Have you ever walked into a space and had a strong reaction to it physically or emotionally, whether good or bad? Think about restaurants or hotels you’ve been to, homes you’ve visited. Do you get drawn in and can’t wait to hang out or does it leave you feeling like you want to leave and unwelcome? What about it makes you feel the way you do when you walk in? People notwithstanding, that’s all a reaction to how the space has been designed - the flow, color palette, materials, lighting, texture, symmetry, furniture and décor. Not just how it’s been decorated. Generally speaking, it’s all a very well thought out plan.
Interior design can affect behavior too. The psychology of color is a whole book unto itself. Color affects mood, appetite, energy, attention to name a few. Too many things in a room or too few things can completely alter how we act.
Think about someone with #ADHD, for example. My daughter has ADHD. Being in a space with clutter just makes it all the more difficult to concentrate and she can’t relax. She needs more white space. Things need to be organized, in their place, before her mind quiets and she can sit and focus. When I moved her into her high school dorm room this year, creating this kind of space away from home was key. We selected linens and accessories with neutral colors that are relaxing, bought plants to bring in natural elements, the wall décor is even of plants. There’s macramé, textures that soothe and table lighting with a soft glow. She rarely turns on the harsh overhead fluorescent lights. Not surprisingly, hers is one of the most frequently visited rooms.
Or do you avoid inviting family and friends over because you’re embarrassed by your space? Or find yourself making excuses about your place when someone comes to visit? Has there been an empty space in a room because you just don’t know what to do with it? Most of us have felt this way at some point. We don’t like the way something feels.
Ask yourself why and what it is that makes you uncomfortable about inviting people over. Is it clutter, is it color schemes, are your chairs uncomfortable, is there too much on the walls, too little, wrong scale, wrong height, so on and so on.
The design and décor, even if it’s not something you say you care about, actually does affect you more than you probably know.
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