It's no news that color, and more specifically a room's color, can affect your mood dramatically. In fact, color psychology has been discussed before on AT, like in Color Psychology: The Impact of Paint Color. But what if color could affect more than just your emotions, and go so far as make you hungrier, or even suppress appetite? More after the jump...
Look: Affecting Appetite with Kitchen Color
Austin
Many articles will state that blue is an appetite suppressant. It's true that there isn't much of a natural occurrence of the blue color in foods, and some people go so far as to dye their food blue in order to make it more unappetizing. But can the same idea be applied to the kitchen? Will a blue kitchen make you less hungry? In the same vein, some argue that warm colors, like red and orange stimulate the appetite, pointing to fast food joints and restaurants often sporting warm color schemes as evidence to this effect. But will a red kitchen make you eat more? We raise the question to our AT readers: if you've got a blue or red kitchen, do you feel like the color affects your appetite? Did you choose that color based on its reputation, or just because you liked it? Help settle the dispute by sharing your own kitchen color experiences!
[Photo credit: Opening photo from Momoy.com, second photo from redisnice.com.]
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AT Austin, Look!, kitchen, concept, blue kitchen, red kitchen, appetite, color psychology, kitchen colorsRelated Links
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This is an interesting study if you're looking to decorate a new restaurant- but I wouldn't lose sleep over the color of your kitchen at home.
A red kitchen is not going to psychologically pressure you into obesity- a blue kitchen is not going to reduce you to a wisp. There are so many factors behind our decisions (conscious and unconscious) of what to eat, how much, how fast, and when.
A fast food restaurant succeeds in making you order a lot and eat fast- because you're surrounded by dozens of others doing the same thing, because the environment is visually stimulating, because the menu is overwhelming (and shows you PICTURES of food)...
Your own kitchen will never do this to you. Even if you ARE stimulated by a warm color, the absence of these other factors could make this effect negligible.
My parents have a kitchen that is kept fairly dim, and has expansive black countertops and neutral cabinets. I always seem to gorge myself there- and there's no color to blame!
view shockthebourgeois's profile
I think lighting makes a huge difference as well. I just put a daylight bulb in one of the fixtures in my kitchen, which is a very cool, bluish light. I hate it. But, I put it there to give the plants a boost, and I do love the plants.
view jenc's profile
I have a red kitchen (because I like it) and have no problems with overeating or my weight...
...but then again, I don't eat in the kitchen - and my Dr does say I need to lower my cholesterol.
view bepsf's profile
I've heard that yellow is the most appetising.
view hrhprincessfiona's profile
My kitchen is red and I'm overwieght, but I could paint my entire house blue and I'd probably still be overweight.
view mattab's profile
Maybe if you paint your kitchen black it'll make you look thinner ;-)))
view AnastasiaBeaverhausen's profile
I don't know. I just painted my small kitchen apple-green and something about the way light bounces around in there now makes food look a little blah. I've noticed a slight decrease in appetite, but that could just be a coincidence. I have a feeling that (just like with serve/dinnerware) neutral colors provide the best backdrop for food and make it look the most appetizing.
view slowdown's profile
I think if you're happy in your kitchen with whatever the color you decided would make you happy to be there, you'll be happy.
view Elizabeth II's profile
Colour definitely affects the mood of a room! The photos above both make me lose my appetite.
view tam-tbag's profile
My kitchen is blue. I still like eating in it
view Hollie's profile
honestly, i just like a clean looking kitchen. if everything is orderly, and clean i want to cook even more no matter what the color.
view Oneformybaby's profile
Whatever about making you hungry, I heard that red makes you thirsty - which is why it's used so much in pub decor.
view idontdobeige's profile
I learned about this theory in college and tried it out in my first apartment-I used a bright aqua in a small white kitchen. I didn't cook much, but that was probably due to my study habits more than the color. I now have a warm yellow orange kitchen and a cobalt blue dining room. Both are very nice to eat in, I have people over often and we don't seem to prefer one over the other.
view pelicolina's profile