Do you feel like you’ve lost control of how your home makes you feel? Perhaps your design style wasn’t as unified as it could have been or you’ve simply been adding bits and pieces until it became a mish-mash of different styles. If you feel like your home isn’t as relaxing, as invigorating, or simply as welcoming as you would like it to be, then it’s time to look at some ways you can better control the mood of your own space. The tips below will help you get back in control and help you get precisely what mood you want from your home.
Control the lighting
The lighting of the home is going to have a big impact on mood. If it’s really dim outside when it’s sunny, then you’re not going to feel the rejuvenating effects of that sunlight. Similarly, you won’t be able to get that cozy evening feeling if you only have one flat lighting fixture. For one, you should do what you can to be able to maximize natural lighting at wills such as using lighter window treatments or blackout blinds. You should also look at how to layer your lighting fixtures, so the home is using accent lighting that can better alter the atmosphere of the home, as well.well.
Know the evocative power of colors
Human emotions are much more greatly influenced by color than you might think. If you think about colors associated with rage, you’re likely to think of red. Meanwhile, if you think of colors associated with peace and tranquility, then you might think of green or sky blue, instead. When you’re deciding on the design scheme of a room, then make sure you’re choosing a unified color scheme, as well. If you feel like a room could use a dash of color, you don’t have to repaint or repaper it, either. Instead, change the accents to change the color scheme of the room much more easily. Sometimes, you just need a little change here and there rather than a complete top-to-bottom recolor.
Don’t let clutter take over
There’s only one “mood” to clutter, and that mood is stressed out. Simply put, if the home feels like it’s a little disorganized and cobbled together, then we won’t feel at ease until we can tidy things up. Not all clutter is trash, either. It can just as easily be that you’ve tried incorporating too many knick-knacks in the room and they have quickly taken up more space than they should. Consider going with the minimalist approach and, as one home guru says, only keep the things that spark joy. Otherwise, invest in a few more storage solutions for the home, such as a hamper basket in each room that you can use to quickly tidy away out of place items until you have the time to better organize them. Less clutter also makes running the household much easier.
Engage all your senses
It’s not only your sense of sight that governs the mood you get from certain spaces. In fact, your sense of smell is even more evocative, tied as closely to the memory and mood centers of the brain as it is. For that reason, quality room sprays can play a huge role in changing the whole atmosphere of that room. A good lavender scent can help it feel much more relaxing, not to mention improving sleep, making it perfect for the bedroom. Meanwhile, lemon is engaging, refreshing, and clean-smelling, making it a good fit for the bathroom or the kitchen. Do a little research, find which scents are your favorite for instilling a certain mood, and give your home the power of smells.
A little touch in the right direction
The smell isn’t the only other sense you should be focused on, as well. How we feel our environment, the tactile nature of it, will play a big role in determining how we feel about it as well. This works in a variety of ways. Smooth, clean flooring such as wood or vinyl tends to feel a little cleaner than carpet, but it can also feel barer and colder. For that reason, making good use of soft furnishings such as rugs, throws, and pillows, can be great for making a room feel much cozier. Know how to add a touch of softness to any room to make sure it never feels too alienating.
Make sure each room lives up to its purpose
Adding more space to a room can help it feel cleaner and less claustrophobic, but you should also make sure that whatever room you’re using, it’s designed in a way that’s suited to its purpose. The kitchen is the easiest example of this, it should be designed purely for the sake of making food preparation and storage easy. But when it comes to additional rooms like the home office, people tend to trip up, by trying to make it more like a bedroom or a living room. Make sure there’s a clear divide in purpose from room to room. Otherwise, it can make the room feel less suited to the purpose. Another example of this is having too much technology in the bedroom, which tends to make it harder to fall asleep at night.
Add elements that have meaning
We talked about taking the minimalist approach and only keeping the items that spark joy in the home. However, if you’re having trouble thinking about what that might be, then look closer to what’s important to you. Photos of friends, family, and important moments in your life are a popular subject of photo wall galleries, for instance. Or you can choose art that inspires or speaks to you on an emotional level. Try to find the elements of home decor that have genuine meaning to you, whether that’s tied to people, places, or experiences in your life that have real meaning. This will always have a much more heart-warming effect than, say, something you just like the design of.
Show your personality
Aside from adding the items that have personal meaning to you, instead of any old clutter, you should also let the home show off a little bit of your own personality, too. We’re not just talking about aesthetic tastes, but about your passions and your hobbies, as well. There are lots of ways to incorporate your hobbies into your interior design. Having a big bookcase is perhaps the easiest way to do it, but if you love movies, then you can do it by ordering and framing classic movie posters or, if you love the seaside, you can have a collection of shells in a jar proudly on display on one of your shelves.
Bring in some greenery
If you want to make the home a little more relaxing, then you should look at just how much impact the addition of a houseplant can have. There are plenty of low maintenance houseplants to choose from if you don’t feel like spending all your time tending after some flowers, but the benefits they can have for your emotional and even physical health can be very real indeed. For instance, they’ve been shown to have a positive effect on self-esteem, while also helping manage stress and anxiety. You might even end up finding a few favorite houseplants that get a whole new significance to you.
The home is a tool to help you maintain the mindset that you want. Control your environment and you can better control your own mind.
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