4 scientifically backed ways to harmonize your home this year
As wellness enthusiasts, we know the things that make us feel good.: Whole foods, regular movement and staying connected. With the New Year coming, we can all use a little more of that. That’s why we decided to give you some simple and practical tips to make your home more harmonious.
Our homes are one of the most underappreciated wellness tools we have. Just consider all the ways walking in a clean, well-designed space can make you feel better in mind, body, and spirit.
The research was conducted by academic Dr. Lindsey T. Graham of the Environmental Center in Berkeley, USA, to investigate why our homes have such a big impact on us and how we can design them to be as supportive as possible. Here are four ways we can all build happy homes in the new year.
1. Say hello to more daylight
In a recent collaboration with online interior design service Modsy, Graham analyzed survey data from more than 1,500 people about how designing their homes made them feel. While a lot of that is up to the individual, there were some characteristics of the home that made people happy across the board. Natural light was one of them. This makes sense, Graham explains, because natural light attracts the eye and can help keep our circadian rhythms in check, supporting our mood and general health in the process.
With this in mind, she recommends leaving plenty of daylight in your space or looking for other ways to bring the outdoors indoors. There are endless ways to add touches of nature to your home, so do whatever feels authentic and fun to you, whether that’s starting a houseplant collection, displaying natural materials, or designing your favorite landscape color palette.
2. Express yourself in color
For some other great anecdotes from Modsy’s Indoor Wellness Report: rustic, contemporary, and Mediterranean styles were the styles that made people feel happy at home. Color also played a big role in how they perceived their space, with violet/purple, yellow, black and green topping the happiness charts. Interestingly enough, the report notes that violet and yellow weren’t popular color choices, but few people who used them rated them highly. This shows that using paintings that personally appeal to you, no matter how funky, can make your home more inviting.
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3. Make it your own
One key finding from his research in general, Graham says, is that there is no one-size-fits-all home design. Instead, it’s about choosing what fits your unique needs and preferences, regardless of the current style.
When designing your space for the coming year, she recommends that you first be clear about your goals: what you want to achieve in your life and what you’re willing to give up. From there, think about what you can introduce or remove from your spaces to help support those goals.
4. Be creative and well-rounded
How about this for another unexpected tip? Graham says making your home more sustainable can also improve your mood and health in the long run. He explains that as more people begin to adopt an environmental mindset, our homes can help us live in alignment with these new core values.
“There is also a physical health component,” Graham adds, since high-quality green designs often have a lower carbon footprint and lower chemical load. She says buying used furniture and recycling used items are two ways to create a greener home and have fun doing it.
If you end up throwing something away in the process, first find ways to recycle or reuse it.
to complete
These four principles are only the starting point for your home to be in harmony and not the finish line. At the end of the day, our spaces will never be completely perfect nor will they be completely finished. Continuing to improve, improve, and change your space will result in a home as dynamic and energetic as you. @worldly
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