As paint manufacturers continue in their ongoing scheme to rid colour names of all meaning,deciding on a shade with which to decorate your new home has become one of the more complex basic jobs in the world of interior design.
But while you agonise over'Morning Zen'or'Juniper Breeze'or just'Pencil',spare a thought for good old red and blue:according to a University of British Columbia(UB)study,the two primary colours could help boost brain performance in a series of tests.
Researchers,led by UBC's Sauder School of Business alumni Juliet Zhu,tracked the performance of more than 600 participants in a series of cognitive tests.The experiments were performed on computers screens,subtly tinted in red,blue or white,and the effect was dramatic.
According to the findings,detail-oriented tasks such as reading and memory retrieval were boosted by the colour red,while blue was best when it came to creativity and brainstorming.
And according to chartered psychologist and colour expert Dr David Lewis,the addition of a little time and some paint is all it takes to improve your home-as well as your mood.
"Paint is one of the most cost-effective ways of transforming a room,and by transforming a room you could be transforming your whole outlook on life,"he said.
"These days everyone is counting every penny and if you are going to do a makeover to a room,rather than throw out the old furnishings and have to buy new stuff that's going to cost you a lot of money,a few pounds spent on paint and a bit of time can transform any room."
Either way,both red and blue are the perfect colours with which to spark up a home office or renovate a kid's bedroom.
You needn't go entirely primary when you look to decorate a room with a basic colour palette-in fact,a red theme extended to painted furniture such as desks,stools and bed frames is just as effective as slapping shades on the wall.
And you can extend the theme to your lighting,too,with modern ceiling lights now available in a number of colours to suit every palette.
