Now that we are more at home, I bet you have noticed that home can influence mood and affect health. It is not just a matter of aesthetics or something superfluous; we are talking specifically about interior design – which brings solutions for spaces and efficiency for everyday life and facilitates household chores.
Good interior design should offer benefits and improve the experience of those who will use the place to be planned. It also offers the resident a calm, balanced, and comfortable place, an environment where you feel completely at ease, where your needs are met, and conveys personality.
But interior design is always confused with decor. The choice of coverings, colors, and finishes is, in fact, one of the parts of the scopes in the projects. But that is not all. The professional can organize flows, elements to be arranged in the space, and study residents’ behavior – so that everything is optimized, combining design, comfort, and practicality. But how does all this influence health?
A GOOD INTERIOR DESIGN IN YOUR HOME AND THE HEALTH BENEFITS
Interior design brings what the customer needs and expects from each environment. The chosen professional must know how to translate your needs into a beautiful project that works in your routine. The idea is not to get stuck in trends and fashions but to understand the residents’ style and print it to that decoration. Also, with learned techniques, small environments may seem larger. The house can be adapted for children, people with disabilities, pets, or the elderly, among other features.
According to Spanish interior designer Ana Utrilla , in order to have a home that increases our well-being, we depend on some fundamental aspects, such as:
It may seem strange to say that the arrangement of furniture, the lighting of the environment, the decoration, the order, cleanliness and the quantity of plants , for example, can directly influence our health . But, just do an analysis to demystify this impression:
1 – KEEP ORDER AND CLEANING REGULARLY
Keeping spaces organized and in order allows us to be even more productive . Easy-to-clean furniture and accessories and environments that have the essentials provide more free time for you to enjoy the little joys of everyday life. By also having the right furniture, we were able to plan the environments to better use their spaces. The result of this is the optimization of areas.
2 – FUNCTIONALITY AND PRACTICALITY
A poorly thought out project will affect the lives of many people and for a long time . Indoors, this is even more amplified, since everyone has spent more time in their homes, and this has a direct impact on well-being and health.
For a home to offer functionality and practicality, furniture, accessories and materials must be useful, and thus also avoid expensive design errors. For example: a poorly chosen floor, an unsatisfactory painting, a chandelier that disharmonizes the environment; all of this can become a problem. The planning and study of a good professional takes this into account. Not everyone thinks so, but it is essential when we put investments at the tip of the pencil.
3 – ERGONOMICS AND COMFORT
Not all people move the same way in one space or have the same body dimensions , and not everyone is comfortable in the same amount of light or warmly endures the same temperatures.
The ergonomics is one that provides, among other things, comfort to the furniture and accessories that have acquired. It is in charge of studying the appropriate shapes, textures, or measures so that one feels comfortable when using them. Therefore, here, we should not skimp on a good mattress, sofa, chairs, benches, lighting, and cabinets that are easy to access, as we will spend a lot of time using these furniture and, also, they can change our health status (good design avoids unnecessary back pain, good natural lighting can bring more well-being and green to residents, for example).
4 – AESTHETICS OF THE SET, STYLE, AFFECTION, BALANCE AND HARMONY
75% of your home’s interior design directly influences your health and mood
75% is a huge and important percentage that needs your attention, right? How is space visually perceived when you inhabit it? The color, brightness, depth, and height determine whether it is detected as cozy, safe, stimulating, peaceful, flexible, or just the opposite.
Then pay attention to what you want to convey and feel at home. In other words, to avoid frustration, sadness, apathy, and even a bad mood, you should be aware of the tips. Still, you can and should follow your intuition to help transmit your personality to the professional, helping you with your home. Often there is no need for a new property, renovation, or break-breaking. You do not need to renew the environments completely, you can do it little by little, for example:
- Paint the color of the room that most influences you and where you will spend the most time (the wall of the room where it may be the longest, or the office area, living room);
- Do that DIY you like so much and bring a personal touch to your home;
- Use large photos of your family, friends, or your travels and replace with something you chose to put on the wall;
- Put in your view, vintage objects, or old items inherited from the family acquired on trips. This will always remind you of good times or loved ones – and more.
Yes, the idea is not just functionality, minimalism, or being a magazine thing. Here, when we talk about interior design, we can have objects that bring us joy, affection and remind us of the good times we lived – uniting the useful with the pleasant.
Using furniture with closed compartments, for example, we were able to place some decorative elements without getting too polluted. Because they are practical and functional furniture, you will avoid further efforts and save maintenance time.
All of this will help you, in large part, to think about what you don’t like or dislike; in what feels comfortable in your home, which brings you balance. Your home is a great investment, certainly one of the places where you spend the most time in your life. Also, it is your space of refuge, comfort, and peace.
OUR HOUSE, OUR TEMPLE
As a great text from The School of Life says, “Our houses are also temples – for us. We don’t expect to be worshiped, but we are trying to create a place that, like a temple, properly embodies our values. Creating a home is often a very arduous process because it requires us to find objects that can correctly convey our identities. … “Home” means the place where our soul feels that it has found its proper physical container, where, every day, the objects in which we live silently remind us of our most authentic commitments and loves.”
That is why it is important to choose a professional who understands what you want, who does not create something standard for all customers, who reads and demystifies the “key” to your home. Is there anything better for health than calm, peace, harmony, and love? Even more indoors?
AFFECTIVE DECORATION: 4 TIPS FOR YOU TO LEARN TO DECORATE VALUING YOUR MEMORIES AND STORIES
Decorating using affective elements, such as photos, antique furniture, travel memories, family objects, is a great alternative to increase the connection of residents with the home and increase the feeling of belonging in the home
If the home is essentially our haven, the concept has expanded even further with the period of social isolation, recommended by the Ministry of Health, as the most effective way to fight the pandemic. “Our home needs to emanate the connection with our lives. For that, the decoration needs to transmit emotion and memories”, explains Mariana Rodrigues, an interior designer in front of the Arbore Design Interiores office. During this period, she suggests taking the opportunity to renew the environments with affective elements that are part of the resident’s history and life memories.a “After all, life is made up of memories,” he emphasizes.
If the home is essentially our haven, the concept has expanded even further with the period of social isolation, recommended by the Ministry of Health, as the most effective way to fight the pandemic. “Our home needs to emanate the connection with our lives. For that, the decoration needs to transmit emotion and memories”, explains Mariana Rodrigues, an interior designer in front of the Arbore Design Interiores office. During this period, she suggests taking the opportunity to renew the environments with affective elements that are part of the resident’s history and life memories. a “After all, life is made up of memories,” he emphasizes.
Pieces inherited from family or that remind us of good and important moments in life – like objects brought from a trip, for example – become great allies when composing a style full of feelings. Thinking about it, the designer gathered some essential tips to help assemble an effective decoration. Check it out below:
- ELEMENTS THAT COMPOSE THE EFFECTIVE DECORATION
Antique furniture, pottery, photographs, travel memories, and even collections are important when planning effective decorations. “When the customer contacts Arbore Design, we list the objects and pieces of furniture that have this sentimental weight,” says Mariana.
But what if the item is not in good condition? In this case, the solution is to assess the structure and then invest in the necessary repairs. And it can be simpler than you think! Changing the upholstery of a chair, the pull of a dresser, fabrics, or new paint already makes all the difference in the look.
In one of the projects signed by the designer, the client had a dressing table, inherited from her grandmother, which was lying in the service area. After undergoing a restoration process, the furniture became brand new and gained its prominent place on the balcony, serving as support for frames and plant pots.
The important thing is to have a warm decoration for the residents. After all, the more the house has its inhabitants’ personality, the more comfort will be present!
2.DO IT YOURSELF
How about taking a day to gather the family, review old photos, store objects, and evaluate what furniture can be reused? These moments are very valuable and can still result in a revamped decoration. So, reserve a special corner in the bedroom, in the dining room, in the living room, or on the balcony to receive these elements.
Also, it is essential to let creative talents shine when decorating. “For families with young children, gathering kids to sand a piece of furniture can be a way of bringing them together and engaging them in a period marked by a lack of activities. This interaction between past, present, and future is a wealth of decoration, ” advises Mariana.
3.COLORS AND PLANTS
In addition to furniture and objects, colors and plants have the power to make rooms more welcoming. Choosing the right shades to be applied in each environment, following the residents’ trends and personality, is a good strategy.
Blue and green, for example, refer to tranquility and freshness so that they can be applied in bedrooms, bathrooms, living rooms. The more vibrant shades like yellow, red, and orange, which stimulate creativity and communication, are more suitable for the kitchen, office, and dining room. Neutral tones like white and brown can be used in any room in the house and combined with other palettes.
Bringing nature into the property is a good way to enhance comfort and a feeling of freshness. “Urban jungle is a trend in decoration! Set up a corner with pots of various plants to ensure fresh air and inspiration,” says Mariana Rodrigues
4. A DECORATION FULL OF ADVANTAGES
Spend time, redesign the decor, leave the house with more personality, phew! As if all that were not enough, reusing furniture and affective objects can still be a sustainable attitude! “In addition to reducing excess consumption, there is a reduction in the environmental impact, present in any disposal,” says the designer.
Organizing a panning in the house, looking for those items forgotten in the bottom of cupboards, abandoned to the action of time, can generate good discoveries. After all, we always have an arsenal of things in store that we don’t value.
