The spaces we move around in have a huge influence on our mood, perceptions, and even our daily decisions, although we are rarely aware of it. However, it has been observed that, for example, large rooms with high ceilings promote creativity, cold rooms generate emotional detachment, and furniture with rounded edges conveys confidence and warmth.
For this reason, interior design has a transcendental importance that goes beyond mere aesthetics. Depending on the furniture and decor we choose, our home can generate emotional stability or, on the contrary, trigger bad memories and gradually rob us of our energy.
Design Psychology: The Feeling of Being at Home
In recent years, a new field called “Design Psychology” has developed in the United States. It focuses on analyzing people’s emotional responses to different environments, in order to create spaces that make them feel truly at home.
In this case, the design emerges from a series of interviews that psychologists and designers conduct about the clients’ environmental history. This helps them understand the experiences and emotions that shape their “ideal home.” These professionals can, for example, recover color details we associate with happy childhood memories or identify furniture that makes us feel comfortable because it reminds us of things we love.
Design Psychology goes a step beyond aesthetics. It’s not simply about combining light, shapes, and colors with art, but about making the person immediately identify with the environment, experiencing that visceral feeling of being at home. In this way, the home becomes a source of inspiration, security, and tranquility—a fundamental pillar of our emotional stability.
Of course, Design Psychology also takes into account our temperament and personality. In fact, people who redecorate a home typically do so because they’re going through a period of transition, whether they’ve gotten married, divorced, changed jobs, or moved to a new city. Therefore, it’s not just about examining the past but also looking to the future and understanding what new “self” that person wants to project into their home.
Furnishing the soul
Design psychology professionals are aware that inappropriate decor can rob us of energy by reactivating unpleasant memories that make us feel bad. In fact, our memories and impressions of homes or spaces where we’ve had deeply emotional experiences are continually reactivated by small details, such as a simple smell, a color, or a particular shape.
From a neuropsychological perspective, what happens is that when we encode our experiences in certain neural circuits of our memory, the physical responses related to those experiences are also recorded in our psyche. Therefore, the sensations associated with those experiences, whether negative or positive, are reactivated when we are in even vaguely similar environments.
Furthermore, it has been discovered that we have a tendency to unconsciously reproduce certain details of our childhood environments, such as the decor style of the home we grew up in or the choice of certain types of furniture. The problem is that sometimes this reproduction triggers negative experiences that end up draining our energy, even if we don’t realize it.
Therefore, the main task of Design Psychology is to identify positive experiences and use them in home decoration to reactivate them and make the person feel comfortable, providing them with the emotional stability they need.
Seven tips to make your house your home
1. Find your own style. Often, people decorate their homes following fashion dictates, which dictate the most chic decor style. However, they’ll never feel at home, and they’re even likely to add elements that stir up bad memories and drain their energy. Therefore, when redecorating your home, it’s important to create your own style, surround yourself with things you truly love, things that express who you are, and things that make you feel comfortable.
2. Trust your instinct. Many childhood experiences are deeply embedded in our subconscious, and we usually don’t have access to them. However, they manifest themselves through what we call “instinct.” Therefore, if you really like a piece of furniture, buy it. And if you don’t like it, don’t buy it just because it’s fashionable, as it will likely reactivate bad memories. In this sense, a very interesting experiment conducted at the University of Amsterdam revealed that when it comes to decorating, it’s almost always better to let our subconscious decide for us. In the long run, we’ll feel more satisfied with the result.
3. Less is always more. A house with too much furniture and decorations can become overwhelming, both for those who live there and for those who visit. In this type of house, it’s difficult to rest and find the peace that a home should convey. In fact, a study conducted at Princeton University revealed that clutter affects our ability to concentrate because it limits our brain’s ability to process the information in our field of vision. At the same time, it generates an increase in cortisol, the stress hormone. Therefore, one key to having a home that inspires tranquility is to choose fewer pieces of furniture and decorations, but ones that have a greater emotional impact.
4. Choose the right colors. Colors have a huge impact on our emotional states. In fact, wall colors have been shown to influence appetite and can profoundly affect our energy levels. While red and orange give us an extra boost of energy, colors like gray can be depressing, while blue and green are relaxing. In any case, it’s best to paint rooms in different colors, depending on their intended use.
5. Eliminate the details you dislike. You probably have some things in your home that trigger negative memories or that you simply dislike. Perhaps it’s an old sofa or a painting that, for some reason, you no longer like, and every time you look at it, you wish it weren’t there. At that moment, your cardiac coherence is altered, although you hardly notice it. Your heart stops beating regularly and spikes, which, combined with daily stress, ends up accumulating and taking a toll on your health. Therefore, it’s best to get rid of all the objects in your home that constantly trigger negative sensations that end up draining your energy. This way, you’ll be one step closer to creating a serene environment.
6. Harness the power of nature. Nature has a very beneficial effect on our psyche and also on our health. In fact, a very interesting study conducted at Kansas State University found that placing plants in patients’ rooms not only caused them to use fewer painkillers but also caused them to experience less pain and fatigue and a more positive mood, speeding recovery. To reap these benefits, you don’t need to turn your home into a jungle, but you can place some plants that help you relax, transmitting calm and serenity.
7. Create good vibes. It’s about remembering those details that make you feel at home or that bring a smile to your face, the details that relax you and make you feel good, those tiny details that remind you of positive experiences. Once you’ve finished that mental excursion, all you have to do is recreate those details in your home, whether through style, color, or the use of lighting.
References:
McMains, S. & Kastner, S. (2011) Interactions of Top-Down and Bottom-Up Mechanisms in Human Visual Cortex. The Journal of Neuroscience ; 31(2): 587-597.
Park, S. & Mattson, RH (2009) Randomized clinical trials evaluating therapeutic influences of ornamental indoor plants in hospital rooms on health outcomes of patients recovering from surgery. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine ; 15(9): 975-980.
Dijksterhuis, A., & van Olden, Z. (2006) On the benefits of thinking unconsciously: Unconscious thought increases post-choice satisfaction. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology ; 42: 627–631.
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