If you ever lived out of a box until your furniture arrived or in a very cluttered space, you know how stressful it is to spend time in a place that doesn’t make you feel at home.
Home means peace. It means solace and warmth. It can mean family, or a collection of places you’ve loved or been. The biggest thing is though, that it reflects you and makes you feel safe and seen, not just be beautiful to others.
We spend 90% of our time indoors, and lately, most of that is in our homes. We exercise to stay fit, eat nutritiously to stay healthy, but what about our homes?
There’s a strong link between our homes, interior design, and our wellness, and we’re just scratching the surface of it.
We believe everyone deserves to feel happiest when they’re at home. Here’s some ways home impacts your mood more than you may know, and how to improve it:
1. If your home feels stale, opt for more plants. By nature, we were meant to be outdoors more than we are today. If your home looks like but feels a bit cold and stale, you may need to warm it up by bringing the outside in with some plants. See Jenni's home.
2. If your home makes you feel cold, warm it up with warm colors, warm lamps, and textures. We don’t mean cold like temperature here, we mean stark like a museum. Just like plants make us feel good since we were meant to be outdoors more, earthy colors have the same effect on us for the same reason. If your space still feels cold, it may need some variety in textures to make it feel and look more cozy. Adding lamps with warm light (1800K per hygge expert Meik Wiking) can make a space feel more cozy, and layering the light such that it’s not just coming from overhead can make little cozy nooks too.
3. If you don’t feel calmed, consider your home’s colors. It’s proven that different colors make us feel different ways–it’s called color theory! So while that neon graphic white living room may be cool (oh you’ve never had one? Ahem, I have), it might not be the most relaxing.
4. If you feel boxed in, your home might be too empty and/or square. We live in square spaces! It makes sense that if it’s too sparse, you might feel a bit like you’re living in a box. Add furniture and decor to give the space dimension and avoid feeling penned in.
5. If your family doesn’t spend enough time together, consider changing your room’s layout. The way your furniture is arranged can affect how you spend time together. The things furnishing the room, such as a comfortable sectional versus a sofa, or breakfast nook as opposed to an awkward space being used for storage, can also impact how much your family likes to spend together, and therefore the wellbeing of your entire family. See Helen's home.
6. If your home feels too quiet, consider ways to add noise. Noise isn’t always a bad thing. It says, “hey people live here and are having a good time,” like the difference between walking by a restaurant where you can hear a pin drop and a lively cafe. Besides arranging your home such that people want to collect in the places meant for the family, keep your TV on a fireplace video on YouTube, or add a record player.
7. If your home stresses you out, consider decluttering. It might not be that you have a crazy amount of stuff, but your eye might not find a place to rest. Plus, more stuff equals more things to clean, fix, move, and generally take care of. Stuff can actually create stress! This is especially important in a space like a home office where you need to focus. See Beth's Home.
8. If your room is lacking light, add some mirrors. It’s just nature–we are affected by a lack of light, it’s why dungeons in cartoons never had them! If your room is lacking natural light, add some mirrors to help increase it. The lack of light can also affect our circadian rhythms (our sleep-wake cycle).
9. If you don’t particularly feel happy in your home, consider redecorating. You know that friend that just loves being at home? It might be that they are more of a homebody than you, but it also might be that they find the most peace in their home. This is impacted by more than just your home decor and furniture of course, but home decor and furniture plays a significant role in how you spend time in your home, and with other people. If you don’t feel happiest at home, chances are, your home can use a pick-me-up at the minimum. Sometimes you have some things you love but just don’t know how to create a happy place between them–that’s why we design around your existing furniture or decor for free. See Nora's Home.
Home is a place to rest, reset, and relax, but if your home is stimulating in a way where you can’t relax, it can be hard to reset and be your best self for yourself, your friends, your family, your passions, and your work.
The last point is, these aren’t hard and fast rules...everything is different for each person. For example, bright colors may stress one person out, and make another feel energized and happy. Someone who loves travel may find an eclectic way to display all the things they love from their trips, whereas for someone else, that might be overwhelming. We’re all unique after all!
At the end of the day, home is very important and personal. The key isn’t to create the perfect home, but to create the perfect home for you.
