A current trending topic that has been dubbed as a form of expression, particularly on social media platforms like Instagram, is interior design. If your news feed isn’t bombarded with houseplants and shades of millennial pink, you must be living under a rock. From trendy coffee houses to workplaces, interior design is a huge part of creating the atmosphere. There has been a flood of industrial inspired designs, like exposed brickwork and pipelines.

However, this goes far further than a good look. A well thought out interior design has the potential to influence people’s general sense of wellbeing.

Organising your rooms

Generally, wellbeing is considered in the scope of our daily routine, the foods and drink we eat, or the friends we keep close. But the spaces that we inhabit can have an impact too, as they tend to dictate our feelings towards a certain environment. In fact, as a contributing factor to wellbeing, our environment is the most overlooked, as it doesn’t seem like an easy one to change.

There’s a lot of value in the saying ‘tidy space, tidy mind’, but the same concept applies to the appeal of a space and its visual elements are at the heart of this. With some clever interior design techniques, you can breathe a new lease of life into your own spaces.

Being more productive

If you’re unsure where to start first, we recommend starting with colour — colour has been psychologically linked to influencing a person’s mood. For example, there is something daunting about an entirely white space. While the minimalists among us mind find the crisp characteristic of this appealing, it is not the best idea for promoting productivity.

Research by The University of Texas had participants carry out clerical tasks in rooms painted in white, aqua, and red. The individuals found the most difficult room for blocking out ‘colour noise’ to be the white room. Indeed, more errors occurred in the white room. The sterile nature of it could be a contributing factor to this. The ‘psychologically neutral’ shades of off-white and beige also fell into the same category as the white room. Yet many offices opt for these colours, and it could be having a detrimental effect on employees’ sense of wellbeing while at work.

The most effective room was the aqua room, which had the most positive response. This supports the theory that low-wavelength colours work best for stimulating positivity. Think soothing pale green hues and tranquil blues which promote communication and calmness.

Certain colours have been linked to influencing chemical imbalances in the brain. This emphasises how important choosing the right shade for your interiors can be.

Boosting Your Mood

Our home is our personal space and is an entirely separate entity from our professional environment. Things like family life and leisure are associated with the home, but what if the places that we spend our downtime in aren’t functioning as they should? There are ways to use interior design at home, and they can create a clearer separation between the reality of life and the time that we should be spending relaxing in our own private spaces.

One of the primary functions of your home is to spend time with your family, or by yourself. By using your interior design to follow this concept, you can create rooms that feel welcoming and that you enjoy spending time in. The idea of the ‘heart’ of the home is a good starting point. Whether you choose your living room, kitchen or conservatory, there should be an area of your home that feels like the central point. This space should feel appealing, and you have the opportunity to fill it with everything you love. You shouldn’t shy away from expressing yourself at home either. Use a digital printing service to introduce a pop of colour, or a vibrant collection of houseplants to bring a jungle feel into your space, you shouldn’t be afraid to have all the things you enjoy around you.  Ever your own garden plants are perfect for this!

It’s common for interior designers to include light fabrics to lighten our rooms. Natural light makes for the perfect productive space, as dark, opaque rooms tend to create a claustrophobic feeling. Everyone’s lives are moving quicker than ever in the grip of the digital age and taking downtime doesn’t always feel possible. As technology continues to dominate in many of our homes, it has never been more important to create a space in which you can escape from this. Take a quiet corner of your home and make it as calm and welcoming as possible. Soft furnishings along with books that you enjoy can help, but make technology exempt from this space. Instead, place a notepad somewhere in the area and use it as an opportunity to reflect. By creating this area, you can teach your mind to value downtime and promote a healthy sense of wellbeing away from the hectic nature of the realities of life.

Evaluate the design and colours of rooms to boost your wellbeing — after all, your home environment is extremely important. Considering colour and content of your rooms will help boost your productivity and general happiness.

Sources:

https://www.luxdeco.com/blogs/styleguide/colour-psychology-interior-design

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/243749

https://www.fastcompany.com/3044601/why-you-should-never-paint-office-walls-white

https://freshome.com/2012/12/31/how-to-make-your-home-totally-zen-in-10-steps/

https://www.quill.com/blog/office-tips/how-colors-affect-productivity-in-the-workplace.html

https://www.nikischaferinteriordesign.co.uk/designing-wellbeing-into-your-home/