Is your home making you depressed? You're not strange for hating your bathroom tile, distressed sofa arm, or crooked shelf, but it could be causing more than an annoyance.
The way your home is decorated can significantly impact your mental health, especially if you suffer from anxiety or depression. Decorating your home for mental clarity is more than finding pretty pictures and expensive furniture.
Home decor won't cure you of experiencing negative mental states or provide financial aid like depression and life insurance, but it can help treat your symptoms.
How to Improve Home Mental Health
Home is where we reset and recharge, so how our homes make us feel can highly impact our everyday lives. The science behind home structures, design, and functionality has intrigued people for centuries and widely varies between cultures.
Suppose you're searching for the perfect property. Start by considering what structures will help or hinder your mental health journey. Knowing what home aspects to require or avoid will give you a head start when planning to decorate for your mental health needs.
New paint and furniture can drastically change a space, but moving or renovating and having a solid foundation, or "good bones," as they say, makes the possibilities endless.
Although everyone's taste is different, knowing what works best for those suffering from anxiety and depression could also help you.
Soft Interior Finishes
Sharp corners and points are very dramatic and used to emphasize the structural architecture. Round shapes such as circles and arches tend to be more calming. Even if your home is structurally contemporary, you can add softening elements such as curtain rods and round cabinet handles to create a calming atmosphere.
Transparency and Light
Changing light bulbs isn't a difficult task, but it can be annoying if you have to continually change every single one. Avoid the hassle by picking or remodeling your place to allow lots of natural and soft light.
There's a link between anxiety and suffering from migraines, which, as you know, doesn't make you feel better. When mental health begins to have physical symptoms, soft lighting is easier to handle and won't worsen your symptoms.
Recessed Storage and Organization Options
Clutter makes us depressed and anxious. Keeping your space tidy is a must when trying to maintain mental stability, but it shouldn't be hard.
Even in smaller homes, making sure to utilize your space with shelves, adequate closet space, and built-in shelving will help keep you from feeling disoriented.
How can I make my house less depressing?
Remodeling and moving isn't always an option, but thankfully, you can still achieve home elegance on a budget without tearing down walls. Filling your space with what makes you happy without being mindful of what will keep you healthy will only make your design counterproductive to your goals.
Colors That Fight Depression
Have you heard of chromotherapy? It is an alternative medicine that treats physical, emotional, mental, or spiritual ailments with the use of balancing light and color.
How our minds respond to different colors is a fascinating study that intuitively most of us understand. Color theory is seen in traditions such as weddings, funerals, and even all forms of marketing.
When dressing up for a first date or an important interview, it's common to associate colors like red with sexy or blue with trusting. When we dress up our homes by picking out paint, curtains, comforters, rugs, or pillows, we essentially do the same thing.
A list of colors and where they are best utilized is:
● Neutral colors - Crisp whites, taupes, beige, and various shades of gray are popular colors for spaces to express calmness and boost concentration. These colors easily pair with natural elements and are best used in bedrooms, living rooms, hallways, and offices.
● Blue - Blues bring a pop of color while not being overpowering. Blue hues express introspection and aid in clarity. The spaces where blues work best include dining rooms, living rooms, mudrooms, and offices.
● Purple - Purple is dramatic yet sensual. It is inspiring and nurturing to creativity. Purple pairs well with warm undertones and is great for any space used to heighten spirituality or prosperity. Purple works well for studio spaces, play spaces, meditation, or yoga rooms.
● Green - Green hues work well with both warm and cool undertones, making it a very adaptable and forgiving interior color. Green represents healing, rejuvenation, and harmony. The best-suited home spaces for the color green are kitchens, dens, kids' playrooms, and bathrooms.
● Yellow - Yellow is used to create warmth and bring a sense of power and patience. Yellows are best used in powder rooms, nurseries, and dining rooms.
● Black - No, black isn't always depressing and can even be empowering and sophisticated. Black is a bold way to make a statement in a room and can bring a modern sense of mystery to a home. It is best used as an accent in bedrooms, bathrooms, powder rooms, living rooms, and kitchens.
Different shades of even the same color can evoke a variety of emotions. Any color you choose should pair with the finishes in your space.
Cherry wood, copper, and brass finishings set a warm tone to a home but will darken cool colors and clash. Chrome, nickel, concrete, and oak-like finishes are cool-toned and will accentuate other cool colors, making the space feel larger and bright.
Can my home improve my mental health?
Admitting that the mind is fragile and easily influenced is not a weakening realization. Before a fragile package is sent out for shipping, it is equipped with materials to protect the object to maintain its quality. Your mind is no different than that delicate package.
How we design and utilize where we live is like the packing peanuts protecting us from what could potentially harm us in the world. Home is where we hang up our armor and decompress to regain strength for another day.
By using interior design as a tool to be proactive in the fight against anxiety and depression, you will find that managing your symptoms will become easier. Great interior design is a blend of practicality and style that enhances a way of life.
Even if do-it-yourself (DIY) projects, painting, or home shopping isn't your thing, you can tailor each room in your home to suit your needs. But remember to update your home insurance in case any of your renovations have increased your home insurance cost.
New furniture, fresh paint, or updated fixtures may not be all you need, but the aesthetic you choose has the power to help you avoid and get out of those dark days.
About The Author : Danielle Beck-Hunter writes and researches for the life insurance comparison site, QuickQuote.com. Danielle is a freelance designer who serves residential and commercial clients in the greater Atlanta area.
