How Your Interior Design Impacts Your Health

We all aspire for our homes to be a place of sanctuary where we feel secure and safe to live. What we sometimes don’t consider, however, is how our homes are undeniably tied to our comfort, relaxation and wellbeing. Whether it’s a conscious decision or not, we have reactions to the interior design of our homes and obviously it’s the positive ones we’re looking for.

Our homes set the stage for all of the milestones of our lives -the good, the bad and the ugly- and because they’re so inherently tied to our mental health, it’s important that they provide us with mental and physical stability.

The practice of finding the perfect balance of home décor as it relates to the mind and body has been going on for centuries. One of the earliest forms of this balance, Feng Shui, has been utilized as far back as 4000BC where Chinese astrologers from the era translated their understanding of their spiritual connection to the universe directly into their homes, temples and gathering places. They felt that if they could bridge that connection indoors, that they would live harmonious, peaceful existences. They even have a symbol, the Bagua that's a sort of “roadmap” to improving the quality of an interior.

The overall concept of Feng Shui as it pertains to interior design is to locate the areas of the home most in need of improvement and then transforming them one at a time. It’s a practice that has been going on for thousands of years and continues to thrive as an element of interior design to this day.

More recently, a new form of interior design has been gaining momentum through social media. This new concept is known as “Dopamine Décor” and if the name didn’t give it away, it’s designed to inspire the senses.

The main philosophy of Dopamine Décor is injecting your own personality into each and every square inch of your home to set the tone for a happy, almost party-like atmosphere. The concept is simple: think outside the box and incorporate items that will make you laugh, smile and spark joy. Think of your childhood bedroom before you cared about design trends or what you thought your friends would enjoy or envy. You most likely filled that room with only items that you loved. From personal mementos to photos of friends and family…even band posters. It was your space and it made you happy to be in it.

The Dopamine Décor trend is very personal because it’s based on the idea of reflecting the personality of the person/people that live there. While the most common forms of this style of décor are maximalist, colorful and playful, a subdued, even minimalist look can claim the title of Dopamine Decor because, again, the idea is to incorporate things that make you happy.

Whatever method you choose to be the basis for your interior design, be certain that it will have an impact. There is a growing body of evidence that supports the role of interior design as it pertains to overall wellbeing and health. A recent study found patients in hospital rooms with more daylight and views of the outdoors reported considerably lower levels of stress and anxiety. This same study was carried over to the general public and applied the same philosophy to their interior design. The results were massively in favor of those who lived in a well-thought-out home design versus a chaotic one.

A well-designed space can inspire emotion and provide a sense of refuge and peace. By creating a space that is calming and visually appealing, you can help those who use it to feel more relaxed and comfortable. While the impact of your interior on your wellbeing may be a deeply personal experience with no cut-and-dry answers, it’s absolutely worth considering how these fundamental principles have the capacity to affect how you feel. At Rivers Edge Products, we offer items that are designed to make our customers feel joy, laugh, smile and elicit thoughts of the wonderful outdoors inside of the home.

With design elements from Rivers Edge Products, you’re guaranteed to create a warm, inviting living space that will offer the comfort that will help you live life to the fullest.