How Your Home Affects Your Mood

[dropcap1]W[/dropcap1]hen you walk into your front door, you should feel uplifted and happy to be home. There are many elements in your home design that affect your mood, so make sure you’re following the right tips.

Here are some important ways to design your home so that you feel good to be in it every day.

Lighting

Research published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology found that the more intense the lighting is in a room, the more intense your emotions will be. That’s something to bear in mind if you’re feeling good – be in a strongly-lit room and you’ll maintain that feeling for longer. Feeling down? Perhaps it’s best to head to a dimly-lit room.

Colour

When choosing a new paint colour for your walls, consider the difference warm versus cold colours will have on your emotions. Warm colours, such as orange, yellow and red, all increase your sense of comfort and warmth. Cold colours, such as blue, purple and green, can make you feel calmer. So, if you’re repainting your bedroom, perhaps an intense warm colour might be too energetic and you should consider a more serene, cool shade.

Clutter

Chances are that if you have some clutter in your home, you know how it instantly drains you of energy when you see it. But it does so much more than that. Clutter makes it hard for you to relax because it’s a signal to your brain that you have work to do, which can also make you feel anxious and guilty. That’s definitely not what you want to feel when returning home after a long day at the office!

Space

The way you organize your space impacts how you feel. Being in a room that has high ceilings can help you think more freely, according to research. If you feel cramped in a room, you’re likely to feel constricted in your thoughts. If you have a small space to work with, use some clever tricks to create the illusion of greater space. These include placing a large mirror in the room and making use of slim furniture that is scaled to size.