If your summer was anything like mine, it was a hectic one, and Iíd venture to say that weíre all overdue for a little R&R before the busy holiday season kicks into full gear. So, letís pick up where we left off a while back and get back to spa-ing your bath so that you can have that R&R in the comfort of your own home! Hopefully, youíve already incorporated a few organic elements as I discussed in part 1. Maybe you added a pretty plant or two or a few rocks here and there? Now letís move on to one of my favorite subjects, COLOR!
Color has an enormous impact on your feelings in any space ñ not just your bathroom; it is a key factor in establishing balance within the body and soul.
In general, warmer colors such as red, orange, and yellow stimulate while cooler colors like blue, indigo and violet evoke a more calming influence. With that in mind, if itís the ultra-relaxing spa atmosphere you are after, it is preferable to primarily implement calming colors within the space rather than energizing colors. With that said, nothing dictates that a bathroom canít have a bit of stimulating color and still provide a relaxing atmosphere. Every color has its own specific qualities that are beneficial to the therapeutic process, so itís important to focus on the particular therapies that are most significant to you.
When considering the direction to take with your bathroom colors, itís helpful to appreciate the effects any given color may have on your mind and body. So, letís chat our way through the rainbow starting with one of my choice spa-bath colors: blue.
Blue tones generate a sense of peace, serenity and balance. Whether itís azure, cobalt, indigo, sapphire, navy, or aquamarine that strikes your fancy, shades of blue can invoke calmness and invite introspect. Blue is associated with the sky, the ocean, and water in general. The tranquilizing property of blue is helpful in relieving headaches and muscle cramps and is said to have a healing effect on many other types of aches and pains. All of these qualities make blue tones an excellent choice for bathroom color palettes!
Similar to the tranquil qualities of blue, green is classic, calming, harmonizing, detoxifying, and even sedative. It relaxes me just thinking about it! Green is associated with nature, rebirth, growth and money. Have you ever noticed that hospitals often incorporate green into their color schemes? Thatís no mere coincidence. Some shades of green are actually known to have healing qualities and can evoke feelings of security and self-confidence. However, other shades of green should be utilized cautiously, as they can be reminiscent of mold or decay, undesirable in any environment, much less a bathroom.
A blend of blue and red tones, purple is a fascinating, paradoxical color that employs both relaxing and stimulating characteristics of the color spectrum.
It represents royalty, prestige, divinity, authority, and anger. Purple is stimulating, yet meditative, and may aid in detoxifying the body when used in moderation. Physically, purple can provide pain-relieving, tranquilizing, and hypnotic effects. It has been known to enhance intuition and imagination, and reduce stiffness, blood pressure, and body temperature. Purple can provide many positive effects for the mind and body, but when overused it can also prove to cause, create, or exaggerate depression, so use it with care. I typically prefer to see it as an accent color in bathroom applications.
Not surprisingly, yellow is an eye-catching, optimistic, energetic color of awakening. This cheerful, bright color of the rising sun inspires intellectual activity and power. It is a cleansing color that stimulates the digestive system, purifies the blood stream, and has even been known to alleviate headaches. As with many colors, it does have adverse effects when used in overabundance, sometimes creating anxiety and mental tension.
