How to naturally boost your winter mood with interior design
Revitalize your winter spirit by selecting the perfect colour palette for your home's interior design.
The winter blues are hard to escape. When the sky is grey and it’s cold outside, our mood is low and it’s hard to feel positive. But, the interior design and decoration of your home can change that. With a few simple design choices, you’ll be able to boost your mood and feel better - despite the dismal winter weather.
Choose the right colour palette to boost your winter mood
Colour affects our moods. For example, red evokes energy and excitement, while white offers neutrality and purity. A bright yellow wall gives warmth and happiness to a room, while a blue wall oozes serenity and calm. If you want to improve your mood, pay attention to the colours in your house.
“Colour stirs in all of us, a range of emotions. I believe that we all have colours that draw out a reaction – making us feel happy, sad, restful or energised,”
Black and red fabrics won’t offer relief, and a deep midnight blue could feel oppressive. If you want to feel happier and lighter, choose softer colours in lighter tones. Perhaps pastel blues and greens. Or earth tones for a warm (and trendy) interior.
A wall in bright wedgewood blue, blush pink, or buttermilk yellow, for example, will easily boost your mood. Darker colours will only make you feel melancholy.
Bring the outside inside to boost your winter mood
Nature improves our mental health. A walk in the sunshine clears our minds, and a plunge into the ocean washes away anxieties and leaves us temporarily refreshed.
But when it’s freezing cold, raining, and the trees are bare, it’s not so easy to enjoy nature’s meditative effects. That’s why indoor plants and flowers are a wonderful option when you can’t go outside. Their freshness still connects us to the outdoors, and colourful flowers lift our spirits with their beauty.
“Bringing natural elements such as fresh flowers into the home can reconnect us to the outdoors, and, in turn, boost our moods... Adding plants indoors can also greatly improve your design and mental state. Regardless of how glad we are to admit it, we don’t spend nearly enough time outdoors with clean oxygen. Adding a few plants indoors can clean your air and let you breathe optimally.”
Everything we love about the outdoors can still be enjoyed in wintertime. Why not take it a step further and reflect nature in your interior design, too?
Whether seen in wallpaper like the delicate floral pattern below, or printed upon cushions scattered around your living room (pictured below), there’s a way to bring nature into your home. Choosing soft florals and bright, intricate nature designs bring the outside inside, and boost your mood by evoking nature and mirroring its fresh and restorative powers.
Layer fabrics to boost your winter mood
Soften the atmosphere in your home by layering fabrics and using different textures. Drape quilts over a sofa, pile wool blankets on your bed, lay a thick rug on the floor, hang heavy curtains over your windows, and you add dimension, texture, and warmth. Multiple layers create a cosy environment especially when they include soft textures like the Moselle Lana collection by Designers Guild. When winter is cold and gloomy, layers of fabric feel like a hug.
A room can feel isolating and cold without layers and texture. A simple accessory can solve that problem and boost your mood because it offers what every person - and home - wants: comfort. It’s not only physical, either. It’s psychological. Just the sight of a fleece blanket can soothe your mind because it represents calm, sleep, and relaxation.
Use lighting to boost your winter mood
It isn’t easy to find good natural lighting in winter. That’s why you need to invest in other options. Consider the lighting in your house: the light sources, the bulbs themselves (some bulbs give off warmer tones, for example, which might be a good choice in winter) the lampshades, the candle holders, and other fixtures that are there for decoration. They all work together to affect your mood.
Maybe you don’t want a harsh overhead light in your bedroom - maybe you’d prefer a lamp that creates a soft, calming glow. Or, maybe you want scented candles in beautiful candle holders for that intimate and classy atmosphere. If you want to spruce up your lounge, maybe aim for a bold and colourful lampshade to add personality and cheer.
