Different colours symbolize different qualities but because of varied cultures around the world, sometimes the same colour can have starkly different meanings across nations. For instance, let us take the example of the colour yellow. In India, the colour yellow is related to joy and is worn to celebrate the festival of spring. This is in sharp contrast to Egypt and Burma, where yellow stands for mourning. It seems that the colour is generally associated with negative annotations, as in earlier times the executioners in Spain wore yellow, while in France, the doors of traitors and criminals houses were painted yellow.

The colour blue is the world's most loved colour, if researches are to be believed, but it seems that witches are not particularly fond of this colour! It is said that witches dislike the colour blue and because of this, the colour is worn as defence against witches. This derivation could have originated with the fact that witches are often considered evil, whereas the colour blue is associated with positive qualities like loyalty, faithfulness, relaxation, freedom and love.

Who does not know the Egyptian queen, Cleopatra? But what most of us might not know is her fetish for the colour purple. Purple, a royal colour in those times was a symbol of authority and rank, and was deeply loved by Cleopatra. Her love for the colour bordered on such extremes that she went to great lengths to obtain it. To be precise, for obtaining an ounce of the purple dye she had to have her servants soak 20,000 Purpura Snails for 10 days! Interestingly, purple was also one of the most difficult colours to obtain, making it inaccessible to the masses. Only those with proper means could afford to obtain it. No wonder only Queen Cleopatra had the luxury to have the colour adorn her beautiful frame.

We have a particular perception of colour in our mind and it can be so powerful that it intimidates us to look for colour rules whenever we have to use colours, like when painting your house. The irony here is that there are no hard and fast rules to use colour, as it is a matter of personal choice and creativity. The only thing that you need to know is how colours work with one another so that you can use them effectively in your interior decorating scheme. The trick is to use colour for illusion, to highlight the good features of a room and/or to downplay certain defects, if any.

For those looking for the perfect colours to paint their house, here are a few things to keep in mind when painting and decorating. If you have a house with large rooms, use warm colours like yellow and red to make the rooms seem cosier. This will make your room seem more inviting and intimate, making you feel relaxed and happy at home. Whereas those with smaller homes need to use cooler colours like greens and blues, as these tend to make the walls seem further apart, giving the impression of a larger room. Thus, lighter colours are a better choice to make small and narrow rooms appear airy and spacious.

Your bathroom should be the go-to comfort zone of your house for you and what better way to make it so than to drape it in a lively shade of orange. The bathroom will look lovely with a bold coral shade splashed all over it and will cheer you up too, no matter what your mood! If you are not sure about coral, then pick any colour that cheers you up. To pick up this perfect soothing colour for your mind, look closely at the colours you are naturally drawn to, and that is where you will find your answer.