March: Citrus Blast

acw: House Beautiful, Mo-Saique, Eva Sonaike, Mulberry, Only Roses, B&B Italia, Megan Park, Oscar de la Renta, Smythson of Bond Street, Soane Britain

I was really excited when preparing for our March colour of the month: Citrus Blast, as this beautiful and rich orangey-yellow by Benjamin Moore evoked a feeling of warmth and comfort in me. Benjamin Moore describe it as ‘an energetic orangey-yellow that's as fresh as just-squeezed Florida orange juice. This lively, vibrant colour will brighten your morning and kick-start the day ahead.’ Wow, what a start for the new month! But doing my research and being all happy-clappy, I learnt that yellow is one of the most controversial colours in interior design and colour psychology, as it gives some of the most mixed messages of all colours. Yellow is an emotional colour and the strongest colour, psychologically.  As it is the colour of confidence and optimism, the right shade of yellow will lift our spirits and our self-esteem. In interiors, variations of yellow, for example deep gold for a dining room aids digestion, soft butter yellow is warm and cheerful and great for a baby’s nursery, bright yellow is positive and innovative when used in a meeting room, a warm yellow sharpens the memory and is therefore perfect for the office environment and is often used for retail shops as it is eye catching and welcoming. However, too much yellow, or the wrong tone in relation to the other tones in a colour scheme, can cause self-esteem to drop, giving rise to fear and anxiety and it can cause hostility, so ensure that you break it up with accent colours or, if too overwhelmed by an overall yellow scheme, use yellow furnishings or accessories to uplift your design.