Detrimental Effects Of White Valued Walls In Classrooms

Kathryn J. Grube

ABSTRACT
Contrarily to color research, white values of paint are the most commonly applied finish
selection on classroom walls today. White walls have been used in American schoolhouse
settings since the first discovered paint, also white, was invented and made available some
two hundred years ago. Originally, white paint was seen as hygienic and structured in de-
meanor, and was used as an agent to enhance visual capabilities in closed settings due to
dark-hued building materials and an absence of electricity. Since then, using white paint
for classroom wall finishes has remained as a perpetual design tradition that is causing
a disservice to our academic and educating potentials. White walls are proven to cause
detrimental psychological effects, such as anxiety, disruptive behaviors, lack of focus, and
depressive moods to students and educators that spend time within the space. These types
of effects dull-down learning capabilities and discourage morale. Color research has prov-
en these negative facts for over a century now, but white walls remain constant in our
educational facility design from a fallacy of misperception largely due to tradition, misin-
formation, and ease of maintenance. The question is why.

INTRODUCTION
Interior educational environments with white values of walls are known to induce
anxiety, dissipate focus and concentration, and be a foreshadowing to petulance in end
users. In 1947, Louis Cheskin, founder of the Color Research Institute of America, publi-
cized his research discoveries as public warnings when he expressed, “White walls, as we
know, are an optical strain and a psychological hazard” (Cheskin, 1947. p. 158). More ev-
idence repeating Cheskin’s findings has occurred throughout the decades, however, values
of white have withstood these types of publicized cautions, and have somehow managed
to remain as a design staple on the classroom walls of our educational interior architecture.
Despite the vast amount of classrooms that have traditionally-colored white walls, values
of white used on classroom walls give the learning environment the psychological appear-
ance of being sterile and depressing, and can also cause glare, eyestrain and discourage
learning (Birren, 1961; Mahnke, 1996). Color schemes with various values of white, in-
cluding off whites and grays, when used on the walls within a learning environment can be
perceived “institutional-like” from its origins of use in medically sanitary and hygienic ori-
ented facilities and in structured schoolhouse settings, and ultimately become psycholog-
ically monotonous to its end users. This same droning feeling can be present in the space
when shades of beige or taupe are used. These types color schemes are often referred to as
being monotone, due to their unvarying quality and lack of psychological stimulation and
interest to the end user of a space. Fittingly enough, the depression era of the 1930’s was
also referred to as the “taupe age,” which speaks descriptive volumes of melancholy and
gloominess that can be representative with monotonous color schemes (AFCEE, 1999).
In his 1976 case study, Küller showed how an environment with color not only
benefits humans psychologically, but also increases focus and positive behavior, and ulti-
mately enhances learning. In addition, Küller showed that being in white or gray class-

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room environments has a negative effect on its inhabitants, as shown by increased student
irritability and difficulty maintaining concentration. Both of these symptoms proved to be
detrimental to the promotion of learning (Küller, 1976). The same types of negative reac-
tions, due to white walls and fluorescent cool white lights, have been observed in many
case studies involving learning environments such as Grangaard’s dissertational study in
1993. A person sees the greatest overall distribution of color that is present within a giv-
en setting. In a classroom environment, the largest distribution of color comes from the
walls. The walls have more visual weight due to their mass than furnishings or artwork
possess alone; hence, the occupants of the classrooms generate their feelings towards an
environment based on what the wall color portrays. Despite what color research has shown,
the tradition of using white walls continues, and is a great disservice to students and pro-
fessionals. “Industrial white, off–white and white must not be considered as satisfactory”
[for learning environments], (Grangaard, 1993, p. 93). In 1978, the National Bureau of
Standards advised this very same concept in Pierman’s report:
At present, the selection and specification of color in certain areas of our man-
made environment, as buildings, is largely related to anecdotal evidence of ef-
fectiveness or only to changing styles and variable tastes of individual designers.
While this condition may only result in superficial displeasure of users, in some
instances it results in critically altered functions and goals (p. iii).
Values of white are neutral shades and are also considered “classic” in nature, but the
presence of color is far superior than the absence of color, classic or not, for end users in a
classroom (Sherwin Williams, 2011).

ORIGIN AND USE OF WHITE WALL TRADITION

From where does the tradition of using white painted walls in our classrooms
originate? White walls have been in existence since the ancient Egyptians who discovered
that mixing gypsum and chalk would create a white limestone plaster. They also used this
concoction to make a white wash that covered the inside and outside of the walls of their
homes to combat the fierce Egyptian heat (King-tut uk org, n.d.). This practice of using
natural minerals stood the test of time for thousands of years, which eventually led to
the development of the first type of paint medium made with milk in the 1800’s. Mixing
gypsum, lime, and earth pigments with milk achieved the first type of “paint”, which was
called “milk paint”. During the 1800’s, most settlers in America had access to a cow or
goat to the make the simple milk paint recipe that was used inside of country homes and
on furniture. (The Old Fashioned Milk Paint Company, n.d.). White was the first hue to be
discovered and manufactured. The newly available white milk paint became dominant-
ly used due to its ability to transform architecture by providing a clean, fresh finish that
brightened dark interiors.
Architecture styles in the 19th century stripped away the decorative ornamentation
of previous architectural periods, creating the new vogue of simplistic lines and clean pal-
ettes (Wigley, 2001). Like all historical architecture through time, the 19th century style of
architecture was based on the trends of the latest fashion. During the 19th century, fashion
and architecture were luxuries that could only be enjoyed by the wealthy. “Paint colors
have historically been responsive to economic and cultural trends, as in the 19th century
use of white paint to indicate wealth” (Vodvarka, 1999, p. 6). Literature was also preva-
lent during the 19th century and writings of Mark Twain, such as The Adventures of Tom

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Sawyer published in 1876, captivated many audiences. Derivative of the poverty-stricken
Tom Sawyer character, whitewash was often referred to as the “poor man’s white paint”
(Twain, 1876).
Another instance of the promotion of white came from the architect and writer Le
Corbusier. In his book of 1925 The City of Tomorrow, he wrote that all of Paris should be
white to purify the city, which was a reference to whitewashed Mediterranean houses of
ancient times. Le Corbusier had the opinion that the white wall was to be used to exhibit
art, so that anything that did not fall into the category of modern would look like a “stain”
upon it. He felt a white wall was the perfect background and would purify artwork that
was hung upon it. Although it is anecdotal, it appears that Le Corbusier could be at the
forefront of having museums display artwork on white walls, which appears to have begun
in the late 1930s at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Exposing society to the
prolific use of white walls only confirmed the thought process that white walls were supe-
rior environments for hygiene and structured institutional settings. This could be a correla-
tion to the tradition of using white classroom walls with colorful student artwork displayed
for “decoration” as is similarly done in museums. Le Corbusier, after all, was one of the
most prominent architects of his time, but did not focus on educational facilities design. He
is often criticized for his use of futuristic, “modern” elements in his creations that failed to
promote the benefits to the inhabitants. “What was the function of a house? Le Corbusier
arrived (‘scientifically’ he assured his readers) at a simple list of requirements, beyond
which all other ambitions were no more than {romantic cobwebs}” (De Botton, 2007, p.
22). Nonetheless, Le Corbusier had an implausible impact on the field of architecture and
he and his designs are still commonly studied in architecture and design programs today.
The history and tradition of the use of white paint in classrooms continues along with Le
Corbusier’s legacy, regardless of what has been proven otherwise.
The detriments of white walled environments are not obsolete for only classroom
environments, but do hold an overall consistency with their negativity towards learning
when used in various interior settings. In 2003, Englebrecht of the Chicago office of Per-
kins and Will (architects/interiors) wrote a paper that was presented at NeoCon (the largest
design exposition and conference held in North America each year) entitled, the impact
of color on learning. In it, the author discussed an independent study that was conducted
in 2003, and designed to confirm whether color did or did not affect accuracy in business
environments. The study included businesses that used white and off-white walls in their
working environments versus environments enriched with color. In the white and off-
white working environments there was a 25%+ reduction in accuracy and efficiency of its
workers. This independent study confirmed the U.S. Navy’s conclusions that a colored
room does increase the accuracy of its inhabitants (Engelbrecht, 2003). Another entity
that has similar convictions about the harmful effects of white wall use is the United States
Air Force. In their Facility Design and Planning pamphlet, the benefits color provides to
function and aesthetics is discussed at great length. This discussion also includes the ben-
efits to classroom environments with proper color use. The second item found under the
heading “color considerations include” states “the elimination of too bright values, such as
stark white, that can cause disturbing wall reflections and glare” (p. 8).

ADVANCEMENT IN PAINT
During the 19th century, milk paint was accompanied with whitewash for a paint

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medium to use on building interiors and exteriors. Whitewash was used in early America
as a more durable alternative to the milk paint, but was made from calcium hydroxide or
slaked lime and chalk. This gave whitewash its white color and opaque final finish. Paint
began to evolve in quality by the 19th century with the addition of white lead to the white-
wash mixture. This lead provided opacity to the paint and exhibited better “hiding” char-
acteristics on the surface to which it was applied. The white lead also gave more resilience
to the paint and assisted in eliminating the problem of mold and mildew from developing.
(Chase, n.d.).
Paint technology developed further in 1916 when this white pigment with su-
perior coverage and durability allowed for a paint to be available that far surpassed the
whitewash derived from natural resource minerals. In the 1920’s, the new white paint
gained popularity for use in American interiors in the popular Colonial Revival architec-
ture occurring since the early 1900’s (Stark, n.d.). This novel white paint gave a new sense
of being clean and “hygienic” to inhabitants of commercial and residential architecture.
White was once the signature paint color for the wealthy as was shown by its use on the
interiors and exteriors of buildings and homes. Its use denoted a pronounced denominator
of being fashionable, clean, and bright within its characteristics. White walls were also
predominant throughout the 1930’s when advancements in manufacturing technologies of
paint pigments allowed new access to paint to other classes of people besides the wealthy
(Stark, n.d.). Up until the 1950’s, lead was used in oil-based paints to act as a binder that
would also inhibit mold and mildew growth, hence giving way to lasting durability. Being
found toxic, lead based paints were eliminated after 1950, giving way, in the past 30 years,
to water based paints using acrylic resin emulsions. As technologies advance, the demands
for environmental friendly qualities continue to become requirements. Titanium dioxide
replaced the white lead in the white pigment. Titanium dioxide is also still used today in
both white and colored paints for superior coverage and hiding capabilities (Chase, n.d.).
It seems apparent that the traditional use of white paint seems to stem from its lengthy
availability for human use. It was the first of all hues of paint to be manufactured and all
other colors of paint still today contain a portion of white paint, with its titanium dioxide,
within their recipes for the base mixture.
School buildings in the U.S. existed long before paint itself ever became available.
The first school building was founded on April 23, 1635. It was the Boston Latin School,
located in Massachusetts and is still in existence today (Boston Latin School Association,
n.d). With the development of white wash in the U.S. nearly a century later, the newly
available finish applied on the walls in classrooms had to be a most welcomed, refreshing,
and functional change for the students and educators. Before this, the space was habitually
dim in nature due to the dark hues given off by the construction materials available at the
time. These same materials would also darken over time due to natural aging of wood,
as well as the absorption of soot and wood ash by the floors, walls, and ceilings from the
heating that took place in winter months.
An additional factor for white walls becoming a national tradition for schools is
that the widespread use of electricity did not begin in to the U.S. until the late 1880’s. At
this time, Thomas Edison began implementing his patent for electricity distribution, which
made practical use of his reliable incandescent light bulb. Electric lighting was another
new innovation that was originally provided for the wealthy. It was first used in Chicago
in 1880 at the Palmer House Hotel for the Republican National Convention. The general

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public, including school facilities, which were located in major cities in the U.S., did not
have access to electricity until 1920 (Tell City Electric Department, n.d.). By then, the
advancements in technology had allowed white wash to evolve into a far superior cover-
age medium in the form of white paint. White wash and white paint, both being bright in
their capacity to reflect light, would have allowed a more functional setting for teaching
and learning to occur. The brightness alone of the white-hued walls would have been far
superior for educational performance as compared to the previous learning environment,
whose functions were restricted by the availability of daylight, oil lamps, and candles in the
already dark-material constructed schoolhouse structure. With white being the first avail-
able color for washes and paints, as well as being the most functional classroom wall color
solution during the time of its invention, it is no wonder that the tradition of using white on
classroom walls as a design standard was born.

NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF USING VALUES OF WHITE: A BRIEF WALK

THROUGH HISTORY
The use of white paint on classroom walls, with its high light reflectance value,
causes the pupils of the eye to constrict and results in a distraction to vision (Birren, 1961;
Cottreau, n.d.; Mahnke, 1996). From the mid 1950’s throughout the 1970’s, white wall use
became so widespread that most interiors, including both residential and commercial struc-
tures, implemented them as a common rule of thumb without question (Mahnke, 1996).
Designers in the 1960’s and 1970’s were using more glass, aluminum, and steel in their
interiors around the world due to technological advancements. They did however, have the
misconception that if all the walls were painted white, then the teacher would become the
focus for the students and not the environment. It sounded good in theory, but the results
of the design on students were an unintentional failure of mass proportion. This period of
architecture also fell short of its hopeful aspirations to be innovative and has been coined
“soulless” and sterile (Fielding, 2006).
In the late 1950’s, ten years after Louis Cheskin’s psychological hazard findings
of white walled classrooms were first presented, a West German government agency’s
study on color headed by Heinrich Frieling, founder of the Color Psychology Institute
of Germany and founding member of the International Association of Color Consultants/
Designers (IACC), concluded the same, that white walls depicted an environment that
was “empty” and had “no vitality” (Mahnke, 1996). Frieling conducted his study on over
10,000 children, ages five to fourteen from different regions around the world. After re-
moving the children from white or gray rooms and placing them in rooms of color, levels of
nervous tension lowered, concentration increased, and learning performance accelerated.
Additional studies by various academic researchers in the 1980’s were conducted using
Frieling’s color palette systems and all were unanimously conclusive of the positive influ-
ences of color to lower stress levels, reduce off-task disruptive behaviors, amplify academ-
ic performance, and most impressively, increase IQ scores (Pilaroscia, 2010).
After 50 years of proven research, designers finally started to understand and
appreciate the value of color and in the 1980’s began implementing colored walls in small
quantifiable measures. Sadly, the use of colored walls in academic settings was of small
proportion compared to the number of schools in operational existence and the imple-
mentation of colored walls in classrooms was short lived due to the influence of tradition,
people’s conditioning of its use, and the design professionals who were unaware of the

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significance of color’s psychological impact. The classroom environments of schools tend
to follow the pathway of industry and return to the “old faithful” color selections of white
values regardless of what the negative scientific research states about its use (Grangaard,
1993). This correlates with the fact that schools were originally designed as learning “in-
stitutions”, where hygiene, discipline, and structured order set the precedence for their
inhabitants. This mentality in design is seen in various establishments such as medical,
prison, and educational facilities whose name often includes the word “Institution”.
Although never truly leaving the design staple category, in the 1990’s, an encom-
passing trend resourcefully rejuvenated a palette of white walls back into the lime light of
use in interior design. Designers became more “creative” in their use of white paint. To
justify the creativity, gray was added with the use of bright white and was portrayed as an
“innovative technique” in design concepts. The only difference from previous white wall
use was the contrast exhibited in the design effect from using brilliant white walls with
shades of gray in carpeting or other finishes in the room (Fielding, 2006; Mahnke, 1996).
Institutional gray infiltrated floors, walls, and furnishings in all types of building structures,
including schools. These types of monotonous colored environments used in the 1990’s
were once again widely proven to create the negative effects of anxiety, fear, nervous
tension, and depressive sorrow with its inhabitants. Although residential wall colors were
quick to change and varied according to the preferences of the owners, classroom design
remained stagnant with its vast use of white walls. Despite the new terminology of the
“creative innovation” in the 1990’s, the sterile color finish selections were rejuvenated as
design standard excellence and solidified their place within classroom settings.

WHO DESIGNS AND PLANS OUR SCHOOLS?

Responsibility
So, who is responsible for setting the standards for color use and finish selections
within American classrooms? It seems that it should be the US Department of Education
(USDOE). However, the US DOE is not responsible for school design, planning, or con-
struction of our nation’s school facilities. The US DOE functions to establish policies on
the different aspects of federal financial aid for education, collecting research/data on our
nations schools, and enforcing educational laws in accordance with privacy and civil rights
mandates (USDOE, 2011). The design and planning of school facilities is actually left up
to each individual state to decide what is to be implemented in their state’s school facilities.
Each state has its own board of education that determines the facility guidelines that are
to be used for the design and planning of its K-12 public schools. Of course, the facility
guideline manuals in all (50) U.S. states must abide by the safety, health, and welfare of its
occupants as determined by national or state and local building codes. When it comes to
the benefits of color however, not one U.S. state appears to offer any type of standardized
guideline for its educators or design professionals to utilize to promote learning through
color use in the classrooms. Again, without the knowledge of color relayed to the ones who
write the checks as representatives for the construction of our nation’s schools, how can
color ever become a priority to enrich our learning environments?
The boards of education in each of the 50 states typically leave color selection up
to the professional architect. The architect is assumed to have the knowledge, skills, and
training to expose and recommend color to the educational facilities owner representative

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for a given construction project. Because color is almost never recommended to the school
owner’s representative by the architect, the “disconnect” that exists between the benefits
of color in the classroom and its implementation becomes obvious. Color selections being
typically specified by the architect on the contract documents, such in the written archi-
tectural specifications or construction plans themselves, and are then to be submitted for
approval to the owner’s representative from the school facility on an individual basis of
project construction. The architect becomes the ultimate recommendation for color usage
or lack of for classroom environments. The faculty, staff, and administration of any school
facility, specialize in what they are educated and trained to do: educate students and run
the operations of the facilities that service them. These educational facility employees,
who are often owner’s representatives for a given construction project, trust their project
architect and design team for their guidance in achieving the best possible educational
facility design available through their low-bid method of project award. It is expected that
the architect’s experience will guide the school employees in the phases of design and con-
struction and will best serve the functions of their learning facility. This leaves the recom-
mendations for the selection of colors to the project architects, which are again to be turned
over for owner approval. Without the services of an interior designer, color consultant, or
architecture firm that promotes color use in classroom environments, the outcome of the
school’s construction project once again remains at the mercy of what is recommended to
them by their hired architectural design team professionals.
The use of white paint, as designated by the architect for classroom wall paint, is
one of tradition and is unfortunately misconstrued as being effective in enhancing learning
performance within a classroom setting (Fielding, 2006). Architects, general contractors,
and subcontractors, who are the lowest bidders, are usually awarded school construction
and renovation contracts due to state funding spending requirements for public works proj-
ects. Educational facilities limited funding, carefully monitored budgetary constraints, and
fast track completion schedules to maintain school year occupancy, often compromise the
quality of workmanship provided for the project. With these factors in mind, the expec-
tations of school owners often go unmet after a contract is awarded to the lowest bidder.
This is often due to the low bidder’s poor performance exhibited from inexperience and
uneducated decision-making, which often results in delayed project completion. (Barnes,
2010; Kahiwagi, 2010; LePatner, 2008; Schumaker, 2003).
By selecting a traditional, neutral white value of paint for the walls, less time is
needed by the design team and costs are reduced as compared to the time and expenditure
necessary to design a space with well-developed color schemes conducive to learning. The
neutral paint selection also eliminates the need to hire an interior designer or other type of
color consultant, which would also result in added costs and additional time accrued for
the project’s completion. There is a schedule to meet and generally only a low profit to
be made, so color variety in wall paint often is not deemed a priority. Without a written
requirement for colored classroom walls requested by an educational owner representative
and provided by the architectural firm for other trades to provide, colored hues of walls
become obsolete and are not provided. If the educator representing the school’s facility
does not request color, the design team or project architect typically assigns a color for the
classroom walls and then recommends it to the school’s representative for approval. Once
the owner’s representative approves it, it is executed.
Consequently, architects, who are required to have a complex knowledge of the

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exterior skin of a structure, and the building systems and technologies for maintaining
safety and function, often consult with engineers for the interior provisions of electrical,
plumbing, and mechanical codes and requirements. The education and training architects
receive regarding structural and safety requirements of a design is extensive, but it ap-
pears, in retrospect, that the instruction for specialty items, such as environmental color
psychology within the interior built environment is minimal. (Lippman, 2010). Lippman,
who chaired the American Institute of Architects New York (AIANY) Committee on Ar-
chitecture for Education from 2001 to 2004, is also a senior staff member of the Educa-
tional Practice Group at a New York architectural firm. He confirms, in his 2010 book on
evidence-based design of primary and secondary schools, that there is a lack of specialty
knowledge introduced in architect educational curriculum:
Building public schools in the United States has become a specialized practice
in which the architect can potentially evolve from an artist whose interest is in
the exterior aesthetic to a leader in the field who not only values and appreciates
design but, most importantly, understands how people acquire and master both
in- formal and formal skills…While design professionals should have these skills,
they must also be trained to analyze research on how people learn and transfer this
information to the design of places that promote learning. If design professionals
desire to advance their role from merely building to understanding how learning
occurs, they can become agents of change in the creation of this particular build-
ing type (p. 2).
With meager budgets and construction funding constraints, fast track scheduling, and cus-
tomary methods for designing school projects, it is easy to perceive why interior color
variety on classroom walls often falls to the waysides of tradition.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF COLOR RESEARCH AND CLASSROOM

WALL COLOR RECOMMENDATIONS

1900 – 1950’s
As early as 1900, various designers, planners, and facilities groups from multiple
nations have been recommending what colors and types of finishes should be implemented
in classroom design so that occupants will benefit academically and psychologically, and
the functional needs of the learning facility will be met. For example, “Different colors
themselves convey different impressions to the mind, yellow, for instance, conveys the
impression of luminosity or brightness” (Hurst, 1900, p. 34). As George Hurst stated back
in 1900 and also as Isaac Newton discovered in 1666, colors have meanings and establish
moods that cause a psychological response in any given setting.
In 1929, the Interstate School Building Service in Nashville, TN released a book
entitled For Better School Houses, that promoted the colors that would best support the
moods or feelings most beneficial to the students and instructors in school settings. The
publication recommended subtle paint values of bluish-green and peach for areas that stu-
dents would use for long-term durations. The basis for determining what paint colors would
work best in various areas for ceilings and walls was a derivative of the scientific research
done by the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) (Interstate School Building Service,

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1929). The use of color hues by warm or cool category on the Munsell color wheel were
also strategically placed in order to give an adverse psychological effect to allow the room
to “feel” warmer or cooler depending on the function of the given space. For example,
warm tones of “peach” were implemented in areas with vaulted ceilings or in windowless
or darker rooms to counteract for the absence of natural light. White, ironically, was only
utilized on storage area walls and ceilings to assist with the installed lighting during the
short time an occupant went in to stock room to acquire needed items (Interstate School
Building Service, 1929).
Wall color variety continued to be recommended in classrooms throughout
the 1940’s. In 1946, New York’s public school system tested learning performance and
achievement increases in students by using different color schemes on classroom walls.
Pastel shades were previously adopted state wide in 1943, and had six color combinations
with the sixth being peach and rose in hue. New York and a very few other schools in the
United States, were utilizing the principles of color dynamics, which paint companies were
promoting in the 1940’s. These colors consisted of medium to light value hues of blues,
greens, and yellows for example, that eliminated the excessive brightness of the white paint
color as well as the depressing nature of dark colors. The paint companies also promoted
the use of focal walls behind the instructor that were painted in a darker or lighter value
than the side walls. Again, the feeling of color was also endorsed to put cool colors on
classrooms that had south or west exposures and warm colors with north or east exposures.
The sole colors of white paint recommended in the school settings were either off-white or
light cream and were only to be placed on the ceilings (Time, 1946).
New Jersey school systems adopted New York’s concept of pastel paint shades
in the late 1950’s when they replaced the classroom finishes in a select number of schools
that had yellow-brown wall paint, black chalkboards, dark flooring, and dark finished desk
furniture for both the students and instructors. Along with the pastel shades used for the
walls, chalk boards changed from black to green, flooring was changed to a light neutral,
and furniture with natural wood finishes was designed and installed in classrooms. The
reasoning for these changes was related to scientific discoveries that showed changing
the colors of the classroom finishes and furnishings, would result in improved student
academic performance and increased concentration. They also used color to assist in the
diminution of the number of cases of eyestrain within the student population. Based on
these scientific discoveries of the power of color, New Jersey school boards promoted the
use of color because of the positive feelings it induced within a school and the resultant
improvement in students’ attitudes towards school. This, in turn, led to a more attractive
and enjoyable place for students to attend (Chamberlain & Kindred, 1958).

1950’s through Present Day

From the early 1920s through the 1950s until today, researchers and design pro-
fessionals continue to recommend and proclaim the power of color variety on classroom
walls. As it was originally recommended in the 1920s, an accent color on the teaching
wall or wall behind the instructor that is different in hue than the side and back walls is
still recommended today. American Industrialist and founder of the Ford Motor Company,
Henry Ford, also used this concept of a focus wall to maintain concentration for his students
training to be placed on the assembly line in the early 1900’s (Fielding, 2006). The differ-

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ent color on the focus wall achieved a brighter and uniform illumination and allowed the
students to focus directly on the tasks in front of them and maintain progression in advance
of their supervisors (Fielding, 2006). A color that is a shade darker in value than the other
three walls, or a contrasting shade or hue, is recommended on the teaching wall to provide
distinction from the different colors of the chalkboards or white boards that are present in
the room and inevitably attract student focus (Emory College, 2010; Pile, 1997; TES Mag-
azine, 2008). The colored accent wall also reduces eyestrain in students while taking notes
and provides relaxation to the eye’s pupil, which can otherwise have an unpleasant reaction
when focusing on the monotonous tones emitted by glare (Birren, 1961; Cottreau, n.d.).
Specific colors for classroom walls are recommended based on the learning objectives for
the setting, desired functions of the room, and environmental considerations.
All colors that are recommended by researchers, however, appear to be of various
muted values that correlate to the light reflectance requirements specified. Warm color pal-
ettes, such as shades of yellow and peach or cooler palettes of blue and green, account for
the majority of hues recommended. Warm colors can also be selected to energize students;
while cooler colors can be implemented to provide a relaxing setting that calms students
(Cottreau, n.d.). As with the teaching wall recommendation started back in the 1920’s,
color hues for classroom walls are still being recommended in order to perform sensory
tasks to change the occupants’ perception of the temperature of the room in relation to the
school’s climate zone location. Warmer colors are recommended on east or north expo-
sures, or in climates that have cooler climates or long winter months. Similarly, cooler
colors are recommended on west or south exposures or in climates that are located in a
climate that is predominantly warm (Pile, 1997; Time, 1946).
With sustainable and green building and design being a dominant issue in the
United States today, lowering energy costs are a governing focus in school design and plan-
ning. Colored walls are also recommended for classroom walls to save on energy costs
in school facilities. The use of colored walls in a classroom can actually alter a person’s
physical perception of the temperature in a room and allow the setting of heating and cool-
ing temperatures to be reduced or increased accordingly (Cottreau, n.d.). By using warm
colors, the classroom can appear six to ten degrees warmer than it actually is and six to ten
degrees cooler with the use of cooler colors. This reduction or increase in temperature
perception allows less energy to be used for thermal comfort achievement and results in
less energy consumption and lower acquired energy costs (Cottreau, n.d.). Colored walls
used in conjunction with complementary lighting types are also a strong team used to save
on energy costs due to reflectance values emitted. As of 2010, the US Energy Information
Administration (EIA) estimates that 13.5% of the United States total electricity consump-
tion was from lighting alone (EIA, 2011).
Since the 1990’s, design-based learning theories have become prevalent since the
1990’s, which bring research and practice together. A. Brown and A. Collins brought this
design-based theory into existence. What works in the real world, in lieu of the laboratory,
should be dominant in learning situations to promote enriched learning. Some of these
design experiments on design research of educational facilities were conceived to commu-
nicate relevant design solutions to practitioners and educational design professionals. This
design based learning theory relates to this study in that it promotes a more realistic and
enriched learning environment provided by color. When the colors of the “real world” are
stripped from classroom environments, students are placed in a sterile, man-made, white

Educational Planning 78 Vol. 21, No. 2

environment devoid of the psychological benefits of color. In this same sterile classroom
environment that is most commonly used where our students learn, real-world color is re-
placed by dominant values of white on all surrounding wall and ceiling surfaces.
Considering this further, where in nature can an environment of total values of
white be found? Winter months in colder climates with adequate snowfall are representa-
tive of this whiteness, but even then, the ceiling or the sky has sunshine and bright hues
of blue that break up the monotony of the white blankets of snow on the ground. Here the
white is on the flooring and on some decorative aspects such as trees and buildings, but is
not on the walls that surrounds the person. The viewer can still see other entities in nature
that have hues of color organically present.

EDUCATING OUR EDUCATORS

Over the past 100 years, the use of color in classrooms has been and continues to
be promoted and advocated in numerous articles, books, design conference presentations,
case studies, and the like. Sadly, only a small percentage of schools actually adhere to the
recommendations for using colored walls in classrooms. “Consequently, the {physical}
environment mistakenly became a little regarded factor in the learning process. During the
period 1950 to present, there has evolved a growing body of literature that suggests a much
stronger relationship” (Moore, 1991, p. 16). The key to any type of change or advancement
in learning is being exposed to the knowledge. “Educators have not been in the forefront of
research dealing with the relationship between behavior and {physical learning} environ-
ment” (Moore, 1991, p. 83). School design and planning continues to advance through in-
novations in technology that directly impact energy with the increased usage of sustainable
classroom products; however, when it comes to the predominant use of colored classroom
walls as a strategy to achieve lowered energy consumption in classroom design, change has
been reluctant to take place (Pearlman, 2010). Despite all the studies showing the benefits
of colored walls, traditional white values continue to be used.
With so many references on classroom design and the psychological impacts of
color readily available, why is it that only a handful of these resources give any type of
direction to owners’ representatives of schools on how to implement proper color use with-
in classroom settings? The available resources are more geared toward exposing profes-
sionals on why color is beneficial to learning and provide a general overview of how color
works psychologically in general terms of color theory, but often do not give specific rec-
ommendations on how to achieve a given desired result for a specific school. “Currently,
few resources are available to help guide teams wanting to learn how best to manage such
a design process – or even where to begin” (Lippman, 2010, p. 15). Possibly, the lack of
specific resources exists because all school facilities have different learning objectives and
located in various regions of the country; and that emphasis and trust is placed from the
school representatives with the design team or architect professional to educate them on
their available options. In order to achieve the positive impacts provided by successful,
evidence based color schemes in schools, facilities may need to consult a professional who
specializes in the use of color in the design of school interiors. Although this is a positive
step, many educators do not realize what properly selected classroom wall color can do for
the promotion of learning and behavior according to the review of the related literature.
Moreover, the benefits of using color (as selected by a color professional) to students and
educators seems to be considered an unnecessary luxury item that the majority of educa-

Educational Planning 79 Vol. 21, No. 2

tional facilities think they cannot afford or more likely, do not even know exists. With
almost three and a half centuries of knowledge that shows how powerful and beneficial
color is to humankind, white continues to be utilized as the traditional safe choice for walls
in our classrooms. The proven and enduring fact is that humans need sensory variety; and
sensory variety is provided by actual color hues. Minimal progression in implementing
color in our classrooms has been accomplished by means of furnishings and other finishes,
however, these items ultimately fail to create an enriched learning environment due to the
smaller amount of color distribution they give off when compared to the walls.
Unfortunately, white walls have continued to dominate in educational facilities
and remain as constant representatives for our academic downfall in our classrooms today.
Without the architectural design team having the same type of color knowledge needed to
support and recommend the use of color to promote an enriched learning environment, it
seems inevitable that the traditional white selections for classroom walls will remain as a
constant deterrent to the benefits of colored walls that can be reaped by the space’s occu-
pants. Without a school’s owner representative being knowledgeable about the educational
benefits of color and actually requiring color variety to be part of the written architectural
specifications, odds are that they will receive the recommendation of a traditional selection
in a range of white values on their classroom walls. Not utilizing our color research for its
potential for prosperous achievement in our classrooms because of ignorance, or resistance
to change, or perpetual tradition is an unnecessary adversity between the objectives of the
nation’s educational system and the potential outcomes available for learning performance
and morale of our students and educators. It is apparent that bridging this disconnect can
help to better our quality of education. The question is: How do we construct the bridge?

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