The Link Between Interior Design and Our Well-Being

In terms of our in general well-being, aesthetically pleasing interior designs at both work and at home can play a positive role.

For those hipster style coffee houses tucked away in the corners of the world, it seems pink hues and house plants are popular choices of décor. So much so that now interior design choices are becoming more and more ‘Instagram-worthy’. Even corporate workplaces have clocked on to growing trends such as industrial inspired interior design, with exposed brickwork and pipe lined ceilings becoming a trademark of many creative workspaces.

In terms of our in general well-being, aesthetically pleasing interior designs at both work and at home can play a positive role. Let’s take an in depth look at this with Precision Printing, specialist in offset litho printing, and learn how you can switch up the interiors of your own space to promote good wellbeing in yourself and others.

Tidy places = Tidy Minds

Our mental health can be dictated by numerous things such as our daily routines, work environments, our day to day tasks we have to do etc. In fact, as a contributing factor to wellbeing, our environment is perhaps most overlooked as it doesn’t seem like an easy one to change or link directly to feelings of negativity. There’s a lot of value in the saying ‘tidy space, tidy mind’ but the same concept applies to the appeal of a space and its visual elements are at the heart of this. With some clever interior design techniques, you can breathe a new lease of life into your own spaces.

Being productive with colour

Adding a dash of colour to your home can have numerous psychological benefits. There is something dauting about an entirely white space, and while the minimalists amongst us mind find the crisp characteristic of this to be appealing, it is not the best idea for promoting good wellbeing or specifically, productivity.

A study from The University of Texas established some rather ‘colourful’ conclusions, wherein participants carried out clerical tasks in rooms painted in white, aqua and red. The individuals found the most difficult room for blocking out ‘colour noise’ to be the white room, and the most errors were made when the work was carried out in the white washed space. The sterile nature of it could certainly be a contributing factor to this, and paradoxically, the ‘blank canvas’ did not elicit amongst the study participants. While the often defined as ‘psychologically neutral’ shades of off grey and beige also fell into an association with gloom, many offices opt for these colours and it could be having a detrimental effect on employees’ sense of wellbeing while at work.

The aqua room generated the most positive responses, and this supports the common viewpoint that low-wavelength colours work best for stimulating positivity — think soothing pale green hues and tranquil blues which naturally promote communication and calmness. Exposure to certain colours has even been found to contribute to chemical imbalances in the brain, emphasising just how important choosing the right shade for your interiors can be.

Infrastructure and our well-being

The home is the gulf between our work life and personal life. Things like family life and leisure are associated with the home, but what if the places that we spend our downtime in aren’t functioning as they should? There are ways to use interior design at home, and they can create a clearer separation between the reality of life and the time that we should be spending relaxing in our own private spaces.

The home should ultimately be a hub for your family (or just yourself) to relax in, and by using your interior design to assign this concept you can create rooms that feel welcoming and that you enjoy spending time in. The idea of the ‘heart’ of the home is a good starting point, whether you choose your living room, kitchen or conservatory, there should be an area of your home that feels like the central point, where communication and quality time is spent. This space should feel appealing, and really you have the opportunity to fill it with everything you love.

Having an old school style 70s theme around your home isn’t something you should shy away from! Adding a pop of colour around your home is a great way to lift the mood. Including the odd vibrant houseplant around your home to entice a quirky jungle feel into your space is bound to have positive effects on your well-being!

Many interior designers enjoy using only light fabrics, especially for features such as curtains as they can provide a translucent barrier between indoors and outdoors, making you feel closer to the natural world and allowing more light to enter a room. This is the perfect space for productivity, as dark, opaque rooms tend to create a claustrophobic feeling.

It’s almost impossible to have some down time as the rise of the digital era emerges and everyone’s lives are moving at a quicker pace. As technology continues to dominate in many of our homes with things like google assistant becoming commonplace, it has never been more important to create a space in which you can truly escape from this. Take a quiet corner of your home and make it as calm and welcoming as possible, with soft furnishings along with books that you enjoy, but make technology exempt from this space: place a notepad somewhere in the area and use it as an opportunity to reflect. By creating this area and using interiors to associate a meaning with it, you can teach your mind to value downtime and promote a healthy sense of wellbeing that is not constantly overwhelmed by technology and the hectic nature of the realities of life.

So, is your home and work environment styled in a way that helps restore some zen and support your well-being? Or are some alterations required? Boost your productivity by adjusting your surroundings accordingly.