How to Create a Mood With Color

"You can alter the mood of a color by putting other colors with it," Leslie Harrington says. "That's where complementary colors come into play." Red and green always look more vivid together, for example, which is why an apple looks riper in the tree than in your hand.

Design Tip:
Placing mint green next to bubblegum pink instantly relieves an otherwise overwhelming color and creates a lighthearted, playful mood, like this dining nook by designer Sue Adams. In a similar way, orange can balance and bring excitement to turquoise. Pale gold does the same for lavender. "Complements are opposites and opposites together are always more dynamic," Jonathan Poore says. "They create a dialogue."