The Psychology of Color

Luxury has a look all its own

Some colors have always been associated with luxury. All of the precious metal colors — gold, silver, bronze — impart a feeling of richness. Deep colors, such as purple, blue, emerald green and burgundy, have long been linked to royalty. Then, there’s black: the quintessential color of elegance, epitomized by tuxedos, top hats and cocktail dresses.

All of these colors work well in the home. The metallic colors can add a feeling of elegance to everything from cabinet and door hardware to lighting fixtures. And black always makes a statement — whether it’s as a sleek black granite countertop, a regal marble floor or a retro cosmopolitan tile pattern. The jewel colors add luster wherever they’re used, whether setting the tone in a formal dining room or creating the sense of a sumptuous retreat in the master bedroom. Now, other colors have become status symbols. Take brown, for instance: In the past, consumers described brown color samples as earthy or even dirty.

“People never thought of brown as an elegant color,” said Leatrice Eiseman, director of the Pantone Color Institute, a Carlstadt, New Jersey-based company that develops color specifications for design industries. “Then along came Starbucks. People sat in a lovely coffee shop and drank coffee with a lovely name.” At the same time, chocolate went upscale, packaged like edible jewels. Well-known and upscale products changed people’s perception of brown from dirty to luscious, making it a popular decorating choice in great rooms, dens and even bedrooms.

“Brown is a far more elegant color today,” said Eiseman. “It’s an interesting dichotomy because brown has always been the color of beautiful leathers and furs and woods, but people don’t think of those as a color.”

In her most recent book, “Color Messages and Meanings,” Eiseman created color palettes based on emotions, such as sentimental, assertive and restful. When it came to the emotion of rich (yes, it is an emotion, as much as a financial state), the colors she drew on included browns, blacks, purples, golds, burgundies and greens — even avocado.

As a general rule of thought, said Eiseman, deep colors and jewel tones, such as amethyst, ruby and sapphire convey a sense of richness to the eye. At the same time, she said, designers should be careful about invoking too many rules about what constitutes a luxurious color. “We have to be cautious about putting colors in absolute categories,” she said, explaining that the effect of a color depends on its shade and whether it’s used as an accent or dominant color. “In real estate, it’s all about location, location, location. In color, it’s about context, context and context.”


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