Often in ways that we may not fully understand, your interior design can have a major impact on your mental health. We are all subject to an array of neurological responses that we don’t have any control over, which sometimes, we don’t recognise.
All humans have a need for shelter, and beyond that we want that shelter to provide us with comfort, beauty and a connection. The simple psychology to inform a good decision for your interior design, is that your home should feel like a refuge from the rest of the world.
Our responses to design, can either be a conscious or unconscious reaction. We seek beauty from design, but there may be other elements that lead us to find a design, building or piece of furniture attractive or unattractive.
In recent years, we’ve been optimising our environments for areas such as productivity, value or ease, when actually we should be looking to ignite our senses and become more aware of what feels good.
While personal preferences leave the science behind how an interior makes us feel very complex, it is worth considering how some fundamental principles have the capacity to impact your feelings.
While most people traditionally link your well-being to individuals daily routine, experiences, genetics and people around them, the spaces that we inhabit can have a significant impact as they can dictate our feelings towards a certain environment that we spend time in. Our environment is perhaps one of the most overlooked factors, as it doesn’t always seem to be easy to change or associate with positive or negative feelings.
Factors that can have a negative impact on your well-being from your environment include a lack of sufficient lighting, the amount of light your home receives can affect your state of mind, no matter whether it’s natural or artificial. Those with more lighting within their homes are expected to feel more optimistic, relaxed and confident.
Having a connection to nature, whether that’s through an easy to care for succulent or furniture with wooden elements such as Eames DSW chair, organic inspiration can have a positive effect on your well-being and surroundings.
All colours can have a psychological impact, most of the time unconsciously. A lot of restaurant brands have been found to use red in their logo, red has been found to evoke many feelings including hunger, love and desire.
For your interior design to have a positive impact, choose your decor and furnishings in a colour palette that you like. When it comes to choosing furniture, accessoires, art and textiles to go in your home, surround yourself by your favourite colours and hues.
A simple way to cheer up your home is to decorate it with not just the colours that you love, but the items too. Make something you love the focal point of any room, and these items that you love may change with time, if you start to love them a little less, look at changing them or updating the layout of your room so they aren’t the focal point anymore. You have to live in your home, make sure you love the items that surround you.
