Today, when choosing a style and colour scheme for a home interior, designers increasingly rely not only on taste and fashion trends, but also on the psychological characteristics of the client, on their psychotype, and there are scientific grounds for such an approach.
Depending on the dominance of certain personality traits, scientists classify several basic psychotypes: hysteroid, schizoid, hyperthymic (cheerful), emotive (sensitive), anxious, etc. To determine the psychotype of a person, there are various tests, and color plays an important role in these tests. Therefore, being at someone’s house, it is theoretically possible even to make a psychological portrait of the owner of the house according to the colour scheme.
In psychology, the active use of scientific tests based on the preference of colours or combinations of colors of the subject to determine the most stable features of their personality and functional activity is precisely the basis for determining psychotypes. There is the Luscher test, in which the test person is given eight cards and is asked to choose and set aside cards in accordance with their preferred palette. Based on such studies, we can identify simple patterns: if gray prevails in the interior, then a thoughtful person lives here, soft and modest. Red indicates a purposeful, emotional nature, blue indicates self-confidence and a calm disposition.
But in life, of course, everything is much more complicated. And in designers’ experience, there’s not always a direct correlation between color and character. Of course, just like clothes, the house is a reflection of our personality. If you’re a confident person, then it’ll be well read, in the design of the house. But not always in terms of color: it can be, say, a ‘strong’ texture, fancy living room and clear furniture forms. Or if you’re, say, a sociable person, this doesn’t necessarily mean that bright colors will prevail in the interior. And, on the contrary, there are calm, gentle people who love bright colors in the interior. People don’t need to follow fashion or some rules, but need to find a personal palette, in which they’ll feel good.
Ellen Diamond did her degree in psychology at the University of Hertfordshire. She is interested in mental health, wellness, and lifestyle.
