Can Interior Design Affect Your Mood?

As the fashion designer and businesswoman Coco Chanel once said, “An interior is the natural projection of the soul.” When we think of interior design, the first thing that usually comes to mind is the aesthetics. But going beyond the visual aspect, a home also carries an energy that can affect your inner self, which is what Coco Chanel was referring to with her wise words.

Interior design is more than how a place looks on the surface. For instance, a space that has a balanced design without clutter will feel light and energizing while a messy and chaotic home can feel heavy and stagnant. These subtle energies are directly related to your interior design choices, which is why home decor can make a difference in your mood and well-being.

As you design each room, ask yourself a few questions:

How does the room make you feel when you enter? Do you feel peaceful or inspired? Or do you feel overwhelmed and agitated?

Is there enough fresh air and circulation?

In restful areas like the living room and bedroom, are the textures soft and warm?

In areas of focus and concentration such as an office or studio, are the designs sharp and defined?

From the interior design experts at Fashion Furniture Rental, here are a few ways to improve your overall well-being with home decor:

Choose the Best Colors for Enhancing the Mood of a Room

When designing each room, choose the best colors for reflecting the tone of the space. Tara Mastroeni, the editor of Freshhome, recommends including three different shades in your color scheme for every room. For large areas like flooring and walls, choose a neutral color, which will help your accent pieces really pop without overwhelming the room. For furniture and other accessories, look for warm, calming shades that create a peaceful vibe. Finally, the third color should be bold and intense, which will highlight your statement pieces with the perfect balance.

Let There Be Light

It might seem like a small detail, but lighting is also an important consideration for enhancing the energy of a space. A 2014 study found that natural light coming in through windows contributed to a stronger sense of wellness. Researchers believe that natural light helps the body fall in line with our circadian rhythms, which regulate different energy levels for the daytime when you need to be awake and at night when it’s time to sleep. Increased exposure to natural light may even reduce symptoms of depression.

Keep this in mind when choosing lighting options for each room. In the bedroom, interior designer Anne Michaelson recommends lighting that is calm and peaceful, which will help get you in a sleepy and relaxed mood. She suggests using a variety of light fixtures to give you more control over the overall brightness. Whether or not you have ceiling lights, table lamps are a functional choice for bedtime reading, so consider placing one on an end table at each side of the bed.

Life coach Dr. Stacia Pierce recommends LED lights, which are more energy efficient and healthier than fluorescent lights, which have been linked with health problems. Floor lamps can also add a relaxing warmth to the bedroom. Look for designs with a dimmer switch, which will allow you to regulate the brightness any time of day.

For living rooms, studios, and other spaces where people gather to socialize and work, natural light is the best option, so look for designs that reflect and boost natural lighting, such as light-colored walls, curtains, and other design elements.

Incorporate Natural Design Elements into Your Space

It was the legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright that said, “Nature is the inspiration for all ornamentation,” and he was right. Always a visionary, he recognized the importance of calling on nature for design inspiration. So it’s no surprise that top interior designers are obsessed with incorporating natural elements into designs. One way to bring nature into your home is with houseplants, which have been found to significantly cleanse and improve air quality. A reminder of the beauty of nature, lush greenery is also pleasing to the eye and can hide unsightly electrical outlets in the wall.

Natural fibers are also a major trend in interior design. Try incorporating woven straw baskets into your home decor, which can also function as organizers that can be stored on shelves or on the floor. Fresh flowers are also cheerful and uplifting. For something a little more permanent, you can also place dried pussy willows or eucalyptus in a glass vase for a welcome touch of nature in your home. The eucalyptus also adds a minty, licorice-like aroma to the air, which can help freshen the vibes of the room.

Clear the Clutter

On the Netflix series Tidying Up, Marie Kondo helps clients get rid of extra clutter with her famous catchphrase, ‘does it spark joy?’ Sociologist Jean Baudrillard, the author of The System of Objects, explains it this way: Each item in a space has a practical function and beyond that, it’s a reflection of our personalities and desires. When organizing your possessions, he suggests you take into account the following considerations:

Do you have an emotional attachment to the item that you view as positive? If you answered yes, then you should definitely keep it according to the sociologist’s argument.

The next step is to consider its function. Is the item useful to you? Does it improve your life in a practical way? You should also consider the value of each possession. Is it a name brand? Does it have a warranty? How much did it cost? Did you get your money’s worth out of it? Its value will give it meaning, another reason to keep it around.

When it comes to balancing your mood, every room has its own function that can be elevated with the right home decor. Stay tuned for more interior design tips from the Fashion Furniture blog, your source for the latest trends in interior design.

For all of your interior design needs, contact the experts at Fashion Furniture today!

Sources:

https://freshome.com/2014/09/09/how-your-interior-design-is-influencing-you…

https://galaxydraperies.com/psychology-interior-design-decor-affect-emotion…

https://www.improvenet.com/a/how-interior-design-changes-your-mood

http://www.thechairpeople.co.uk/blog/how-interior-design-affects-mood/

http://psychologytomorrowmagazine.com/aesthetics-and-well-being-how-interio…