Entice Appetites with Savvy Color Choices

Color Background
Each of these enticing hues has a slightly different effect over mood, but used alone or together they will definitely have your family and friends craving your next culinary creation. Learn what each color does, and then put them to use in your kitchen or dining areas using our inspiration palettes and accent ideas as your guides.

Red: Red increases blood pressure and respiration, while also stimulating appetite. Interestingly, it also makes people lose track of time, making it a great color to use when you want to linger a little longer around the dinner table. Red is an intense color, so it should be used sparingly or in muted tones.

Orange: Orange is a warm, welcoming color that makes people feel comfortable. This bright, cheery hue improves appetite and reminds us of fruits like tangerine and melon.

Yellow: Yellow is a happy and energetic color. It can also be a conversation stimulator and appetite enticer. If you plan to use yellow as a dominant color, it’s best to use rich, buttery shades, rather than bright, intense hues to help prevent eye fatigue.

Green: Green is a calming, relaxing color, especially because of its connection to nature. Lighter greens like sage and olive match well with many other colors and can actually act as neutral shades in a room. Because of its soothing effect, green is good for aiding digestion.

Brown: Brown is reassuring, dependable and soothing. Dark browns can lend an elegance and sophistication to a room, while lighter, spicy browns are warm and comforting.

Tip: You’ll notice that all of these colors have one thing in common-they’re found naturally in many of the fruits and veggies we eat. Because blue is rarely found as a natural color, it’s often used as an appetite suppressant. Some even recommend using a solid blue plate to help curb your appetite while dieting.

Tip: Read Empowering Colors for more background on the meaning and influence of colors over mood. Plus, get more easy ideas for accenting your home with stimulating color.

Inspiration Palettes
Use these collections of imagery and color as inspiration for adding tasty tones to your eating areas.

Mix crisp white with modern neutrals like browns and greens. Then add in small bursts of yellow as a cheerful accent.

Energize your dining areas with vibrant, funky colors like red and orange, complemented by soft yellows, calming coral and stabilizing dark brown.

Clean, classic and traditional come to life with a combination of soft greens and browns. Warm mauve and melon act as welcoming accents.

Accent Ideas
Quick tips for adding natural hues to your dining area that are perfect for holiday entertaining.

• Nourishing Napkins: Add fabric or good-quality paper napkins to your table using one color or a combination of the appetite-pleasing colors to your table setting. For eye-catching folded napkins that welcome your guests to the table with a personalized touch, read Decorative Folded Napkins.

• Cheery Chairs: Give a set of wooden chairs a new dimension by painting them solid apple red, buttery yellow or dusky orange. For a rich, café-inspired look, paint chairs a combination of dark mocha and light latte brown on the rungs. Go natural and neutral with a celery green or add a more dramatic pop with an avocado-inspired color. For an elegant look without a permanent change, create simple chair covers that bring in delicious seasonal hues. Read, Holiday Chair Covers to add colorful flair to your table.

• Enhanced Ceiling: Instead of stark white, consider painting the ceiling of your dining area a deeper color for a more intimate, cozy feel. Lighting for dining is usually dim, which only enhances the look of a darker color. Just be sure to check how your color will look in daylight as well before starting your painting project.

Whatever your personal style happens to be, incorporating delicious, natural colors into your home is a simple way to refresh your time around the table and in the kitchen.