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When we think about designing the interior of our homes, we may think about the new trends in decor and design. We may think about the ways in which we can achieve a specific look that we have seen in magazines or web sites, and we may try to replicate the modern and contemporary trends that have just arrived at the furniture stores. All of this could make our visit impressed when they come to our beautiful house, right?
However, this is only a part of what Interior Design can do for us. The most important part that we should consider when decorating, is how we feel inside our own homes.
After all, our home is the background of our daily lives, and that background should make it feel like the best life that we can have. Our place should feel unique and should express our emotions, likes, and beliefs through our decor and the things we collect, adding personality and individuality to our home. That will make our home feel like our own home: the place where we belong.
Your Interior Design Influences Your Subconscious
Beyond expressing ourselves, home decor can affect us physically. The things and spaces that surround you in your home, can have a powerful psychological effect on you. The creativity you give to your spaces can bring you happiness, relaxation, balance, inspiration, or whatever feeling you would like to feel when you are at home. Doing this could even help you when something sad or stressful is happening in your life and you need to lift your spirit. This is your space and you should find comfort it. You should feel protected and nourished when you come home to rest, so you can recharge your energy and be able to continue with your life the next day with a positive and happier mood.
The good news is that you don’t have to change everything in your house to achieve this. In most cases, you could also create some of these feelings just by changing or adding some details to what you already have. Sometimes, the best thing to do is to ignore the traditional rules of interior design and let your inner self be the guide to create the spaces that you will enjoy and feel your best self in.
I will give you some insights to help you recreate the emotions that you may want to feel at home. Keep in mind that each of us is individual and we have different emotions and needs, so this is just a summary of what is studied in psychology as common emotions or behaviors in the majority of people. After reading this guide, you can apply it to search the best ways that work for you.
How The Colors in Your Home Affect Your Mood
Very often people choose their favorite color for decorating their homes’ spaces, but this may be a mistake. The fact that you like a color for your clothes, for example, doesn’t always mean that you will enjoy the atmosphere it creates, because liking a color and living in a space dominated by it is not the same. For that reason, it is very important to consider the psychology behind the color before we make big color changes to our homes.
Several scientific studies have proved that colors in our environment have a powerful effect on our moods and emotions. Modern color psychology, which studies the general effects that color have in the majority of people, dates its origins to the early 19th-century. Color Psychology, for example, can teach us that lighter colors will usually feel more open and light as if we were outside, but instead darker colors give off a heavy feeling that can make people feel more enclosed.
However, perception is subjective. Color is very personal to each and every one of us. The way our brain perceives color is different from one person to the other, so not everyone will experience the same emotion when looking at the same color. Besides that, colors can also have different connotations in different cultures, so we will be somehow programmed to perceive that color the way it was taught to us.
After considering that, colors do have universal themes that have been studied to affect people in certain ways, and that is what I am going to share with you. You can take this information as a base, and if you feel in a different way about any color, just go with what creates the environment that feels right for you and your family.
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Neutral Colors
The virtue of neutral colors lies in their flexibility: Yo can add color to liven things up or subtract it to calm things down.
White:
It is the color of cleanliness, freshness, purity, and goodness. It is known to create a simple and calming look that works well combined with every shade. White can be elegant and open up a space, so it works perfectly for smaller rooms, making them feel larger and more illuminated. It is better to use it with color accents, because too much white can be associated with sterility.
Gray:
It gives a sense of relaxation and serenity. You can use gray in spaces like home offices or bathrooms. Gray is widely used in minimalistic decor.
Black:
It is a timeless classic. This color is powerful and elegant. The depth and impact of black in interior design is very strong, so you have to stay cautious and use it only as an accent. Black can serve as a grounding color to balance a lighter room or add contrast. Use black for statement pieces that you want to bring attention to.
Brown:
This neutral color is associated with wood, organics, and stability, making it feel very grounding. It works great if you add some brighter accents to the room, otherwise it may dull your senses or make you sleepy. Brown’s natural roots give it a relaxing touch. It is a good choice for rooms where the family gathers.
Warmer Colors
Red:
Color red in decor evokes the strongest of feelings within us like love and anger. It reminds us of passionate energy, so if used as an accent, it would be a good choice for a bedroom. This color can increase metabolism and blood pressure (for better or worse). As it reminds us of fire, it can be used to warm up spaces and make them feel more intimate. If you use it as a main decoration color, it may leave you feeling uneasy and restless.
Orange:
It is full of energy and innovation. Color Orange in interior design is motivational and passionate, making it a great choice for a children’s room or a room full of activity, as it encourages conversation and social interaction. Orange is also known for maximizing the appetite. Try to use it only as an accent because if used in excess, it can leave you feeling overwhelmed.
Yellow:
It captures the joy of sunshine and communicates happiness, positivity, and creativity, with a warming effect. Yellow is a great color to use in the kitchen because it is energizing and uplifting. It works better in combination with a calming neutral to create a peaceful environment, instead of having it as the main color. In large amounts, this color may create feelings of frustration and anger.
Colder Colors
Blue:
It inspires feelings of confidence, openness, and stability. Blue also transmits calm and freshness, which makes it a great choice for bathrooms. It is also a good color for living rooms because of it’s soothing energy. As opposed to the color red, blue is said to bring down blood pressure and slow respiration and heart rate. Sky blue inspires safety and serenity, while dark blue should be used only in accents, because while it is associated with intelligence, if overused it can evoke a lack of emotion or even sadness.
Green:
It is the color of nature, so it symbolizes growth, fertility, and freshness. Green can also transmit confidence and intelligence. It is a tranquil and calming color, that can reduce any kind of stressful feelings. It is the perfect choice for an entryway because it creates a smooth transition from the outdoors. In fact, it is considered a good choice for almost any room in the house, even if you use certain shades of green as the main color of the space.
Purple:
It represents luxury, ambition, creativity, and wealth. This is a very versatile color for almost any room, especially for formal living rooms or master bedrooms, because it adds an air of sophistication, depth and elegance. This passionate color, in its darkest values is rich, dramatic and elegant. Lighter versions of purple such as lavender, bring the restful feeling of color blue to bedrooms and bathrooms, but without the risk of feeling chilly.
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How to Mix Colors
A good rule when you choose which colors to include in your interior is to choose a neutral color for the largest items like walls and floors, then choose a calmer color for the furniture and other big items. In the end, pick a third more dramatic color as an accent, for your accessories and smaller decoration items. It is important to consider that too many colors can make a room look busy or cluttered.
Always remember that the most important thing to do, is to choose colors that reflect your preferences and personality, and evoke the feelings that you want to recreate in your home.
Lighting
It is well documented that natural light plays an important role in our happiness, and that it can even aid illness and depression. Ideally, rooms need to be filled with as much natural light as possible. Natural daylight is the best way of increasing happiness in our rooms. The more natural light a room contains, the better your mood will be.
If you don’t receive enough natural light regularly in your home, it might interrupt your circadian rhythm, which will affect your sleep patterns and your ability to stay awake. Painting interiors in light colors can help you achieve a more illuminated environment.
Did you know light can also affect your appetite?
A bright white room filled with light could make you consume more food, while dark candlelight means you will eat slower and therefore consume less.
Light also affects your ability to relax. Dim and moody lighting aids relaxation, as if you were sitting in front of a fireplace. On the other hand, strong lights or good amounts of daylight can make you feel more awake and focused, making it an excellent choice for students to improve their overall brain function and grades. Considering all that, it would be a great option to have a lighting system at home that can change from day to night, to help one sleep better and stay awake when needed.
Details that Bring Happiness to Your Home
Plants:
Plants have a huge effect on the environment we live in, by bringing nature into our homes. Mimicking the outdoors in your home –as Feng Shui principles state- will put you in a permanent good mood, optimize your health, and generally improve your life. Looking after nature is known to have a positive effect on illness and depression.
From the aesthetic point of view, plants can also add texture and color to a room. Many experts believe that looking out of our windows onto a beautiful natural landscape is a great way to energize ourselves. If you don’t have that view from home, simply buy some houseplants and place them in your windowsills or in the rooms around your house, to help you influence your mood in a positive way.
Items that Reflect Your Personality:
This is a very important part of decor, as it infuses our home with our personality, preferences, and experiences. This is what will make our home feel unique and perfect for us.
Some beautiful pillows thrown in the couch, tableware with designs that lift your spirit, coffee mugs that make you smile every morning, a pile of books and magazines that reflect your interests and inspire you, framed pictures of your family, and the different kinds of art that you have collected decorating your walls and tables, can make a great difference in the way you feel inside your home. All of these details are the ones that can really tell your story and make your home the perfect and welcoming space you deserve. The best part is that you don’t need to spend a fortune on this because simple things as wall art and throw pillows can make your home a much better and happier place for you.
In summary, your home is an extension of yourself, and you should try to make it feel like the best version of yourself. In the end, the creativity and good energy that you put into designing it, will go back to you and make you feel great and energized every day. So the next time that you go shopping for items for your home, don’t think about it as a trivial spending, but more as a good investment in your own happiness and health.