A home should emit positive feelings when you enter and each room should be designed not only for functionality, but also for emotions that correlate with the room’s purpose. In fact, research shows that interior design could impact your mental health positively and negatively. 

Decorating and arranging your home in the right way can be a great way to supplement other positive choices like mindfulness meditation or therapy. If you would like to learn how you can remain in the comfortable and positive surroundings of your home while also speaking with a mental health professional, click here. 

You probably want to know what aspects of interior design may actually help to improve your well-being. This article looks at all of the different design choices and the ways that they influence mood, productivity, stress, and more. 

Color

Research shows that there is a correlation between mood and color choices. In fact, this is potentially the most important interior design element when it comes to mental health. Different colors evoke different responses. 

This is taken into consideration with businesses as well. Red, orange, and yellow are often used for clearance sales while greens and blues may be used for a spa. Let’s look at each of the main colors and how it could affect your mental health. 

Neutral colors are very versatile for different rooms and different moods. Brown is great to accent other colors but may also be good for relaxation when used correctly. White is another neutral color that is often symbolic of purity and cleanliness in the West. Too much may make your home look like a hospital, but it can also be bright and welcoming if you do not use too much. White can also open up a room and make it look larger than it is. 

Black is not recommended as a dominant color but can be elegant when used with lighter colors. It can add contrast and may be good for a secondary color in the bedroom or bathroom. However, keep in mind that it can make those rooms look smaller. 

Warm colors are often associated with energy and passion as well as love, fire, and anger. Red may have a correlation with higher metabolism and blood pressure. In Feng Shui, the color red symbolizes good fortune. Red is most often used as an accent color and is rarely good for dominance. 

Yellow is great for showing positivity and boosting mood. This is because it is bright and reminds us of sunshine. It is most commonly used in the kitchen and dining rooms for welcoming mealtimes. 

Pink is great for showing playfulness, love, and happiness. It is a calmer version of red and is great for guest bathrooms and children’s rooms. You may even want to use it as a secondary color in other rooms as well. 

Orange is strong and bright and can make people feel energetic and creative. It is most often used as an accent. Be careful when using it with neutral colors because they tend to contrast too much or blend together. 

Cold colors are known for being relaxing and may even help to decrease appetite. Blue is representative of confidence and stability. Light blue is commonly used in living rooms and other places that you want to be relaxing. Darker blues are often associated more with sadness, so be careful when choosing dark blues. 

Purple is often associated with royalty and wealth. It is a great color for use with other colors in any room for showing elegance and luxury. Green is often associated with calming feelings and vitality. It can be a great color for grounding your thoughts as well.

 

Art and Decorations

When you are choosing decorations and art to place around your home, it is important to find ones that invoke a positive emotional response. While it is okay to find pieces that do not make you feel happy, they should be combined with those that do boost your mood. 

You may also want to incorporate art that makes you feel relaxed and calm. Nature scenes are great for this because research shows that scenes of nature in art or photographs can be great for mental health. 

You may also want to choose family photos or, better yet, photos of your family in a natural setting like at a beach or while they are camping. Looking at pictures of the people that we love and care about can also spring positive emotions to the forefront of our minds.

Plants can also help to boost mental health and well-being. Adding plants to your home can be great for reducing stress. They also release oxygen and absorb carbon dioxide, thereby refreshing the air that we breath every day. 

Having plants around can also boost productivity. This is a great choice if you are working from home and even if you aren’t, you may want to consider adding some vegetation to your work area at the office. 

Furniture

Furniture should be carefully chosen in order to reflect your style and to convey your personality, heritage, and purposes of each and every room. A couch and the surrounding pieces in a living room should be functional and comfortable, but you can also have them appear welcoming and relaxing. 

Curved edges are more likely to foster feelings of calmness and tranquility. Therefore, this is crucial for any room that should be relaxing. You never want sharp edges in your bedroom where you sleep. Sharp edges may be okay for offices and kitchens but opt for curved edges any place where you do not want to be energetic or focused. 

The arrangement of the furniture is also an important factor. Where the pieces are can influence how welcoming they appear to you and your guests. Seating against the wall typically discourages social interaction. Placing chairs and couches in a circle or otherwise facing each other can promote a social space. 

Lighting

Lighting can have an impact on mood as well. Dim lighting can be beneficial for some spaces. It can help to stimulate conversation and feelings of romance. This is why fancy restaurants often choose dim lighting. It can help you relax into the room and situation. 

Bright overhead lights are more likely to encourage productivity and energy. It is also best to choose natural light over artificial light whenever possible. Sufficient light for the purpose of each room is also important. You never want your reading room to strain your eyes or your bedroom to be too bright to relax and sleep. 

 

Clutter

Cluttered decorations and items are never good. Minimalist designs tend to be the better option for boosting well-being and mental health and relaxing the mind and body. A cluttered area correlates with a cluttered mind and may hinder productivity and mental clarity. 

Having an unorganized home may contribute to stress and anxiety. It is important to keep the interior of your home clean and tidy to support positive and relaxed moods. Each person is different, and some can tolerate more clutter and disorganization than others, but it is never great to have too much clutter around, even if you are not a naturally organized person. 

Bedroom Décor

A bedroom needs to promote healthy, restful sleep. Quality sleeping habits are an extremely important factor for overall mental health. Feng shui has some great recommendations for the bedroom that could help to encourage good sleep. 

The bed should be placed against a solid wall without facing mirrors or doors. In addition, if you have a choice, it is best to put the bedroom near the rear of a home or at least away from outside noises. The energy should flow through the room, and it should be a place where relaxing becomes imminent as soon as you sit or lay on the bed. 

Space

The use of space is as important as the use of items within the space that you have available. A lot of people like spaciousness, and there is evidence that having space in the form of higher ceilings or open rooms could help to improve mood and boost creativity. 

Openness is sometimes difficult to achieve depending on the living situation and size of your home but finding the right furniture and organization to promote a feeling of openness can be beneficial.  Sometimes, you may even be able to remove a piece of furniture or decoration that you do not really need in order to open up the room for mood boosting benefits. 

Having just the right number of decorations and balancing the color, space, and other factors can help to create a welcoming and relaxing environment. You surely do not want to come home to a space that is completely filled with items because that is not conducive to tranquility. 

 

Distinct Areas

Sometimes we have a bedroom that functions as a place to read, paint, or play guitar while the dining room is used for games and food and the living room is used for socialization, television, and children’s play. While this can work, it may be better for you to have distinct areas made for unique activities. 

A bedroom will promote more restful sleep if that is all that you use it for. When we associate the bedroom with work, hobbies, or other activities, then it we will not subconsciously associate the room with only sleep. 

Also, having clear, distinct areas for different functions can make it easier to design them for that purpose. Then you can use the colors, lighting, and decorations specific to the function of the room. 

Sound

While interior design primarily focuses other aspects, the acoustic properties and sounds around the home can also have an influence on our mood. Rooms conducive to noisiness may not be the best choices for sleep and relaxation.  Most homeowners do not have much of a choice in the architecture, materials, and other design elements that contribute to the acoustics of each room, but there are factors that you may be able to influence like materials of the furniture and which rooms you choose for different functions.

Noisy areas can be annoying and higher levels of stress. In fact, this could even increase your risk of depression and anxiety, especially if it is noisy in a place that should be relaxing like a bedroom, library, or office.  Noise can also make it harder to concentrate. 

If the acoustics in your home make some areas noisier than others, choose these rooms functions carefully. Also, softer materials for furniture and choice of flooring or the use of rugs can significantly reduce noisiness and the annoyance that comes along with it. 

Conclusion

When you are decorating and arranging the interior of your home, your choices could actual influence how happy you are. Make sure to take color, style, decorations, lighting, space, and sounds into consideration. Doing so may help you improve your mental health and well-being. 

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