How to promote wellness with Interior Design
What does a calming interior look like to you?
We tend to spend a lot of time and money on making sure we follow the latest health trends, doing the right type of exercise and eating well, but did you know that your interior and your home can help you on your health journey as well?
The world health organisation defines wellness as ” a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”, meaning that true wellness should be approached from all aspects of our lives. So what can you do to create an environment that helps you relax and recharge at the end of the day? Following are 5 ways to get you started.
1. Look to biophilic design
Biophilic design is a concept used in architecture that seeks to connect us humans to nature and in doing so improve our wellbeing while reducing stress. Some of the principles used in this design practice might not be applicable to the interior you have, however a couple of them can easily be incorporated in any home.
A visual connection to nature, for example, has in studies been shown to lower blood pressure and heart rate (Brown, Barton & Gladwell, 2013; van den Berg, Hartig, & Staats, 2007; Tsunetsugu & Miyazaki, 2005) as well as have a positive impact on our attitude (Barton & Pretty, 2010). Use this to your advantage by arranging your furniture in a way which allows you to easily look out the windows. Use sheer curtains when possible to not obstruct the views and bring your favourite plants indoor.
2. Use the right colours
The colours we surround ourselves with impacts our everyday life more than we might think.
Earthy colours like green, blue and brown has been linked to feelings of calm, warmth and tranquillity while warmer colours like orange and yellow have been linked to stimulate appetite and confidence (The little book of colour, Karen Haller, 2019).
Make use of soft, muted colours in the bedroom to improve relaxation and save the more uplifting colours for spaces like your kitchen or home office.
Find inspiration for which materials to use in books and online if you are feeling stuck. Pictured: the Kinfolk Home, Interiors for slowliving, 2015
3. Mix your materials
A material connection to nature or ”non-visual connection” has been shown to improve comfort (Tsunetsugu, Miyazaki & Sato 2007) and warm environments are also said to help stimulate the oxytocin production in our bodies (Uvnäs-Moberg, Handlin & Petersson 2015), which helps us feel calm and relaxed.
Bring in tactile materials such as wood, stone or wool that mimics nature ands warms up the space. Easy upgrades to do in your interior is changing out your curtains or bed linen or other smaller furniture in your home as well as smaller decorative objects.
4. Lighting
Natural light influences our mood and helps to regulate our circadian rhythm, which leads to better sleep quality (Blume, Garbazza & Spitschan 2019). To mimic the natural changes in light throughout the day, make sure you use more than one light source in every room so that the light indoors can shift as the day goes on. A quick checklist for lamps and lighting might be as follows:
Overhead lights for general lighting
A reading light by armchairs or sofas, or lighting above kitchen counters which works as task lights
Spotlights or accent lighting which emphasises an artwork, shelf or other decor
Dimmable lamps, fairy lights or other types of flickering light to set the mood and create a cozy inviting atmosphere.
With these different types of lights you will make sure you are in synch with the day outside.
5. Arrange accordingly
To further enhance your wellbeing at home, make sure the behaviours and habits you want to encourage are easily available. Do you want to work out more? See to it that you set up a corner with a yoga mat, weights and other equipment or that your gym bag is always packed and ready to go. Do you want to watch less tv? Why not plug out the tv so that every time you want to watch you need to go through the extra trouble of plugging it in? Create a cozy reading nook or display your latest books to make it inviting to read. The way we organise our home helps to push us in the right direction, we just have to be aware of it.
Choose a natural colour palette and keep your hobbies nearby to enhance your wellbeing at home.
“ Your home is a reflection of who you are, of your life.”
Summary
Changing our interior to enhance our wellness may seem difficult but it doesn’t have to be. Surround yourself with natural colours and tactile materials, make sure you can easily look outside and don’t always have to turn on the big overhead lights at night. Go through what your perfect day looks like and make sure your home is curated to those habits and behaviours.
Your home is a reflection of who you are, of your life and why wouldn’t we want to feel good in our own space?