When we think about wellness, we often have many ideas that we’ve heard about: from reading a good self-help book, registering for self-development programs, and indulging in healthy activities that boost our mental and physical health. However, have you ever stopped, looked around your home, and thought how your trending home decor items could be affecting your wellness? Yes, it is true that the spaces we live in and the space we surround ourselves with really does define our overall wellness to large extents! It is probably more than we actually realize.
The physical space we live in defines our mental and spiritual spaces too! Making a few changes in the home decor and the way you’ve managed the space in your living room, bedroom, dining room and more may actually make a large difference to your overall wellness. Here’s all you need to know about the effect of home decor on your wellness. After reading this, you will change the way you look at your home decor and you’ll understand the major role the ‘overlooked’ home decor plays in your life!
From the furniture you’ve used in your home to the choice of colors and accessories that occupy your space, you’ll be surprised to know how these seemingly ‘irrelevant’ things are subtly ruling your life, without you even realizing it. Chances could be that you’ve got them all wrong and maybe making a few key changes will positively impact your overall well-being. Without further ado, let’s dive right into how your home decor can impact your wellness.
1 – The colors used in your home literally determine how you perceive your life
Choosing the right paint color and an overall color theme for your home does not end at – What’s my favorite color? Or what goes best with the furniture that we want to use? Choosing the right color palette for your home is extremely important and can largely determine the quality of your life. Color psychology is a vast subject and by hiring an expert, you should be able to work out a color theme that sinks well to how you think while also being a shade that you love.
For instance: Bright colors like reds, oranges, and yellows create an uplifting, energizing, and peppy ambiance at your home. On the other hand, if you want your home to feel calming, relaxing, toned down, or composed – shades of blues and violets can be a good pick. If you are someone who wants to chase a modernistic and sophisticated yet minimalist lifestyle – shades of whites and greys can be the perfect match. Thus, depending on how you want to feel at your home, you should choose the colors. Likewise, keep away from bright colors in your bedroom. Your bedroom is a place where you rest and relax, and hence using neutral colors is the way to go.
2 – Lesser the clutter in your space, lesser the clutter in your mind space!
Have you ever experienced getting very annoyed when your work desk is very messy? All of us have at least at some point in time. Why do you think this happens? The simple reason is that the clutter that our eyes see in our spaces can cause a lot of clutter in the mind too. A cleaner surrounding promotes a relaxed state of mind in us. The same rule applies to your home too. The more the clutter you have, the more you are likely to feel irritable and annoyed. Yes, it’s true that – we all love the things we’ve bought far too early to get rid of them and yes, it’s too hard to part ways with that little home decor piece your aunt gifted you!
But let’s face it – these things have stopped adding any element of beauty or purpose to our homes long back but we’ve somehow managed to hold onto them. Expert interior designers and space consultants opine that getting rid of things that do not serve any purpose can bring so much peace of mind. It can feel really relaxing to get rid of these unnecessary things that you know are only cluttering. Something’s too dear to break apart from? Well, store such things in a basket and make room for this basket somewhere in a cabin or a wardrobe! The idea is to mindfully declutter your space.
3 – Use the science of Feng Shui & Vaastu to mindfully arrange your spaces
Space management at home is not only about buying the best furniture and home decor that complement each other. It goes way beyond that and how you manage your spaces can really affect your moods. Feng Shui is an ancient Chinese science that explains and directs how to manage your spaces at home to ensure the most optimal and healthy good fortune for all the people inhabiting a home.
A similar science is Vaastu – an ancient Indian science that deals with effective space management at the home, office, and every other building structure to evoke positivity and wellness. Most people carry a false notion that following such sciences is really complicated and confusing. The fact is that these sciences are very simple once understood. Besides, if a little effort in this direction can promote peace and happiness in your home, don’t you think it’s absolutely worth it? Consult an expert to help you incorporate Feng Shui or Vastu at your home. Here’s a very quick peep into the same:
- In your bedroom, arrange your bed in a way that your head is against the wall while you sleep. This brings in a sense of security and promotes good sleep.
- Have a designated place to leave your footwear at home. Do not randomly throw it or toss it around. Encourage your guests to leave their footwear at the same place too.
- In the living room, it is a good idea to place furniture facing the entrance of the room so your guests feel very cozy and outgoing.
- In the kitchen, ensure that you have separate pantries to store food and cleaning products. Organize the space not only to suit the comfort and ease of usage but also to ensure that the food is stored in a place where there is enough sunlight and ventilation.
4 – Choose the right lighting for every part of your home
Lighting is perhaps one of the most overlooked features while designing homes. Most people take good care while choosing the right furniture and flooring for their homes but don’t invest too much time in the lighting aspect. Lighting can have a major impact on your moods and mental wellness in general. Using the brightest lighting schemes for every part of your room might be unnecessary. Especially in your bedroom, you should choose a light scheme that won’t come in the way of your sleep.
Pick up neutral and relaxing color tones like hues of teal or warm peachy hues that will promote a more relaxed, calm, and composed ambiance for you to rest and sleep. Similarly, the lighting in your kitchen must be bright enough to keep you alert while also not being too bright that you’ll feel drained. Good advice is to stay away from the bright hues of yellows for the lighting in the kitchen.
5 – Get creative and bring in home accessories that uplift your moods
It is a good idea to play around with the furniture and decor items at your home. Our minds like changes and it instill a sense of newness and freshness in our homes when we experiment around with home accessories and add some new ones. Remember that the idea is not to stock up space with every beautiful home accessory you see in the market but to choose and buy the ones that really made you feel happy and composed. If there’s a very old home decor piece that has lost its charm, consider parting ways with it and replacing it with some new home accessories! Make a note to choose the ones that best accent the overall theme of your home.
6 – Make room for green leafy plants in your spaces!
Last up on the list is including some green leafy plants in your living room, bedroom, balcony, and perhaps bathroom too. It is true that plants really add life to your spaces and make you it lives in an instant! Most people quickly do this by choosing a couple of succulents for their spaces but we want to tell you that there’s more to it.
We understand that succulents are definitely a very easy and attractive go-to option because they require very little care. However, succulents do not add as much oxygen as the green leafy plants do! There’s no need to get rid of the succulents, but it is a great idea to grow small indoor plants in pots and place them beside the furniture in the living room. The freshness you will experience around such plants is definitely a great natural mood uplifter you shouldn’t miss out on!
