Did you know that you can design and decorate your home to evoke the feelings you want? Whether it’s security, comfort, power or tranquility, your interiors can be designed to create the feelings you want.

did you know that you are already surrounded by design and décor that has been created to manipulate you into feeling a certain way and doing certain things? Supermarkets do it. Schools do it. Even hospitals do it. And certainly corporations do. Not to mention prisons. Because they know that the environment can have a very specific impact on their clients, students, patients, workers, and inmates.

They want people to buy more… learn faster… improve faster… work harder… behave. So why don’t we harness the power of design and decoration to feel better in our own homes?

Environmental impact

Our environment has a very different impact on us. Don’t know when you’re supposed to be quiet in certain parts of a building? Do you realize that you are being guided around the buildings by following certain color signals or cues? Do you know that canteens and restaurants are designed so that you don’t spend too much time there (wasting valuable work time)? Do you know that stores know exactly how to manipulate you into different parts of the building so that you buy more?

Impact on well-being

So if everyone is making the most of the power of design and decoration, why not us? The psychological effects that our environment has on us and the potential impacts are enormous. If you take some time to really think about and design your interiors, you too can take advantage of these design principles to create places that not only look great, but also feel great.

As?

Design is about the arrangement of space. The number of rooms you have, what activities take place in each of these rooms, where light is needed, heating requirements, ergonomics (a word you’ll know if it’s too high or too low) looking at how to design around the human body and make things comfortable. Design thinks about flow and efficiency and, in its most basic form, how to make life work well.

Decorating, on the other hand, is all about making things look good. But do not think that everything is superficial and nothing more than cushions and tassels. There is great power in beauty, and the ability to harness aesthetics can lead to some incredibly important and not superficial results, such as a positive impact on your well-being.

Color is also extremely important. Are you aware that certain colors produce a reaction in you? And that different patterns, textures, and shapes will make you respond in different ways (both positively and negatively)?

Blue and green can lower blood pressure. The actors’ room is called the green room because the color would calm them down before going on stage. Blue is widely used in hospitals because it keeps stress levels down, calms the system, and aids recovery. Yellow keeps people happy, while red and orange will excite your eyes and stimulate you. White has a wide variety of interpretations: some consider it very calm, while others only see clinical and morbid connotations.

Can you imagine what would happen if you lived in an environment that fully supported you, both in terms of design and decoration? And how would you feel at home as a result? We could all use some feel-good factors in our homes; a dose of empowerment to help us get through our fabulous but ridiculously hectic lives. We could all do with coming home to a place that makes us feel safe at the end of a stressful day. More specifically, we all could use creating an environment that does not add to that stress. I hope this has inspired you to take action in your home and make it the best possible environment for you and your family.