Given the extended amount of time we’ve spent at home in recent months, there’s no denying the importance of turning your home into a personal oasis. After all, the state of our homes can directly influence the state of our minds. Dr. Toby Israel, author of Some Place Like Home: Using Design Psychology to Create Ideal Places, used this idea as the founding principle for the field of Design Psychology, which proves a point we at House Beautiful have long thought to be true: Our visual surroundings have a profound impact on our mental health.
On a basic level, Israel says, principles of light and color affect mood: “Light colors may make a space feel more open whereas darker colors may make people feel more closed in,” she explains. “Thus, for those quarantining right now, it might seem to make