Month: September 2014

18 Sep

What the Aesthetics of Your Home Can Do for You

home aesthetics for youInterior decorating is the process of beautifying the inside of your home. Interior decorating is a well respected profession, but it is also a meaningful way of expressing, soothing and invigorating yourself. Many people hire interior decoraters to beautify the insides of their homes, while others discover the benefits of doing the decorating themselves. Your living space is the only space you have that you are free to make into a complete reflection of yourself, and designing it from the ground up can prove to be very therapeutic. That is why carefully choosing the design concept, colors and accouterments for your home is an important form of mental health treatment.

Deciding how the aesthetic elements of your living space should come together is a somewhat artistic process. You need to think about how the shapes, lines and colors of the space will come together to create an atmosphere. This may seem like a very basic decision, but psychologists have found that the way we perceive the severity and starkness of the lines, shapes and colors in our environment has an effect on our mood. Assembling these basic elements in an appealing way will lay the backbone for a harmonious living space.

The color scheme of your living space deserves to be expounded on, because it is so critical in setting the mood of the room. Psychologists have found a clear link between color shades and moods in people, with so much evidence that colors have been labeled with corresponding moods for the purpose of decorating. For example, yellow is energizing, blue is productive, lavender is soothing and red stimulates the appetite. If you are a person who is prone to stress, think of the immense benefits of using the color lavender heavily in your home. Decisions about color schemes in your home can have a profound impact on your day-to-day well being.

And lastly, the actual decor you choose to put on walls and surfaces impacts your state of mind as well. Pictures, art and other decor carry personal and interpretive meaning when you are looking at them. Family heirlooms recall your personal history, regional art gives you a sense of travel and adventure, fine art gives your space a sense of culture and so on. Making careful decisions about all the elements of your interior decorating will reward you with peace of mind.

17 Sep

Color Schemes for Mental Health

home interior color schemeWhether you know it or not, the color scheme you choose for your home will have an effect on your mood while you are surrounded by it. Even if it is only at a subconscious level, particular colors have been connected to particular moods. The reasons for this are not definitive, but they have to do with the way the brain interprets visual signals. This information is a very valuable thing to consider when planning how to decorate your home. You will want to think of what mood you desire to set with the color scheme of each room, and how it will effect you personally every day.

Some colors are associated with relaxing emotions while others are associated with invigoration. It is important to consider the way you intend to use the space you are going to decorate before you commit to any particular color scheme. The purpose of the room will dictate whether you want to create an invigorating mood, such as red for appetite stimulation in the kitchen, or whether you want to create a relaxing mood, such as lavendar for calming in the bedroom. Consider who will spend time in the room, how often someone will be in the room and how you are going to arrange the room before deciding on a color scheme.

You will be surrounded by your decorating choices more than anyone else, so make sure that you can live with them. Most people do not pause to consider how their mental health will be effected by their decorating choices, but mental health is absolutely a factor in color scheme decision making. In the alternative medicine practice of Ayurveda, people are characterized by their dosha. Those with a fiery dosha should surround themselves with calming things for balance while those with a passive dosha should surround themselves with stimulating things for balance. The same is true for the colors in your home. If you are prone to laziness, it might be wise to stear away from calming colors and focus on stimulating colors. If you have a problem walking away from productivity in order to relax, then stimulating colors will not be as good for you as relaxing colors will be.