4 Interior Design Tips for your Emotional Health
Is your home a space that makes you feel warm and happy? Or when you walk in the door do you automatically feel anxious or irritated? Your home is where you spend most of your time and it should always be a place of rest and refuge. So if you are like the latter, and home doesn’t feel like home, then we need to decide what is and isn't working! Here are 4 tips to make your home feel like it was created just for you and improve your emotional health.
Interior Design for your Emotional Health
Organization
According to interior designer Tobi Fairley, finding that balance in making your home feel restful is “about designing both for visual cues and to remove visual clutter.”
For many people, their homes are unorganized or cluttered and this can make coming home (especially after a long day of work) feel exhausting. All you can do is see all the things that need to be picked up, put away, or you just can’t even find what you need. I know for me personally, having things in their place makes me feel peaceful and recharged.
Interior design is meant to be just as aesthetically pleasing as it is functional. Don’t be afraid to get creative and personal with different pieces to use for organizational purposes. This is a great way to not only improve emotional health but also to express your own style and set your home apart.
Colors
Color is one of the biggest elements that has a huge impact on emotions. Color has the power to create feelings of calm, it can take us back to a favorite place or memory, and brings warmth to any home. Whenever I get asked the question by a client, “What is the least expensive change I can make to my home to make the biggest impact?”- the answer is always to do something with color. New paint color for the walls, a throw pillow or two, or some fun wallpaper.
What are your favorite colors? What feelings do they evoke? The answer to this is different for everyone and what works in your home will be unique to you!
I personally love warm colors such as green, navy and corals. These colors make me happy, calm, and full of life! Colors that reflect nature will always stand the test of time.
Favorite space/stress-free space
While your home as a whole should feel calming and welcoming, it’s very important to make sure you have a specific place that is stress-free to you. A space you can go to with no distractions. Peter Walsh wrote in his book “It’s all too Much” that everything in our homes should be beautiful and functional because it is a metaphor for our life. When our house is a mess, we feel like we are a mess. This is why having a dedicated space is so important.
In my home, my favorite stress-free space is my office or bedroom- the places I work and rest. Because interior design is a passion of mine, my office is a place of inspiration for me. I love getting to work and finding the perfect designs for clients.
My bedroom is obviously a stress-free place because it is where I can simply relax.
How do you create a stress-free space in your home? Start with the two tips above! Declutter and color.
Tackling your entire house can be quite a task, but on a weekend you could organize your things and paint a small room. If you don’t have time to paint, maybe you could add decorative throw pillows or an updated accent piece such as a side table or accessory.
Small details can make a big impact when it comes to interior design. What changes have you made lately that helped, or what changes do you plan to make?
If you are entering a new phase of life or are just ready to redesign your home to make it more beautiful and functional for you, then send us a message! I want my clients to love being home, to anticipate the joy of their space, be it for personal peace or the warmth of company.
Make sure every room has a purpose
When I think about the fundamental reasons for what creates a home you want to retreat to, the words that come to mind are beauty, rest, memories and purpose. Each room in my home has been designed with these four elements at its foundation: What is this room's purpose? What pieces, materials, and colors do I want to use to make it beautiful? What memories do I want to create in this space? These are the questions I ask myself when designing my own home as well as each of my client's homes.
What rooms in your home are not being utilized to their full potential? Do you have extra space you could dedicate to work? Having a space that is decorated and designed to help you be productive could help you get in the right mindset to finish projects.
Other ideas could be a playroom for children or grandchildren- photos and passed down toys so that everything is in one place for them.
An updated master suite that makes you want to retreat and rest.
Making your dining room more functional for weeknight dinners instead of just holiday festivities.
These are all great examples of making the spaces in your home have a purpose and feel useful. You can maximize your room's potential as well, which will, in turn, will make you subconsciously feel better.
After reviewing a few of these tips, it's easy to see how the design of your home can greatly affect your emotional health. Try implementing these tips to see what helps! If you are ready to make your home a place of solitude, I’d love to help. Just use the contact page to leave me a message!
References:
Fairley, Tobi. Design You: February Workbook. 2020.Pages 8-11
Walsh, Peter. It's All Too Much: Live a Richer Life with Less Stuff. Read How You Want/Accessible, 2012.
