b'Working with colour in feng shui has reinforced to Betty the power of particular shades in altering mood and feeling. Here are some common responses to colours:Red: is a yang, high-energy colour, so not to be overused. It is too stimulating for childrens bedrooms (where they go to calm and slow down) but terric for a dining room to stimulate conversation, appetite and good times. Yellow: has power and intelligence, but too much can be irritating, especially for children (yellowed lime greens, for example).Green: is for hope and new energy, as well as being good for digestion, so great for a kitchen or dining room.Blue: is cool, calming and ideal for a bedroom or healing space.Purple: is a highly spiritual colour, but can be too stimulating for some people (being a combination of strong blue and strong red). However, calming pale lilacs and lavenders have the same effect as soft blues or soft pinks.Pink: yes, love, happiness and joy. It doesnt have to be hot, hussy pinknd a soft shade that pleases you.Whites: to Westerners are cleansing and pure. Use a white keyed to the colour or elements you favourResene Albescent White with earthy shades; Oyster with olives and browns; Ivory with the peaches, camels or yellow greens; Resene Bianca with soft whites or clear pastels; and pure Resene Black White with black and clear colours.Black: because it absorbs light (and chi energy), handle black with care, using it in reective glossy lacquer, and opening windows and curtains to let in energy.Betty nds that the environment we inhabit heavily inuences our attraction to certain colours. People living close to the earth are attractedtothemutedsoilcolours.Peoplelivinginupperoor apartments or with dominant water views favour watery and sky blues to give them a sense of connection with what they see outside. Betty happily uses patterns in her feng shui colour schemes, but warns that mixing patterns and shapes requires some skill to ensure the proportion and repetition of colours, textures and shapes works. Mimic nature, where the darkest colours are on the ground (the forest oor), the mid colours around us at eye level (the walls) and the lightest colours in the sky (the ceiling), she advises. Use the strongest, brightest hits of colour in small doses that change out with the seasonsas you see with seasonal owers, leaves or blossoms. Listen to your intuitive reaction when you are in coloured spaces, and dont be fooled into thinking whites, beiges and neutrals are the only sophisticated or fashionable choices.'