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How to Ease Anxiety and Depression Through Your Home Decor

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Did you know that 1 in 5 adults in the US alone experienced mental illness in 2020?

That’s almost 53 million people.

And let’s not forget about all of our non-US friends.

Watch the video instead!


Billions of people worldwide were confined to their homes during the pandemic and it was HARD.

So I don’t think it’s a coincidence that I’ve received several requests to write an article about decor that can help with anxiety and depression.

It’s also something I touched on at the beginning of all the lockdowns in 2020.

Disclaimer!!

Before we get started I just want to say that obviously I’m not a doctor and I’m not suggesting that making changes to your decor will cure clinical depression. If you’re struggling and you need a little extra help managing your low mood, don’t be afraid to talk to a medical professional!

That said, none of today’s tips will harm you in any way, in fact you’ll only find benefits by implementing them!

The last couple of years have not been easy for a lot of people. I know I’ve definitely had some pretty difficult moments. Whether we’ve felt lonely, or cooped up, cramped, or just frustrated and confused. There have been a lot of intense, negative emotions to navigate!

Thanks to all the time we’ve had to spend indoors, many people are now aware that their surroundings can have a real impact on their mood. Most people however don’t know what they can do to improve things.

The great news is that research suggests that we can actually design spaces to soothe stress, inspire well-being, and even control our moods.

The idea is something called “environmental psychology”, which is a branch of study that explores the relationship between our surroundings and our behavior. While it may seem relevant to many of us only now due to recent events, the reality is that this bond between interior design and our emotions has been around for thousands of years (just look at Feng Shui and and Vastu Shastra).

So in today’s article, I’m going to cover some ways you can help combat and alleviate depression and anxiety through the design in your home. It will involve making some small changes to your home, but it won’t be anything that’s too crazy that you won’t be able to handle it.

Listed below are 12 of the most important aspects to take into consideration when trying to decorate your home to improve your mental health.

1. Avoid too many sharp edges

Too many straight lines, sharp points and jagged edges in a room can create an elevated sense of anxiety. Our brain actually interprets these patterns as dangerous, activating a survival response that initiates a suite of emotional and chemical reactions – including the release of adrenaline and cortisol, which are chemicals that can diminish our health with long-term exposure.

The best fix for this is simply to introduce curves to help counter that sense.

Curves literally soften everything about your space and it has been scientifically proven to have a soothing effect on the mind.

Is it a coincidence that curved furniture has been trending fiercely over the past few years? I’m guessing probably not.

Of course you don’t need to deck out your house in all the expensive curvy furniture that’s trending these days. All you need to do is make a conscious effort to add a curve or two into your space.

Look around your space and try to identify if there are areas that feel too “harsh” and start there. It doesn’t have to be anything complicated – for example try bringing in a rounded vessel or a round mirror. Even simply draping a blanket over a the sharp edge of a chair can help soften edges.

If you are shopping for furniture, you might want to choose pieces with rounded corners rather than sharp 90 degree angles. For example choose a dining table with slightly rounded corners, or pick a round coffee table over a square one. That small change alone can already help to put the mind at ease and allow our nervous system to relax.

2. Introduce Greenery

plants in the home are a proven stress reducer
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There’s a reason why plants are so popular in interiors.

Perhaps the most universally accepted point of consensus across all experts is that greenery boosts the mood.

There are studies upon studies that prove plants help to reduce stress and fatigue and that they can help boost your mood. House plants can even improve concentration and boost your productivity.

Plants can also help with loneliness and sadness by providing a sense of purpose. Caring for a living thing and witnessing it growing and flourishing can provide a sense of purpose and gratification.

Taking up gardening as a hobby has helped countless people with their depression … the benefits of caring for plants are very real.

The great thing is that if you are unable to bring real plants into your space, you can bring in faux plants instead. Studies have shown that faux greenery actually has the exact same positive effect on people’s mental health as real greenery.

Lastly, you can get similar phycological benefits simply by introducing artwork with trees and greenery. Treescapes represent cyclical change and have a positive connotation of growth and stability.

3. Art is more important than you think

Let’s talk more about artwork, because it’s way more important than you may think.

Studies done by neurobiologists at the University College London, discovered that viewing art can give you some of the same feelings as falling in love, as well as a surge of the feel-good hormone and neurotransmitter called dopamine.

Patients who were shown art in the hospital experienced less pain and suffering and recovered more quickly than their counterparts.

All of this suggests that introducing art into your space can have a profound effect on our well being.

So as I’ve said before, banish those bare walls because they might actually be doing more harm than good.

If you’ve never really shopped for art before and you’re not sure where to start, I have some tips:

  • art with more lively and vibrant colors can be energizing and appropriate for common areas like the living and dining room
  • for bedrooms, try looking for soothing abstracts or calming landscapes in soft neutral tones. This helps to make the bedroom a restorative space which will help you recharge.
  • extroverts should look for bolder art, whereas introverts might prefer softer more subdued pieces. When sharing a space with both personality types, it’s important to choose art that speaks to shared tastes.

The key here is that it doesn’t have to be expensive – a $10 print has the the same psychological effects as a $10000 original piece of art – your subconscious doesn’t actually know the difference.

While we’re on the topic of artwork, I just want to mention that you can also incorporate personal photographs of moments that make you feel happy. So for example it could be a picture of your child or pet, or family photos, or maybe a special moment from a past trip.

4. Use mirrors sparingly

stay away from decorating with mirrors if you suffer from body dysmorphic disorder
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This one is a pretty specific tip in that it really only applies to people that suffer from BDD, or body dysmorphic disorder, which is basically an unhealthy preoccupation with parts of your appearance.

I think it’s common knowledge that the use of mirrors is usually encouraged in interior design, because as we know, they help to brighten and enlarge rooms.

However, if you suffer from BDD, then you will probably want to use mirrors sparingly in your home.

Researchers at the Institute of Psychiatry in London found that people with BDD were increasingly anxious after looking at themselves for just 25 seconds. What was even more interesting about this study is that even the women who were happy with their looks, felt stressed about their appearance over a short period of time in front of the mirror. Food for thought …

5. Clutter is your worst enemy

Keeping your home organized or at the very least clean and clutter free, is absolutely crucial for mental health.

Clutter has been shown to cause feelings of anxiety and depression, as it takes up valuable mental energy that could be spent on more important things. It can also lead to feelings of being out of control, which is not helpful.

Studies have found that clutter can cause your cortisol levels to rise, which can lead to tension, anxiety and other health problems.

Having chronic clutter affects how how our immune system fights bugs and digests food, it can affect our sleep patterns and even lead to more serious health problems like type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

Neuroscience researchers found that removing clutter from the home and workplace resulted in enhanced focus and information processing, as well as higher productivity.

I know when you’re depressed it’s not always that easy to “just clean up”. You feel too down to tidy up, but then the clutter itself has a negative effect on you that makes you feel even worse … so you end up in a vicious clutter-cycle that can be hard to break out of.

If you’re having a hard time getting rid of your clutter, my recommendation is to just try and start small. Work on one tiny area at a time, like a single drawer, or even just one small corner of your desk, or a shoebox in a closet. Hopefully you’ll feel a sense of accomplishment and it might encourage you to keep going.

Follow my FREE simple 30 day decluttering challenge!

6. Use as many natural materials as possible

Humans have a subconscious inclination to seek connections with nature, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that incorporating things like plants, wood, and stone into our surroundings can help make us feel more at ease.

On a practical level, this simply means bringing materials like wood, stone, clay vessels into our homes.

Try a live edge wood table, bring in pieces of driftwood from the beach, introduce plants, use natural textiles as opposed to polyester…

If you have a lot of plastic, mdf or laminate furniture, or synthetic materials in your home, it can actually have a negative effect on your mood and well-being, so it might be wise to try and swap those out if possible.

7. Strive for sunlight

One of the most important things you can do to improve your mood is to increase the amount of natural light in your home. Exposure to sunlight triggers the release of serotonin, which is a chemical that helps elevate our moods.

It’s no wonder that people affected by seasonal affective disorder (SAD), a disorder where you feel depressed in the winter months due to a lack of sunlight, find relief from symptoms by using light therapy, or phototherapy. Phototherapy consists of sitting by a light box which emits a bright light within the first hour of waking up every day. This causes the brain to produce more serotonin and lower melatonin levels.

One study even found that depressed patients in sunny hospital rooms recovered days sooner than patients in dimly lit rooms.

Needless to say, a well-lit home will help make us feel more energetic and alert. Not only that, but a home filled with natural light can evoke a sense of renewed security and clarity.

If you don’t get much natural light in your home, then try turning to paint, wallpaper and additional light sources to help bring in some extra brightness. Mirrors help bounce light around as well, so use them with reckless abandon (so long as you don’t suffer from bdd, as mentioned above)!

Light temperature affects our mood and circadian rhythm!

Circadian rhythm is our internal clock and it can be disrupted when our environment is too bright or too dark. This can lead to problems like insomnia and even depression. This is why most smartphones and even some laptops nowadays have the option to switch to nigh mode, where the color of the screen becomes warmer the later the day gets.

Light that emits blue wavelengths, like energy-efficient LED bulbs and the glow emitted from electronic screens, keeps us awake and alert by suppressing melatonin levels.

If you’re struggling to stay alert and focused during the day, or you’ve got brain fog, try turning on a bright white light to combat this. Of course as you may have guessed, it’s better to reduce white/blue lights in the evening in order to help signal to the body that it’s time for bed (red wavelengths increase melatonin).

Light temperature is measured in Kelvin. Higher Kelvin numbers mean whiter, cooler lights. Lower Kelvin numbers mean warmer, more red lights. It’s critical to adjust your lighting according to the task you’re performing and the time of day.

Direction of your light source

Besides the temperature of your lighting, you’ll also want to consider where your light sources are positioned and how that makes you feel. Generally if you have a very intense, bright light positioned directly above you (think interrogation room) then you’re going to feel tense and uneasy in that space.

If you have this problem for example, above your dining table and you aren’t able to change the position of the light fixture, then make sure your overhead light is dimmable. This will help take the edge off the light source and will make everyone feel more relaxed during mealtime.

8. Color

Colors can have a profound impact on us psychologically, so it wouldn’t be possible to talk about the effects that our surroundings have on us without talking about color!

There have been many studies done on the psychological effects that colors have on us, but the studies are still in their infancy.

But we do know some things:

  • blues, greens and purples are part of the cool family and are considered soothing
  • reds, yellows and oranges are evocative of the sun and fire. Thus, they are part of the warm family and are considered warming and comforting
  • blue has been shown to slow down a person’s metabolism, heart rate and blood pressure. This in turn can have a calming effect on your mind and body. That being said, other research has shown that blue can have a downbeat, drowsy effect on some people. Steer clear of blue if you find it makes you feel sad rather than soothed!
  • red is a stimulating color that creates a sense of urgency. Since it’s a color that stimulates, red can help reduce depression, but unfortunately the counter effect is that it can also create feelings of anger and aggression. So red might not be the most suitable choice if you’re looking to create a soothing environment (perhaps try a softer shade of pink or clay color instead).
  • orange is an excellent choice if you want to take advantage of the benefits of color therapy. It’s been used as a natural antidepressant and has been shown to help people feel better about themselves. It has also been linked to boosting the immune system and aiding digestion.
  • green is an excellent color to choose if you want to bring nature inside. It’s fresh, calming and relaxing. Not only that, but it can help promote feelings of balance and harmony. Green helps reduce anxiety and stress levels.
  • brown is a neutral color that has been linked with earthiness, trust, stability, security and comfort.
  • yellow is said to improve your mood and counteract stress, but research has also shown that it can be distracting.

While we know a lot of theory about how colors affect us, ultimately, it’s difficult to say which color is best for you, because we all have different needs.

It’s also important to keep in mind that different cultures attribute different meanings to color. So what might be significant in one culture may not be in another!

There are some universal “rules” though when it comes to color. They are the following:

  • brighter, less saturated colors are more relaxing to look at
  • darker, more vibrant and saturated colors are more energizing to look at.

Here is an example of what that means:

Less saturation just means that a color is more grayed out.

More saturation means it has more “pigment”, and that the color is more pure.

Brighter means the color contains more white.

So think about your personal needs and how you would like to feel, and go from there.

I will suggest two things to stay away from though: the first is the ALL white look. Anything too stark can be quite anxiety-inducing. And the second is doing a gray palette. That’s not based on anything other than just my personal taste, lol. I find gray to be the dreariest choice, even when paired with other colors. I just cant imagine it ever helping anyone feel more cheerful.

9. Re-arrange your furniture

Another aspect of interior design that has a big influence on our emotions is furniture placement.

Spaces that are easy to move through and that foster social interaction reduce anxiety and feelings of being overwhelmed. 

Try changing a few simple things like pulling your furniture a little further a part if it feels too cramped. And make sure to avoid having any furniture directly in front of doors.

Besides providing a fresh new take on your home’s layout and breaking monotony, moving around the furniture in your room can even help break negative thought patterns you may be creating for yourself.

If you’re able, I challenge you to experiment and move your furniture around to see how it makes you feel!

10. Make your bed

This might sound like a small detail, but making your bed is actually one of the simplest things you can do to improve your mood.

Making your bed can help you feel more in control of your life, by providing order and structure. The theory is that the simple act of tidying up your covers lets you begin your morning with a small success that will encourage many more throughout the day.

11. Experiment with aromatherapy

Aromatherapy has been used for centuries to treat a variety of conditions, including depression and anxiety.

The essential oils that are used in aromatherapy have powerful therapeutic properties. They can help to relieve stress, anxiety, and depression. Of course the way we use scent in the home doesn’t have to be limited to using essential oils. You can make your home smell good in whichever way you prefer: candles, incense, whatever you like best. Some people even hire professionals to help disperse scents through their HVAC systems!

Scientists have studied the implications of smelling certain scents, and it seems that some of the most effective scents for treating these conditions include floral scents like rose, jasmine and hyacinth, bergamot, vanillla and ylang ylang.

You could try starting with those, or pick any other type of scent that you like. We can all have strong associations with particular scents so it’s important to pick whatever you feel works best for you.

Some interesting facts about scents in the home:

  • smelling pleasant scents boosts the mood, and if a space smells nice, it will encourage people to stay in it longer
  • we associate cleanliness and brightness with a space that smells pleasant
  • we also tend to feel we’ve spent less time in a place that smells good
  • pleasantly scented rooms feel larger than unscented rooms

12. … and play some music

Music has a similarly therapeutic effect on the mind and can be used to relieve stress, anxiety, and depression. A considerable amount of research has been done on how music can change our mood.

The traditional thought used to be that listening to uplifting or calming music was the way to go. But according to a study done at the university of South Florida, it turns out that depressed people often find that listening to sad music is actually more soothing than upbeat music (which they just found to be irritating).

Listening to mood-appropriate playlists can be a very effective way of managing and soothing your emotions. It can lower your cortisol levels, and increase the release of dopamine.

So in the home, how do you go about making sure your music is readily accessible? With something like a google home system. For example I have google speakers linked up in most rooms, so as I move around through the house, the music is continuous. It seems silly but it really is a massive game changer! Also, being able to make silly announcements on my husband’s office speaker? Priceless.

Another thing that is beneficial to the psyche is playing some soft sounds from nature in the background. Nothing too intense – think soft rainfall or birds chirping in a meadow. These sounds can have a soothing, stress-relieving effect, and can be particularly useful if you live in an environment where there’s a lot of noise that distresses you.


I know we make jokes about tacky design styles and decorating mistakes, and we poke fun at things like boob lights. It’s subjective and those are just opinions at the end of the day.

What IS true though, is that there are a lot of things that surround us in our home that can have a real effect on the way we feel. It’s important to keep that in mind and try to create an environment for ourselves that fosters positivity and wellbeing.

I’d like to close with an excerpt from an article I read on Apartment Therapy which I thought was fitting:

“A healthy home is not a home full of the latest furnishings or decorated by the latest hot designer. It’s a home that says “Welcome. I am taken care of, can I take care of you?” There’s a place to sit, a place to put your jacket, there are clean towels and extra toilet paper in the bathroom, and a clean glass to offer a visitor. When you start to care about your home, it’s a sign you’re starting to care about yourself; the health of one begets the health of the other. Check the health of your home. What is it trying to tell you?”

If you have any design tips that have helped you cope with depression and anxiety, I would invite you to please share them in the comments so that other people can also benefit from them!

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3 Comments

  1. I see the post sent and emailed. I watched it.
    Thank you for sharing ideas for great designs. I have a small family, 1 boy and 1 girl, I really like 8. COLOR and I bet the kids like it too.

      1. Such an interesting topic! thanks for sharing.
        Do you mind sending me the name of the research about straight lines and anxiety?