When I was younger, a classmate presented a paper about how colors affect mood. I didn’t think much of it at the time, but lately I’ve come around. My husband and I have both been pretty down lately. Day after day of grey skies, job rejections for both of us, illness, writing, research not going well, traffic jams, and unexpected expenses, it seemed like it was one thing after another and neither of us could catch a break.
I was at the store replacing my crumbling black loofah, and I reached for a bright yellow one. The thought popped into my head that it would be like a little ball of sunshine in the shower every morning, and you know what? It is.
I noticed more and more that I was choosing things based on how the colors made me feel, rather than what my favorite color is. I bought the orange candle instead of the blue. I’d go to the coffee shop with the light brown walls and wooden tables instead of the one with the neon-green walls and aluminum tables. I bought the pink flowers instead of the mixed bouquet. I wore the brown slacks instead of the black.
Having noticed this new trend, I did a quick search on the meaning of colors (since I forgot most of what my classmate said). To sum it up, this is what I found.
Pink – soothing
Red – passion and excitement
Blue – relaxing but can cause exhaustion
Green – nurturing
Yellow – energy and brightness
Purple — healing
It’s not a cure-all by any means, but it is adding a little bit of happiness on a grey day!
Do you find that colors affect your mood?
-ML
the graduate wife 
My husband and I lived in an apartment that we knew we’d be the very last occupants (and it’s true, we are luckily now in a brand new apartment!). Before we moved our stuff in, I wanted to paint both bedrooms. In our master, I did a very light green and it seriously made waking up every.single.day. so much better. Then I saw an idea on pinterest and painted a yellow accent wall along our hallway w/a stencil. It absolutely changed my world. Any time I had to use the bathroom, I walked by the wall. The minute I walked into our home, it was right in front of me. You literally couldn’t help but smile. It was an amazing opportunity to explore paint colors and see what works. As I said, we now live in a brand new place (which has so many perks), but now I barely feel I can put a hole in the wall. I miss the color of our old home.
I also find that what clothing I decide makes me feel either better or just “blah” about the day.
Lovely post to make us think about what small changes can make the world a little easier to live in every day!
I loved this piece! Since we are unable to paint the walls in our rented flat, I’ve found that adding colorful accessories to the room really helped liven it up a bit, and has made me happier. :)