How to Choose the Best Paint Colors for a Healthcare Facility

A paint job in a healthcare facility is just as important as your home…or arguably even more so!

Thousands of people will walk through a healthcare facility’s doors every year, and choosing the best colors for healthcare means finding a paint job that makes people feel comfortable and portrays your professionalism at the same time.

Oahu Pro Painters helps medical facilities choose the right health colors for new paint jobs. In this piece, we’ll navigate all the considerations to think about when preparing your medical office color schemes.

Choosing the Best Color for Healthcare Facility

People might spend the worst or best moments of their life in a healthcare facility. Or perhaps, more likely, they will spend hours waiting for results! Either way, it’s important to strike a balance in terms of color, making sure people feel at home and reducing stress.

To create a relaxing space, you need to know the best colors for a pharmacy or general medical facility, you need to consider your branding, and you need to think about the existing furniture you’re working with.

Furniture and Features

You’re probably not changing your floor, tables, chairs, or reception desk when you get to work on a paint job, right? With this in mind, think about what colors will look good with your medical facility’s existing furniture and features.

Consider Your Brand

A paint job should exude professionalism. You can do this with a high-quality paint job that takes care of all the little details, and you can do it by choosing colors that fit your brand.

Choose Relaxing Colors

Remember, this is a medical facility, not a dance hall or a retail store! Relaxing colors like blue, green, and turquoise can help put people at ease and open up a room. You can combine those colors with earth tones to make people feel comfortable and cozy at the same time.

Medical Facility Color Schemes

As we’ve already discussed, the general rule for medical office paint colors is to keep things soothing and not too bold.

You can absolutely split up the best colors for healthcare into different rooms, and we’ll examine some good ideas to remember for each room. One thing worth noting, however, is that neutralizing reds is important in every room.

It’s the color of blood, it’s the color that most people associate with negativity, and it’s something you should avoid as much as possible.

Patient Rooms

Along with antimicrobial paint for hospitals, which is ideal in patients’ rooms where people need to recuperate in a safe environment, patient rooms should feel clean without appearing empty. Green or blue-green is a good option for these rooms.

These relaxing colors don’t feel too cold and help patients feel more enclosed without seeing dark colors on the walls.

Employee Spaces

Employee space is where you can have a little more fun. This is something that the patients won’t see, meaning the colors you choose may invoke activity and energy more than relaxation and calm. Bolder greens are a great option as they’re in keeping with the theme of hospitals – green being a color often associated with medical care – and because it’s also the color most commonly associated with positivity.

Feel free to incorporate other bright colors to keep people awake and active, as well as colors from your branding or logo.

Operating Theaters

Green is once again a fantastic color in this scenario. It’s not just one of the health colors in general, but it’s tactically a good color to use for surgeons.

Most operating theaters are decorated with pale or gray floors and green walls as doctors spend so much time looking at the color red. When surgeons look up and see a blue or green wall, or gowns in the same color, it helps reduce eye strains and allows them to immediately focus on something new.

Various shades of green can be used in operating theaters, and while mint green or aqua are common options, bolder greens are also fairly commonly used.

Accommodation

Just like with the staff rooms, the accommodation rooms for non-medical visitors and staff aren’t restricted by the same principles and limitations as areas specifically intended for patients.

Here you have much more freedom. If the intention is to create a relaxing and comfortable space for sleeping, choose natural tones. You may even want to choose darker tones on feature walls or certain sections of the wall, to help people feel more comfortable and less like they are sleeping or relaxing in a medical environment.

Earth tones, darker blues, even some shades of pink are pretty common in medical facilities and hospitals…but it’s completely up to you!

Conclusion

Medical color schemes can feel quite restrictive, but getting the colors right is really important. Colors have a huge effect on the way we think, and even different shades of the same color can make people think differently.

In healthcare, helping people stay relaxed in any way is helpful. The American Psychological Association says that stress can “not only worsen existing health problems, but it can also generate new health concerns.” And that’s never good for any patient.

At Oahu Pro Painters, we have years of experience working with medical facilities to generate color schemes that look good, that reflect their brand, and that help patients feel at ease.

For a consultation before your planned renovation work, for a free quote, and for a chat with one of our knowledgeable local painters, don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Call today at 808-427-1186 and we’ll answer all your questions!