I'm not sure if this is a cliche yet but if it's not, I'm pretty sure it's well on its way 'happiness is not a destination, it is the journey'.
I'm not promising you that if you do this or that you will arrive at a destination of happiness.
What I am saying, is that if you infuse your space with more of your inner light, you are going to enjoy your home more, which can support your journey with a positive influence and help create a life that is in alignment with your highest good.
There is another saying that says 'you are a product of your environment' I used to say this too, now I like to twist it into a bit more empowerment to say 'your environment is a product of you'.
So how can we use one element such as colour to create a more supportive, uplifting and healthy home that does support the person we want to be?
Here are some ideas.
PRIMAL HUMAN
According to psychologists Stephen E Palmer and Karen B Schloss, we tend to like colours that remind us of nature as they reinforce positive experiences and signal health, life and safety.
Notice how so many people love the colour aqua? To me this colour represents a clean and clear ocean, the kind you get on holidays to the tropics. Naturally the response to this is relaxed and uplifting of mood.
NATURAL SCALE
Think about colours you love and how they appear in nature.
What is the scale that they appear in nature?
Aqua as mentioned above is large scale, vast ocean and sky, so make a great wall colour.
A purple for example tends to be small and fleeting like flowers blooming, sunset or amethyst, so they make an incredible accent.
COLOUR THERAPY
Colour therapy can be incredibly helpful when choosing colours that evoke a desired response from a space. Yellow for example is energized, warm, happy and welcoming, a fantastic colour to have in the kitchen, which does host a lot of energy, visitors and action.
However, Colour therapy is only relevant to again, the individuals positive experiences.
Salmon isn't going to inspire a fun and stimulating feel for you, if Salmon gave you food poisoning once.
So while colours do have associations with natural responses it is important to use your own discernment about what feels right for you.
ZONING
With so many homes with open plans now and multi functional spaces, zoning is so important to create balance within the overall space, but also immerse you in the space as you use it.
If you have an office nook in your home rather than its own room, this is such a great spot to inject some colour pop or variation, so that when you sit down in your office space you are experiencing the space differently even though you haven't left the room as such. The change of colour highlights the area so the space looks organised and intentional.
SPATIAL VARIABILITY
To be fair I have pretty much been speaking of biophilic design this whole blog but spatial variability is an official term when it comes to biophilic design and is relative to the last paragraph about zoning.
Having a change of colour or variation of colour while entering different rooms mimics the experience of being in nature. For example walking under a tree on a sunny day you would most likely experience filtered light, then you walk out into the bright sun again. So having a change of wall colour in one room and a new accent in another, re-creates the experience of a natural environment.
So be honest, have I confused your colour choices even more?
If I have, that's ok, long story short is, find out what you like, compare it to nature and have fun with your project! Really use it to express yourself. Don't worry about trends! Think about you and how you want your space to feel to you and those who live there... also planning is always a good idea too!
I hope I have helped you delve deeper into the idea of colour and how it can benefit your way of being.
Have a beautiful day, designing your life x
Lauren Shiels - Healing Spaces Project.
Images sourced from Pinterest.
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