3 Ways to Heal Through Interior Design

Jackie Barnes of Jackie Barnes Design

Interior design directly influences our wellbeing, and it can be the answer to the healing we crave. No matter the kind of healing you seek, you can build healing environments in your very own home.

1. To Relieve Anxiety, Properly Layout Your Room
Sometimes we can’t explain why a space feels unwelcoming or suffocating. But oftentimes, a simple rearranging of the layout can help relieve tension. By doing so, you can create more room to live in, which consequently relieves anxiety, promotes creativity and encourages a better flow of thought. For example, there is reason to believe from previous studies that spaces with higher ceilings can improve our mood and creativity. The more space to exist in, the more space there is to breathe. Eliminate clutter to improve organization; this can help achieve a better layout of your space for more opportunities to breathe easy. Read my previous blog post about why it’s so hard to tidy up here!

2. To Reduce Depression, Add Good Lighting
As a previous professional in clinical psychology, I know a little sunlight is not a cure-all for depression. It would be insensitive to assume so! But a continuous lack of natural sunlight in the home can trigger sadness and other habits of depression. Quality lighting, an element of good design, is so important and should never be overlooked by designers or yourself. If you live in a space without proper natural sunlight streaming in, assess your artificial lighting. Swap out bulbs with cool undertones for warm bulbs, and remove task lighting from spaces that require ambient lighting – such as your living room.

3. To Improve Your Mood, Rely on Plant Power
There’s a reason plant sales skyrocketed when the pandemic hit, right? But the value and significance of plants in our home can be traced back thousands of years. I’d say it has something to do with the biophilia hypothesis, a theory in which humans have a natural tendency to seek out other forms of life and connection to nature. But this theory really does have merit! Studies show that including plants – or elements of nature, and sometimes even wildlife – in the home can improve our mood and mental health. Check out my previous story on this subject, The Emotional Power of Plants on Our Lives, to learn more about our history with plants as a human race.

Mindful Design Heals
The way we design our homes – what we add and remove, how we arrange and decorate it – should always be intentional. After all, your home serves a purpose greater than aesthetics. It serves you. Our design choices allow our homes to serve us well, just as they can force our homes to serve us poorly.

These three tips for healing through your home only scratch the surface of mindful design. When I work with my clients, I combine my design knowledge with my background in psychology to ensure that we use their space to heal them as well as enhance their dream home.

Follow Jackie on Instagram at @jackiebarnesdesign and check out her website www.jackiebarnesdesign.com

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