When it comes to designing the interior of your home, not only do you have to choose your style, but you have to consider how the colors and furnishings you choose will affect your mind, body, and emotions. Interior design is not simply about choosing furniture and paint that work together, but it is also about choosing items that help keep your family happy and healthy.
While the psychology of interior design is expansive and complex, here are some quick tips to make the design of your home work for you.
Symmetry
Symmetry is attractive. There’s no doubt about it. There’s something about seeing a room laid out and designed to be perfectly balanced and symmetrical that makes it visually stunning and aesthetically pleasing. Our brains are hardwired to find patterns everywhere we look. We focus first on the room as a whole before noticing the smaller details. In this brief moment where we consider the room as a single entity, our brains notice any recurring patterns and we quickly decide whether we like the look of a room or not. Symmetry is one of the ways our brains find these patterns. Whether it’s matching lamps on top of matching nightstands on either side of the bed or three stools evenly spaced in front of a kitchen island, our brains see these patterns and decide that the room is pleasing to us. When items are mismatched, whether because of style, size, or color, there is no pattern for our brains to interpret. Therefore, our brains have more difficulty processing the room quickly as a whole. For many people, mismatched homes and unbalanced furnishings create a style that is not pleasing to look at.
Color
Color plays an important part in determining the atmosphere and feel of the rooms in your home. There have been many studies done on the effect color plays on our emotions and psychology. The color of a room can also affect our perception of how big or small it is. Darker colors tend to make a room feel smaller, which can be great if you’re trying to create an intimate space but backfire if you’re trying to make your living room appear larger than it is. Warm colors such as red, orange, and yellow, can increase heart rate and energy levels while cooler colors like blue and green make us calmer.
Red - red is the most powerful color for many people. It is also said to increase appetite, which is why many restaurants and food packages have a red color scheme. Red is great for dining room walls and kitchens.
Orange - orange is fun and energetic. It can also increase appetite as well as focus and concentration. Orange works best in dining rooms and in home offices.
Yellow - yellow is happy. Whether you love it or hate it, yellow is considered to be the most optimistic color. While you may not want your entire room to be painted yellow, having some yellow flowers or pillows in your living room will certainly brighten it up.
Green - green is the color of nature. It calms us and makes us feel more connected. Some people will love painting an entire room green while others may only use plants to get a green accent. Either way, having green in your home will help you feel more relaxed.
Blue - blue is the most popular color for interior painting. It is calming, relaxing, and freeing. Blue is one of the best colors to use in bedrooms as it helps relax the mind and body. It can also suppress appetite, so paint your dining room blue instead of red if you’re on a diet.
White - while the cultural meanings of white vary widely, most homes use white to make a room look larger. Like yellow, white can also be used as an accent to bring light into your room and make it feel fresh and welcoming.
Clutter
Having clutter in your home can negatively affect your well-being, focus, and ability to process information. Clutter has been linked to increased levels of stress and depression and nowadays, it’s not just physical clutter you have to worry about. Unread emails or notes are a form of clutter too. Digital clutter has the same effect on your focus and concentration as piles of mail or other junk. To help keep your brain focused and working, take the time to pick up your clutter and keep your home clean and tidy.
