Find Your Joy: How To Make a Happier Living Space
A house doesn’t have to be a mansion to be your dream home. Our guide to making a happier living space offers tips for making your home one you enjoy living in.
When we were children, many of us grew up dreaming of the sort of home that we would live in when we grew up. Now, many of us have found that our living spaces look less like dreams and more like nightmares that we don’t quite know how to wake up from. But it doesn’t take an interior designer and gobs of money to make a happier living space. All it takes is a shift of focus.
Cut the Chaos
If there is one thing that works against joy, it is anxiety and stress, and that can be present in anyone’s living space. Researchers have found that cluttered and disorganized spaces can trigger symptoms of stress and anxiety. You don’t have to take the Marie Kondo approach and adopt a minimalist lifestyle but taking time to clean and organize the space will make it easier to live in.
A perfectly clean room can still feel chaotic if the room design is wild. Having rooms with too many bright patterns and colors all vying for attention can make a place feel overly busy and make you feel restless. Simplifying the room using design tricks like the 60-30-10 rule will have you well on your way to creating a more relaxing space
Emphasize the Natural
Since we’ve taken out the chaos, we can add things that bring a sense of peace. Natural lighting is associated with improved energy and mood. This makes sense since sunlight causes the brain to release serotonin. Along with helping sleep and digestion, serotonin promotes a sense of well-being and happiness. Emphasize natural light in your room through clear window dressings and lightbulbs with cleaner light. Sunlight isn’t the only natural thing that can boost your mood, though. Houseplants are known to help lift people’s spirits, improve air quality, increase your productivity, and reduce stress.
Do What Makes You Happy!
If you really want to know how to make a happier living space, the best thing you can do is make it your own. Fill the space with things that make you happy, regardless of whether it looks like the cover of a magazine. If you love a certain color, use it. If you enjoy a pattern, add it to the space. Also, find ways to represent the things that are important to you throughout the room. Add pictures of loved ones or furniture that you’ve inherited from your parents. If you have a hobby or passion, find ways to incorporate it into the design, whether it’s literature, music, or the outdoors. Let your space remind you of the sources of your joy.
It has been said that interior design can affect our mood. So, why wouldn’t we want it to affect our mood for the better? By removing the things that take away our happiness and filling it with things that make you happy, any house can be your dream house.