published on Health.com
De-Stress Your Space
There’s more to decor than meets the eye. We went to the pros for tips on how to make your space a tranquil retreat—and the tools you need to pull it off.
Picture it: A place that makes you smile as soon as you enter. Stress melts away, and you’re overcome with a sense of comfort.
Reality check: It’s your own house.
Believe it or not, it’s possible, and there’s a whole science fueling this quest to make home sweet home happen. Dubbed “design psychology,” it explores how the environment affects people emotionally, and how to design your space to make you feel happy. “The things we do consciously to arrange the places we live in can infuse us with a feeling of well-being,” says Constance Forrest, Psy.D., of the California design psychology practice ForrestPainter Design.
Here’s how to make your home a haven.
Brush up with color. Leatrice Eiseman, author of Colors for Your Every Mood suggests using a serene hue like periwinkle blue, the color she painted her own bedroom.
Why: “In most people’s minds, blue is the color of the sky, the sea—those things in the world we can always depend on,” Eiseman explains. Spice up the room with a complement like apricot; a designer rule-of-thumb is that a single color dominate only 75 percent of the room.
Try: Benjamin Moore’s “California Lilac” and “Southern Charm” to accent, $25 to $40 a gallon.
Plant seeds of serenity. Incorporate live plants and natural materials. “Associations with the natural world are soothing and grounding,” Forrest says.
Why: Toby Israel, Ph.D. and author of the design psychology how-to book Some Place Like Home, suggests this hankering for greenery harks back to childhood, when the outdoors represented a wonderland escape.
Try: An easy-to-tend philodendron, Christmas cactus, or spider plant. Even the warmth of hardwood floors lends a natural feel.
Shine on. The wrong lighting can kill the charm in any room.
Why: Brett Pransky, a New York City designer who’s fashioned sets for Sex and the City, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, and Mona Lisa Smile, says the most common mistake is to rely solely on overhead lighting, which throws harsh shadows. “Lamps should be spread around the room to create balance and ambiance,” Pransky says.
Try: Simon Pearce’s sleek, shaded glass lamp ($125), or scour thrift shops for offbeat, conversation pieces.
Go with the flow. Arrange and organize your space so people feel at ease.
Why: Israel distinguishes the three kinds of spaces you need to balance: private, public, and shared (such as a playroom or den). “An overload of shared or public space is unhealthy,” she says. “We need to establish those personal-space boundaries.”
Try: Make sure your kitchen has an inviting table or counter so your clan can gather round while the meal’s in the make. Snag tabletop trays (Crate & Barrel, $7.95) and chic storage bins you can label (The Container Store, $21.99) so everyone can get to things in a jiffy.
Play favorites. In the end, the space should reflect your personality—not some swanky designer’s.
Why: “Using design elements that reflect you can make you feel connected to that space,” Israel says. The opposite holds true, too: “If a house doesn’t reflect who you are, you may not feel like you belong there.”
Try: Stow memory-laden objects around your house, whether that’s a collection of antique vases, a favorite novel, or childhood keepsakes (like the wooden toy train Pransky displays on his mantle).
