Today more and more people worldwide are seeing how color really affects our everyday lives. In fact, you can see this development gathering steam in an area as close to home as interior design.

While decorators have always emphasized color schemes, today's designers tell their clients about color's therapeutic qualities. Whether it's decorating your home or workplace, color has become an important consideration. What color should you paint the walls in your home office or the ceiling in your bedroom? Even lighting is recommended in different colors.

As you know by now, warm colors are generally invigorating and stimulating while cool colors are calming. But what if you want different effects at different times of the day? Well now you've really touched on the latest trend - creating living and work spaces where you can play around with color. For example, match your desired mood by changing accents like pillows, rugs, curtains and pictures. Even more exciting are the different effects you can produce with lighting. Today you can equip your bathroom with light fixtures that can glow intensely or dim down for night or mood lighting.

Companies too are learning that color directly affects their employee's productivity, and that it is wise to consider the color schemes of employees' workspaces. And of course, if you have clients visiting all the time, you want to consider their feelings as well. One insurance company, for example, painted their offices a soothing green so clients would relax and find it easier talking about stressful subjects like death and accidents.

So the next time someone asks you what's your favorite color, take a minute to reflect which colors would make a difference in your life. By now you've surely realized it's no coincidence that color makes up such a big part of our lives.