I once consulted for a children's center that was a combination day care and pre-school. The enthusiastic young teachers had each treated their rooms differently. Here are two examples of how the behavior of the children in each room was related to color and arrangement.
In one room the teacher had created 'pod' centers.. She had designed areas where children could sit on a circular rug defining the area and read books, or work at a table together on a science project, or take a personal 'time out' at the aquarium to daydream with the fish they took care of, or rest, or gather around the piano for music. There were no straight rows of chairs and desks; rather, curved areas designed for creativity and interacting.
The main source of daylight was from the south wall, with a row of windows low enough so children could see outside. Above the windows, the architects had used glass block to insulate, provide structure yet allow natural light daylight. This meant a constant stream of strong daylight, which was regulated with window shades. The door opened at the left of the room. The colors the teacher used in the room were medium intensities of cooling greens and calming blues.
Despite having several of what other situations might label ‘problem’ children, there were few outbursts. The room was an orderly hum of busy activity.
Another classroom had the same window configuration with exposure to strong southerly sunlight. Its door opened in the same position as the aforementioned room. However, the near left wall was painted a flaming raw fuschia color, and it almost felt as if one was bleeding upon entry. Another wall across was painted an intense bright blue, beautiful on its own, but overwhelmingly oppressive and overactive in combination with the bright pink.
The teacher was well qualified; the room was well organized. Still, the ongoing behavior of the children was chaotic, with many emotional outbreaks, and absences from sickness.
This room required a color correction. The balancing color to the raw fuschia is a cooling green. In this case I used a soft green (which is energetically in opposition to red tones) acted as a ‘block’, canceling and healing the raw fuschia, effectively neutralizing the 'bleed-through' from that overly yang and too-warm color. As the room has the same south facing windows, the calm green paired peacefully with a welcoming creamy white, counterbalancing yet embracing the strong sunlight, resulting in the same effect on young psyches. The problem behaviors for that room have disappeared and the room continues to fill with eager receptive young spirits.
The rules of color in Feng Shui are --of course-- in alignment with the laws of movement in Nature, in curves. Each color has a frequency, or an energy quotient. As most buildings tend to be built in rectangular fashion, the use of color is critical to break up the overly yang/masculine movement created with straight lines. All-white rooms scatter energy, whereas the use of one or more colors--whether in furnishings or wall surfaces-- manipulates it.
the formula
Keeping the left-to-right circular movement in mind, follow this 'formula' for harmonious pleasing results.
- LEFT: Cools, with blue and green tones, will work best at the left side of an entry, and on left walls when entering a room ‘Left’ is always ‘feminine’ and receptive, thus inviting ease of entry.
- BACK: Warm red-based hues collect and hold energy, and are used in the back, preventing escape or leakage.
- RIGHT: To the right are lighter pastels which carry energy into the unformed future of potentials and possibilities.
- ENTRY: Dark colors associated with looking down into a watery pond are best used on the floor or doorway of an entry.
do's and absolutely don'ts
NO-NO: A room and its ceiling should never be all nor same tones of one color. There needs to be room for other color to breathe.
YES-YES: A bit of red hue needs to be present somewhere near the rear and/or right to bring the life of 'fire' into the room.
