Colours for mingling!

Making mingling with others a positive experience requires a lot more than just throwing people into a room together, as anyone who’s ever done just that and watched their party fizzle can confirm.

When you’re picking surface colours for places where you’d like people to have a good time hanging out together, be particularly attuned to the associations we form to particular hues, which is discussed in a separate article in this issue. Think at the macro- and micro-levels for colour associations—if most of your guests most of the time are likely to be alums of a particular school, take particular care not to use the team colour of their fiercest competitor in any conspicuous ways in your home, for example.

Human beings are quite energized by being in the same place at the same time, so using generally calming, relaxing colours, as described in another article in this issue, is best in places where people will spend time together. Colours that are less saturated and lighter are definitely the best options.

Within that mix of colours that are less saturated and lighter, warmer shades (yellows, peaches, etc.) are definitely the best choices. Research has shown that when we see a person with a warm colour behind them, we feel that they are friendlier, in short, that they have a warmer personality. BUT, if you want the people hanging out together to feel powerful, go with cool surface colours; we feel most powerful in areas where cooler colours (blues, greens, etc.) predominate.