With the holidays upon us, many of us are redecorating. Before you pull out that paint brush, hang that wall paper or hang new curtains, have you ever taken stock of your home and its color schemes. Is it primed for happiness?

Ever wonder why black signifies mourning? Yellow, happiness? Red, danger? Gray, conservative? It's because color affects mood.

More of us are experimenting with color in our homes. If you've ever wondered why this room is so depressing, that room feels so lively and that other room just doesn't feel right, take a moment to discover the meaning behind color and how it can affect you.

About Color: A Quick Lesson

There are three groups of colors: primary, secondary and tertiary. The primary colors are red, blue and yellow. Secondary colors are green, orange and purple. The tertiary colors (aka intermediate colors) are red-violet, blue-violet, blue-green, yellow-green, yellow-orange, and red-orange.

Primary colors are pure, meaning that no mix is needed to achieve them. Secondary colors are created by mixing equal proportions of two primary colors. For example, if you mix equal portions of red and blue, you get purple. Tertiary colors are (aka intermediate colors) are made by mixing a secondary and a primary color, eg, red and purple make pink.

One of the most important tools an interior decorator uses is a color wheel. The color wheel is a chart of colors that demonstrate the relationship between colors. For example, complementary colors (eg, red and green) are opposite each other. Analogous colors (eg, red and yellow) are side by side.

Becoming familiar with colors and how they relate to each other is integral to understanding how color evokes moods.

What Color Evokes What Mood?

The color wheel is divided into warm and cool colors. The warm side is red to yellow-green. The cool side is from green-blue to violet. Warm colors are known to excite; cools colors to calm. Depending on the hue, color can over stimulate or depress. It is usually in the tertiary colors that we find the right balance. The following is a list of attributes that are widely described to primary and secondary colors.