Home interiors to help mental health

If, like us, you peruse Instagram looking for interiors inspiration, you’ve got our support. Who hasn’t got lost down that rabbit hole regularly? But not only do we desire beautiful living spaces for their aesthetic, pleasing-to-the-eye benefits, but they will help bona fide with promoting positive mental health. Something we can all get on board with. But, where to start?

Bring the outside inside

If you can remember any of your school science you might recall the process of photosynthesis, whereby plants create oxygen which of course we humans need to exist. Plants create a lovely, natural effect indoors and they can also help clean toxins from the air and increase humidity. This can aid better sleep and help keep those winter bugs at bay! Easy win number one.

Be clever with colour

Scrolls dating back to 1550 BC suggest that the ancient Egyptians used colour to cure ailments. Colour therapy and practitioners and interior stylists agree that colour can affect our mental health.

As we age and experience differing stages in life we may need different colours in our living spaces. For example, use gold to promote strengthening thoughts and feelings - good for depression, especially during the menopause. Use green to promote balance and harmony, meaning it’s a great colour for stress and anxiety.

Let the (right) light in 

Research by the University of Toronto suggests that bright lighting intensifies our feelings, both positively and negatively and that lowering any bright lights can help us to make more rational decisions. Blue light, like the light that our mobile phone emits, as we are often warned, suppresses our melatonin, which keeps us awake and so should be avoided at night! However, blue light could be beneficial in home-study areas, or office spaces. Bedroom light by contrast should be soft…

Declutter

Most of us recognise that our response to mess and mayhem is rarely positive. A cluttered space often leads to stress and anxiety. Marie Kondo advocates a fairy extreme process of eliminating ‘things’ from our home that do not ‘spark joy’ arriving at a much more minimal existence. But most stylists and interior designers agree that less is more for these reasons and more!

Smell right

Our sense of smell is associated with our mental health. Biology has long since linked the two. It’s why a smell can evoke a happy childhood memory and transport us to a time we can barely recall. It’s also why aromatherapy works to de-stress or invigorate us. Ergo if we fill our homes with beautiful fragrances that promote calm or energy we stand to benefit.