Our relationship with light and color has been interpreted in thousands of ways.

Many cultures and practitioners believe in color's therapeutic powers. We all know that color can affect our mood. And that we have favorite colors which we often choose in childhood and have meaning throughout our lives. 

In her article for Verywell.com Kendra Cherry quotes researchers, Andrew Elliot and Markus Maier as saying: "Given the prevalence of color, one would expect color psychology to be a well-developed area. Surprisingly, little theoretical or empirical work has been conducted to date on color's influence on psychological functioning, and the work that has been done has been driven mostly by practical concerns, not scientific rigor."

Even without rigorous study we know that seeing rainbows make us happy. The drama of a gloomy rain soaked sky being suddenly light and colorful feels like magic and fills us with awe. We are buoyed by the promise that after the darkness there is light. 

Room color can have the same effect. You turn a corner or open a door and the color you see can delight you or make you feel uneasy and everything in between. 

When my Dad moved in to a new rental apartment 2 years ago, after years of homeownership; we debated adding color to the generic beige walls provided by the landlord.  We realized since his apartment is on the fifth floor, has floor to ceiling windows and there are no neighboring buildings, he didn't need window treatments for privacy. That changed the color conversation. During the day the neutral wall color reflects the sunrise and sunset and appears warmer. In the evening with good lightening the walls are the perfect backdrop to the paintings and photographs that adorn them. 

Know that by simply changing or adding light you can change or add color to you home. We should all live with the feeling of enchantment brought by a rainbow.