After a long day, sometimes it's just great to come home and relax. But did you know that the way you decorate your home can make a difference in your feelings and mood? If you’re finding yourself coming home feeling stressed or grumpy, now might be the time to make a few changes.

However, you don’t need the latest items to improve your mood at home. With a few simple changes or improvements, you can create a home you love to rest and relax in. Here’s how interior design changes your mood and a few small ways you can improve it.

Wondering where to start when it comes to improving the look of your home? Contact an interior designer for quotes from local professionals in your area, for free!

The Power Of Interior Design

You may not have considered your interior design as a way to improve your mental and physical health, but you’ll be surprised at what a difference it can make. Many come home at the end of the day with stress and tension. Stress can cause various issues with the immune, digestive and reproductive systems from working normally, according to the National Institute of Mental Health.

Your home should be a place that your stress is relieved and not a place where it grows. The way you design your home is one of the biggest influencers. “Coming home to an interior that is inviting and evokes positive moods is ultimately good for our general health and well-being, as our thoughts,” Kristin Whalen, award-winning kitchen and bath designer, said.

Here are a few ways you can change your home design to influence your mood:

• Choose New Paint Colors
• Incorporate Greenery
• Improve Lighting
• Declutter & Organize
• Include Comfortable & Stylish Furniture
• Choose Décor That Makes You Happy
• Incorporate Feng Shui
• Hire An Interior Designer

1. Choose New Paint Colors

The color of a room can influence your mood in more ways than you think. The psychology of color is something interior designers consider when determining the paint for a room. “Color has the power to revitalize, to soothe, to inspire creativity and even to stimulate the appetite,” Whalen said. “You will instantly feel the energy created by a red dining room, as well as the calm evoked by a blue bedroom. Choosing the right color is crucial to setting the tone and purpose of a room.”

She adds that earth tones are a great way to promote an uplifting mood, as they connect you to nature. These are colors that can be used in any room of the home. Changing your paint color can be an easy and budget-friendly way to promote a positive atmosphere in your home.

2. Incorporate Greenery

Plants are a surprisingly easy way to change the ambiance of a room. Adding more houseplants to your home has many benefits. They are budget friendly, mood boosting and air purifying. “Plants not only improve the air quality in your home, but will also improve relaxation, inspiration and focus,” Whalen said.

The best houseplants for your home are ones that are easy-to-care-for and are a style you love. After all, if you don’t like the way a plant looks, it won’t do much in improving your mood!

3. Improve Your Lighting

Another budget-friendly idea to improve the décor of your room is to change your lighting. Bright, harsh lamps and bulbs can cause feelings of sadness and negativity. Whalen suggests more natural light when possible.

“Natural lighting through windows has a very calming and peaceful effect on our moods and emotions whereas a lack of light and even poor artificial lighting can trigger depression,” Whalen said. “To improve your mood, maximize as much natural light from the sun as possible.”

If you have a room that doesn’t allow for much natural light, if any, try using light fixtures with softer light bulbs to help. Or, use mirrors strategically to help reflect the natural light around the room.

4. Declutter & Organize

At the end of the day, the last thing I want to do is come home to a messy home. Often, decluttering can be the difference between a room you love and one you hate. Schedule some time to put away items and get rid of the things you don’t use anymore.

However, if you’re looking to stress less, hiring a professional organizer might be a worthwhile investment. The average cost to hire an organizer is $470, with most homeowners spending between $312 and $505.

5. Comfortable & Stylish Furniture

While you might choose the trendiest furniture for your home, take comfortability into consideration. When buying furniture, both factors are very important.

Patterns and textures are trending. If you have a comfortable couch you love, but might not be in style, try dressing it up with a couple of throw pillows and a blanket.

6. Incorporate Feng Shui

If you’ve never tried it before, incorporating some of the principles of Feng Shui can help to boost your mood. Simply by rearranging pieces in your home, you can change the atmosphere. Feng Shui focuses on specific rules to follow based on the energy you wish to create. To learn more, watch the video below:

7. Hire An Interior Designer

Some homeowners just don’t even know where to begin when it comes to interior design, much less choosing décor to improve their mood. That’s where an interior designer can help. They can take the ideas of what your perfect home looks like and turn it into a reality. The average cost to hire an interior designer is $4,735, with most homeowners spending between $2,008 and $4,927.

8. Choose Décor That Makes You Happy

When it comes down to it, you’ll be happiest with décor you love. Although there are plenty of rules to follow, choose accessories, colors and pieces that make you happy. You’ll never boost your mood with décor that you aren’t 100% in love with!

Conclusion

If you’ve been feeling gloomy at home lately, that could be a sign that it’s time to change up your décor. In the end, choose items that make you happy! But it doesn’t hurt to understand more of the psychology of how design works to help make those choices.