4 Ways Color and Interior Design Improve Emotional Wellbeing

When it comes to improving how you feel, positive thoughts and affirmations aren’t always enough to move the needle. How many times have you said a positive affirmation and found that nothing happened to your mood? Sometimes, even if you’re smiling or laughing, thinking that your mood is going to change, you’re just not really feeling it.

On the flip side, how many times have you walked into a space that just made you feel good without the need to conjure up a happy thought? As if the space was filled with peace and comfort?

If you want to create a place that naturally lifts your mood, then let’s talk about how to use color and interior design to boost your emotional state.

How Color Changes Your Mood

We become what we surround ourselves with. When it comes to color, research shows that particular colors affect how the brain processes sensory signals that come into your body. Color affects your health and wellbeing because it stimulates the part of your brain that is responsible for mood regulation. How you feel changes the color of your aura, which changes how you react to your circumstances.

It’s actually a bit startling to consider how a small color adjustment in your environment can completely alter the energy that fills a space. In fact, you can channel healing energy with colors and other objects in the physical world. The colors we see, the colors that we interact with, and the colors of our aura are all energy.

Numerous studies have shown that colors can influence our mood in a variety of ways. Color can motivate people, calm them, and even signal feelings of pleasure or arousal.

Tip: How to Connect More Deeply With Color

Try this activity to connect with color on a deeper level. Look at each of the primary colors (red, blue, and yellow) as well as the secondary colors (orange, green, and violet) for several minutes. Next, journal about each color. Try to ignore what you think the color means and concentrate on how it makes you feel. Allow yourself to be completely open about what comes to mind. This will be different for each individual and may be different for you at different times.

Journaling about color only takes a few minutes. What you learn about yourself during this time will help lead you to new ideas about how you connect to the colors in your personal space.

How Color Changes Your Life

Not only can color help you create more balance within yourself; it can also positively influence the people you love and share space with. Since energy can be transferred between individuals, you can use color and light to create a healing environment for you, your family, and your visitors.

People are more willing to connect when they feel good. Whenever I rearrange an area in my home, my children always subconsciously sit or lay in that space and absorb the good vibes.

Of course, you need more than just the right colors to help your family get along, but being intentional about your environment can help set the tone for making other changes. When things seem tense in your home, consider moving furniture or adding colors in places you never thought of before. You might be surprised at the shifts it creates!

The Use of Color in Interior Design

Color is one of the most important aspects of interior design. For example, a room that is intended to be lively and fun might be better suited with a bright color like yellow. A room that is intended to be calming and relaxing might be better suited with a color like purple.

The options for color are nearly endless, and selecting the right hue for a room can be tricky. The way colors are combined can also create a unique emotional reaction. For example, a purple color on top of a yellow background creates a very different emotional response than if the purple color was applied on its own or with a darker color.

Tip: Designing Your Spiritual Wellness Space

There is no one right way to combine colors to design a spiritual or emotional wellness space. To find your vibe, experiment with colors and textures that represent aspects of your personal life and beliefs. For example, if you are a believer in the power of cultivating joy, using colors that you associate with happiness may be helpful. If you are more spiritual or Zen in nature, using colors that you associate with tranquility, peace, and harmony might be your jam.

Another principle to consider is using textures and patterns that are calming and inviting. Soft fabrics, the absence of harsh lines, and feathery accents can create a relaxing and welcoming sanctuary that will help you feel at home in your own skin and live a more peaceful life.

How Color Can Change Your Emotions

Let’s talk about colors that most people do not see. I mentioned above that each of us has an aura, and that our auras will be different colors depending on our thoughts and emotions. If you are feeling unpleasant emotions, your aura is likely dirty or clogged. This means your ability to take in clean, healing energy is hindered; this affects your mental, emotional, and physical wellbeing.

When colors in your environment work in harmony with your aura, you're able to feel more connected to the people or things around you. Being able to resonate with those around you raises your vibration and positively affects your emotional wellbeing.

If you’d like to discover which colors represent your aura, you can visit with an aura reader, or perhaps someone that has synesthesia (the ability to experience one sense through another) and sees sounds and emotions. (I can help you with that!) The next best thing would be doing the "How to Connect More Deeply With Color" exercise above.

Working intentionally with colors that balance your aura and emotions is extremely empowering. Having that insight helps you to better understand how your emotions and body are affecting your mood, health, and brain functions. It's about connecting with your body and emotional energy in a way that aligns with your personal growth and goals.

Tip: Connecting With Your Aura

It's important to remember that your aura is an invisible form of influence that most people never see but is always there. Think of your aura as a living being that needs proper nutrition and nourishment in order to stay healthy.

Here’s how to improve your energy signature: When you wake up in the morning or when you go to bed at night (or both), close your eyes and imagine yourself standing up. Visualize looking at yourself. Now take your hands and hold them a little above your head. Open your hands, letting the right hand go around your head and down the right side of the body. Do the same with the left hand and the left side of the body. Imagine sweeping any negative energy out of your aura. Do this seven times. Next, imagine looking at the back of your body, and repeat the practice.

If we can connect with the power of color to make informed decisions about our environment, then we have the power to play a bigger role in how we feel and experience life.

Delight in the healing benefits of color with color meditation for anxiety.