Many experts have said that home décor plays an essential role in influencing mood, productivity, confidence, and even mental health. Although decorating a home can provide a perfect avenue for one’s personality and style to shine, it can be a challenging process. Deciding what color scheme, layout, lighting fixtures, furniture, and accessories to use when bombarded with thousands of options, is enough to cause panic, uncertainty, stress and perhaps lead homeowners to throw in the towel altogether.
While she admits that decorating one’s home can be difficult, former editor Helen Schifter agrees that there are many benefits associated with having a home that is not only beautifully decorated but also truly reflects the owner’s preferences. Being a firm believer in the value of purity, tranquility, positive energy, and harmony, she accepts that a homeowner can achieve these in the home by paying attention to color choices, layout, and accessories to achieve an aesthetic look.
People choose colors in their homes for varied reasons: creating the illusion of having more space, offering expressions of their style, or warming up a particular area. Ms. Schifter, however, believes that color also has a physical effect on humans due to its energy, which can impact perceptions and affect mood and emotions. Popular colors such as blue, grey, white and green, according to her, can be emotionally calming, relaxing, and serene. They can allow one to feel de-cluttered, think clearly, and offer a sense of harmony and balance. Warmer colors like red, orange and yellow bring memories of joy and sunshine, she says. They evoke feelings of strength, happiness, determination, love, passion, and romance in many people. When choosing a paint color, she encourages homeowners to consider how different colors make them feel.
Ms. Schifter believes in the importance of harnessing natural energy’s power in one’s life to bring comfort and harmony. A home’s layout can help people realize this benefit. Reducing clutter in the living space, choosing furniture, and placing them according to Feng Shui’s teachings promote positive energy. An abundance of soft lighting in the home, she shares, will help support people’s journey towards better well-being.
Art also plays a vital role in overall wellness, she says. It has the power to heal and inform. Including art pieces in home décor is linked to the chemical process associated with the early stages of falling in love: The aesthetic sense activates preferences and personal taste. “The love-at first sight” feeling that propels one to appreciate a piece of art creates the chemical balance needed to promote the well-being of the skin and endocrine system.
Home décor is more than just choosing a paint color and beautiful furniture. Knowing that the choices made could positively impact a person’s overall health and well-being should cause him to think carefully before taking the plunge. It is a process that requires deep thought so that the choices made will improve one’s quality of life. According to experts, every design choice people make has a different psychological impact on the subconscious. To learn more about Helen Schifter’s take on home décor, visit her feature on elledecor.com