Decorations Impact Viewers on a Psychological Level
Interior decoration will directly affect your mood. Now, how it affects your mood will differ based on your personality. For most people, dark décor with limited light contributes to uneasiness or sadness. Some people feel more comfortable when colors and light are muted, but such people tend to be anomalous personalities.
Generally, for a more elevated mood, you’ll want to get décor that’s bright, symmetrical, clean, organized, and in concert with exterior phenomena. If your house is painted gray, and you live in a wintery town, it might be a little jarring to walk into an interior colored like a rainforest and filled with foliage.
However, that contrast could be what you’re going for. There’s such a thing as juxtaposition, and it’s key in decoration. But regardless of what is or is not stylistically valuable in reference to interior décor, at the end of the day, it’s up to you. What do you like? What are you trying to achieve?
Take the following tips with a grain of salt. They may or may not be right for you. The key is finding décor that makes you feel at home. Seasonal decorative shifts help in that regard. Consider these seasonal tips as a starting point to help stimulate your imagination.
1. Interchangeable Decor – Seasonal Hand Towels
Firstly, you don’t want to give yourself a huge chore every three months; not unless you genuinely enjoy the process of packing up old decorations, storing them, and putting new ones up. A better idea is decoration categories you can switch out in a few minutes when the season recommends it.
For example, seasonal hand towels are an easy change. Blankets are similar, and you might have a little box full of “diorama” decorations that you can put out in a minute or two near the foyer. Here are some other fine home decor ideas for seasonal segues: https://emmaplusthree.com/home/home-decor-ideas-how-to-transition-between-seasons-effortlessly/.
2. Lighting You Can Control From Your Smartphone
There are LED lightbulbs, LED strips, and more that have been designed with Internet of Things (IoT) capability. You can control your home’s lighting from your smartphone. There are also cheaper options that come with little remote controls.
You can pick up about four feet of LED lighting for $20 at Walmart, and use the controls to make those lights autumn-colored. There’s a lot to be said about decorative lighting in the home. Truth be told, the illumination of space often contributes to how those inside it feel.
You’ve seen this. Dark areas you’re not familiar with can be scary.
In contrast, a well-lit prison is less frightening and more dull, or industrial. The lights go off, and everything changes. Red lighting tends to have a foreboding quality to it. Green lighting feels refreshing, maybe even “tangy” if you can describe associated mental perceptions that way. But you do tend to be a little uneasy in green lighting.
Orange, yellows, and blues, in the right hues and concentration, tend to be the most comfortable. Of course, they should complement the interior and exterior decor for the best results.
3. Limiting Interior Decor to Specific Areas of the Home
Beyond interchangeable décor, another fine tactic is just having several strategic areas in the house that you update at intervals. Maybe you’ve got a spot by the front door, a spot in the living room, a little hall table between bedrooms, and a few seasonal decorations you hang by the windows.
Most houses do this naturally. The home office, for example, is almost never decorated.
Maybe you’ll put out a bowl of candy every couple of months, but that’s about it.
Meanwhile, the foyer, living room, and dining area tend to be strategic areas for seasonal decor.
The garage probably won’t see any changes, and only some bedrooms will. What makes the most sense for your home will depend on how you use its rooms, the layout of the space, and your decorative budget.
4. Design Decorations That Have a Level of Interactiveness
Interactive decorations are fun, and you’ve got opportunities every season; especially when you factor in technology. The most “classic” interactive decoration is the Halloween candy bowl with a motion sensor that gives someone who interacts with it a jump scare.
If you decorate your desk with a bowl of candy, this might be the one.
Halloween is a fine time to put the candy you don’t like in such a bowl, like candy corn, or those nasty “circus peanuts”. Bring the bowl to the door when the trick-or-treaters ring the bell. Your “treat” is simultaneously a “trick”!
During Easter, maybe there’s a little woven basket with plastic green “grass” and a few plastic eggs full of treats inside. You could put it on the porch or just inside the front door.
During summer, maybe you’ve got a fruit bowl; or whatever works.
An “Advent Calendar” is ideal during Christmas. This is a little cardboard calendar about eighteen inches high and twelve wide, and about a half-inch thick. It has slots you can open for each day of the year, with chocolate hiding behind each one. If you’ve got kids, they’ll love an advent calendar, and it’s a great way to teach them how days are counted.
A Home That Reflects the Environment
Interactive decorations, specified decoration areas, IoT lighting, and interchangeable décor are all fine options for seasonal decoration. Find what moves you, and what won’t be a huge chore to manage every couple of months. That said, some people absolutely love decorating for every holiday when it comes.
For January, February, March, April, May, June, July, September, October, November, and December, you’ve got MLK Day, Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, Mother’s Day/Mayday, Father’s Day, Independence Day, Memorial Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s. Only August is without a holiday.
You can decorate almost every month if you like! Some people do. How in-depth you get is up to you, but don’t be afraid to get creative and try something new.
