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.