“Colour is a means of exerting direct influence upon the soul”. These were the words of the painting genius Vasilij Kandinskij. Colours are the mirror of tastes and strictly personal experiences, of passions and of our deepest ambitions. That’s why the choice of hues for the home, from the walls to the furnishings, expresses a strong identity and pervades the home with the personality of its inhabitants.
The universe of colour is enormous. The human eye can distinguish a generous 10,000 colours. In Italian culture, colour is capable of expressing this wealth in its application in domestic spaces, through the sensations that it is able to inspire. Italians list and recognise 300 emotions for the walls and rooms of their home, according to recent research entitled “Gli stili emotivi dell’abitare” (Emotional styles in the home) by Sigma Coatings.
A kaleidoscope of emotions
Therefore it is a profound bond, which is packed with shades of colour, because colours not only influence all the physiological functions of the human body, such as the heart rate, the appetite, the mood, but also many emotional and psychological aspects.
For 84% of those interviewed, in fact, colour is as “vital as the air we breathe”, it is synonymous with positivity, happiness and relaxation (20%), but also with feelings and emotions (20%): in short, it is not simply a decorative element! Within the walls of the home, it is considered an important factor to feel good (75%), and this is not surprising because the prevalent functions attributed to colours in everyday life are in fact “safety, familiarity, feeling good about oneself, experimenting and creativity”.
Which is the Italians’ favourite shade for interiors? Whether it’s for the kitchen, the bathroom or the living room (sitting room and lounge), the predominant hue is white, owing to its ability to convey a sense of cleanliness, welcome and familiarity. Second place is blue, followed by yellow, red, azure blue and green, trendy colours which can be found in different types of furnishings.
If a total white kitchen is an absolute must, considerably appealing are also the combinations of white with other colours such as the palette of blues, from the darker Moon Blue to the brighter shades of Turquoise and Alaska Blue, or the various shades of yellow, including the bright Genziana and the intense Mustard hue we find matched with containers and furnishings in the living room.
When it comes to the bathroom, green imbues the setting with a sense of relaxation and harmony: it is the right colour, especially in the young and cool Mineral Green shade of the Diesel Open Workshop bathroom.
Whereas red, a bold and passionate colour par excellence, customises the home with furnishing elements and decorative details that don’t go unnoticed.
Which colours do you prefer for your home?
