Cool vs. Warm

“Color holds the power of transformation,” writes Keith Recker in his book Deep Color: The Shades that Shape Our Souls. Anyone who glimpsed the photos of Diana Vreeland’s poppy New York residence will agree that color implementation in design cannot be taken lightly.

Yet color, in and of itself, is not the only driving factor for making an impact. Consider the rusty New Mexico vistas of Georgia O’Keeffe, and now picture the icier lines of Picasso’s Landscape of Mougins II. Note the emotion conveyed by each artist. O’Keeffe’s sinuous brush strokes of terracotta and chocolate feel like a meditation, while the perkier blues and greens of Picasso bestow a jovial take on nature. Color temperature is at play as much as subject matter.

While understanding color theory, the guidelines that explain color schemes, is something that might merit an MFA, a preference for a certain color is less about the pigment than the energy it exudes, the energy we welcome or reject. Warm and cool colors in decor, words interior designers drop causally, are very personal: One person might gravitate to rich teal paint tones and lemony yellow throw pillows, while another is perfectly content with a gray linen couch and a...