Interiors and Mental Health
I have always been fascinated with how a beautifully designed room made me feel. A space that flows nicely and feels welcoming while fresh and airy makes me so thankful for the art of interior design. Many people find that taking pride in their space helps them in other areas of their lives such as their mental health and physical well-being! Believe it or not, there is a psychological element to interior design and its effect on us. Both well-designed rooms and spaces that have no design at all, are affecting us and we might not realize it.
A well-designed space can promote a positive impact on mental health while a chaotic space promotes stress and anxiety. If you want your space to help reduce your stress levels from other areas of your life, you can do a lot of things to avoid this. Firstly, pick a calming paint color such as pastels or lighter shades of your favorite colors to cover your walls to lower blood pressure. Secondly, including organic elements in your space through accent pieces, fresh flowers, and stone elements creates a sense of nature, promoting a calm mind. One other thing you can do when trying to design your space to promote a positive lifestyle is to design your space in an organized way. Keeping a space clean and organized helps us feel in control and feel less overwhelmed! It is so important to understand ways you can actively promote positive mental health with the interior design you choose! So let's get into it…
We are wired to naturally go home when something happens in our lives, homes are our safe space. Our homes are places that we can have complete control over, so as I mentioned before, creating your home to be tailored to your liking is not just important but essential to a thriving life. The studies of interior design on mental health have always been around with concepts such as Feng Shei, but throughout the years many scientists have confirmed the validity of these concepts with a connection to one's mental well-being. For example, studies have shown that workers in environments with natural sunlight outperform workers with no sunlight by a noticeable amount. The same can be applied in your home, more natural sunlight can keep you motivated and encouraged in your home and outside of it! Along with this, clean and open homes with little clutter promote the same mindset. Other studies have shown that homes that are organized and clean, foster an increased amount of social interaction and limit the feeling of being overwhelmed.
When I was becoming more and more interested in interior design, I read about all of the effects interior design has on one’s mind and health, and it fascinated me. Once I understood all of these effects, I started to notice them in my own spaces and even in spaces in the outside world. I have been slowly redesigning my bedroom and just with a few changes so far (more natural light, white walls, more organization), I have seen a considerable amount of changes in my motivation, and stress/anxiety levels! So I encourage everyone to take a step back, analyze their space, and consider what they could change to promote a positive mindset in their life that will affect them in all areas of their lives.
