Therapist Explains How Your Home Might Be Affecting Your Mood More Than You Think
It’s no secret that our surroundings affect how we feel, but new research1 from the British furniture brand, Barker and Stonehouse, shows just how much our homes impact our mental wellbeing. As cooler temperatures and darker evenings have us spending more time indoors towards the end of the year, understanding how our homes influence our mood is all the more important.
According to their recent survey1, almost one in four say their home influences their mood, and for a third of us, the effect is significant. Clutter, poor lighting, and noise top the list of mood disruptors, while everything from room temperature to furniture layout and colour schemes also plays a role.
To discover more about how and why our homes affect how we feel, Barker and Stonehouse spoke with Holly Beedon, Clinical Lead at Living Well UK, who shared her expert insights on the topic.
The impact of environmental factors on our mood
Our surroundings can have a big impact on many aspects of our lives, but just how much can they affect how we feel?
“Environmental factors influence us more than we realise,” Holly states. “Bright, natural light boosts mood and alertness by regulating our circadian rhythms, while dim or artificial lighting can dampen motivation and concentration.”
A messy room can also have us feeling worse, as Holly continues with, “Layout and clutter both affect how ‘mentally spacious’ a room feels; open, organised spaces can promote calm, whereas busy or cramped settings may increase anxiety.
“Colour psychology also plays a role; softer tones tend to soothe, while bolder colours might energise or overstimulate, depending on the room’s purpose. Even temperature has an impact: cool spaces can feel refreshing but might become emotionally cold, while warmer environments tend to promote feelings of safety and relaxation.”
How a room affects our ability to relax and sleep
If you’re struggling to feel relaxed and get to sleep at home, it turns out it might not be your bedroom routine that needs changing.
“The spaces we inhabit send constant signals to our brain. If a room feels chaotic or uncomfortable, it can trigger low-level stress responses, keeping us in a state of alertness that makes it hard to fully relax, and harder still to fall asleep,” Holly says.
“On the other hand, calming environments with a sense of order, soft lighting, and personal touches can cue the body to unwind. Over time, this link between surroundings and psychological states shapes our overall mental wellbeing.”
Magdalena Gierasinska, Head of Product and Displays at Barker and Stonehouse, shares her advice on how to make our spaces maximise our wellbeing:
“When creating mood-boosting spaces within your home, there are some changes you can make that work for every room in the house. Layered lighting, for example, uses a mix of table, floor, and wall lamps to create a calm, inviting atmosphere that’s perfect for living rooms, dining rooms, and bedrooms. The effect is especially accentuated when paired with warm and neutral palettes, such as beige, soft browns, and ochres, perfect for the autumn season.
“How you choose to place furniture can have a sizeable impact as well. For your living room, don’t be afraid to float sofas away from the wall, as it creates a sense of flow and avoids a boxed-in feel. When it comes to dining rooms, always leave about a metre around the dining table so people can move comfortably, as it helps keep the mood relaxed. Finally, for bedrooms, arrange furniture so the bed is your anchor piece, leave breathing room around key items, and keep bedside tables within easy reach. Even in smaller rooms, a little flow goes a long way.”
For more mood-boosting transformation tips as we head into autumn, Magdalena has shared further interior design advice on the Barker and Stonehouse blog.
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