Top 10 Ways to Utilize Color and Feng Shui in Your Client’s Homes

Interior design is about more than selecting furniture, accessories, paint, linens, and floor coverings. It's all about creating a space that speaks to a client's personal style and individual needs. A great way to begin any design project is to work with a client to choose the room's color palette including which shades will be used on the walls.

Many interior design professionals have undertaken projects in which the client struggles to choose paint colors. One effective way of helping a client decide is to employ an understanding of color psychology and to use feng shui with color practices. Our favorite ways to use color and feng shui in interior design include:

1. Using deep tones Deep tones create a welcoming atmosphere and helps warm up the space. Magenta works well with these dark tones because it is believed to add positive energy to a space in feng shui practices.
2. Increasing appetites with shades of red The color red is believed to increase appetites and infuse energy into a home. In feng shui practices red is powerful and magnetic and draws people into a space, making it a perfect choice for a home's kitchen.
3. Remembering the past Ask your clients about memories of their childhood homes. Perhaps the color of the walls, scent of a favorite food, or a feeling will rush back to them. You can use these memories to choose paint colors and help evoke the past. Feng shui with color uses yellow to add warmth and life to a space which may be the perfect color to use in designs inspired by clients' memories.
4. Using familiar colors Many interior design professionals like to employ a client's most familiar colors when designing a bathroom. Choose a color that looks good on your client to create a complementary reflection of the walls in the bathroom mirror.
5. Adding green to your office Shades of green are perfect for a home office because they inspire concentration and focus. Choosing a muted shade of green for the walls, then accessorizing with bolder greens in the same color palette, is a way to add energy to the office without feeling like you're working in a jungle. Green is also known to promote change and growth which are essential qualities for a home office.
6. Using earth tones Greens, browns, and tans are all colors of nature and can work together to create a subdued color palette. Choose one shade for an all-over color on the walls and then add other Earth tones and specific pops of color, including pinks or oranges, to the space.
7. Increasing energy with shades of green Orange is often associated with invigorating spaces and improved health, making it ideal for a child's bedroom or playroom. The perfect shade of orange on the walls can help make your child feel alive and re-energized each morning. If you're hoping to enhance a room's feng shui with color, consider choosing a shade of orange, peach, or coral to make a room feel happier and healthier.
8. Cooling down with shades of blue Painting the walls blue can help create a clean, fresh, and cool look for your client's home. Many interior designers rely on shades of blue to cool off a space during the warm summer months. Blue also represents the water element and can be successfully used in feng shui to calm anxiety and worry.
9. Putting your foyer to work The foyer is the perfect space to merge the colors of a home's exterior with the interior. Consider bringing in a color from the home's exterior color palette for the foyer walls and combine it with colorful accessories from the interior palette. This will make the entry space feel connected to both the inside and the outside.
10. Being bold Intensity matters when choosing paint colors. Before you select a specific shade for a client's design project discuss the intensity of the shade. If your client is reluctant to go bold for an all-over wall color consider incorporating a focal wall or just painting behind built-in shelves. Shades of red and orange are perfect for these projects and bring a sense of power and prosperity in feng shui.

Understanding the benefits of utilizing feng shui with color is just one of the many topics you can learn about on our Dunn-Edwards website. We are committed to helping interior design professionals create unique and innovative spaces for their clients.