most of us generalize colours into simple categories of blue, light blue, dark blue and so on. People do not venture out of the circle of familiar names for colours as they feel comfortable with those. They have subconsciously established mainly primary colours in their minds.

Colour is a vital element of home interiors. Your walls, furniture, draperies and upholstery, all are coordinated on the basis of colour and design. The main colour in the room is of the walls. The curtains, cushions and furniture should be chosen either in harmony with the wall or contrast to it. But obviously the first thing that you would think of is painting the walls of your house. The walls need to be painted periodically to maintain their sheen and minimize wear and tear.

Colour can change the perception of the house in various ways; it can make it look restful, dramatic or intimate. Schemes based on primary colours (blue, red and yellow) and secondary colours (green, orange and violet) are bright and vibrant. Pastel shades and light neutral colours give an impression of softness and quiet.

While choosing the colour for your walls certain factors should be considered. These are:

Size

Light colours make a small room appear larger, just as bright and dark colours make the room look smaller. Rooms can have ceilings appear lower with dark colours or higher with colours like blue or grey.

Lighting

Colours look different in artificial light than what they do in natural light. In most artificial lighting, reds and yellows appear brighter and blue, darker. Both, natural and artificial lighting plays a significant part in making a room look spacious or compact. White and pale colours reflect more light than black and dark colours, thereby making the room appear larger.

Shape

Colour can be used either to disguise or to emphasise certain features like low and sloping ceiling or a pipeline on the wall. For instance, painting the pipe that is sticking out and the wall behind it, with the same colour, will make the pipe less prominent.

Directions

Rooms facing south are usually warm, since they receive ample amount of sunlight. Such rooms need cooler colours (light blue or lime green). Rooms facing east are exposed to early morning light therefore neutral colours (grey or brown) are the best. West and north are relatively cooler so they require warmer (orange or yellow) colours.

Colours and its Attributes

Paints, not only protect your walls, but also reflect your personality. Each colour has certain specific feature that corresponds to a personality trait.

Colours	Attribute
White	Simple and elegant
Red	Energetic and powerful
Orange and yellow	Warm
Lime	Fresh
Blue	Cool and calm

You never colour the entire house in one shade, even within the house, different rooms require different colours depending on certain factors. Let us see what are these.

Drawing room: Neutral or pastel shades are advisable as these look elegant and also enable you to highlight your furniture.

Bedrooms: Bedrooms should have dark colours like reds and blues. These colours suggest warmth and coziness. They make the rooms look pleasant even on a gloomy day. It compensates for the lack of sunlight. Equally warm but brighter colours like orange and yellow can be also used.

Children's room: Children's room should be painted with bright colours. It should look cheerful and lively. Primary colours with shades of white would be ideal.

Kitchen: Kitchen should be painted in white, light blue or pale yellow to give an impression of cleanliness, openness and freshness.

Few guidelines to remember while choosing colours

Alternatives to wall colouring

There are other alternatives to painting walls. Natural materials like wood or bamboo can be left unpainted, since they have their own texture and are durable without the protective coating of paint. Wallpaper is the other viable option. If you wish to do the wallpapering yourself, adhesives are available with the dealers. It is easy to maintain wallpapers; they can be cleaned with wet wipes. It is suitable for any interiors that does not have seepage and is termite-resistant.

So, go wild, splash your walls with cool blues or refreshing greens or stimulating reds. Let the colours run riot in your life.