How funky home décor can improve your mood

How can colourful fabrics, dynamic textures and playful accents make you feel happier and more upbeat?

In this blog post I’m going to share some of my thoughts on the benefits of choosing a playful and funky home décor.

An artist’s perspective

As an artist, I love to surround myself with things that inspire me. This could be pieces of music, people, and also, crucially, the objects that are around me. When I enter a room, I like to be visually and sensorially stimulated by what’s in it. In this way, I’ll never lack sources of inspiration for making art or even interesting conversation-starters to avoid awkward silences or small talk. From my perspective, colour, texture and playful home décor is the key to love the space I’m in and so feel happier whenever I’m in it.

How colour impacts your mood

We all know that different colours can greatly impact our emotions. This can be through personal or cultural associations we might have with a specific hue. Generally, each colour can be associated both with negative and positive emotions. So even though it’s useful to reference what colour psychology tells us, remember to consider how you feel about a specific colour choice. When you’re choosing your home décor style, you don’t have to please the interior design gods who pass judgement on badly designed rooms. You are going to be living in your house and the most important thing is how it all affects you.

Keeping your own experience in mind, here are some common associations of different colours and emotions.

Red: motivation, attention and strong emotions
Orange: warm and inviting
Yellow: happiness, optimism and energy (can be overstimulating)
Green: balance and harmony, nature and growth
Blue: peace and tranquillity
Purple: calm and luxury

Key questions to ask yourself:

1. What colour am I most drawn to when I want to be happy?

2. Should I lean into an energetic or laid-back funky vibe and what colour would most suit my choice?

3. How does this room connect to the rest of my home décor and how can I use colour to complement the connection? (think contrasting colours or using the same palette)

Find what makes you smile

Sense of humour is one of the most subjective aspects of our personality. What makes us smile or laugh is often linked with how we perceive the world, ourselves and others. So, when you’re choosing funky items of home décor, you can fully lean into your own sense of humour. Personally, I love look-alike or enlarged objects - such as a pen holder shaped like a camera lens or a giant eraser - as I enjoy the sense of absurd that comes with seeing objects outside of their regular context. Another great option is characters or references to pop culture that you particularly relate to. Anything that allows you to find a moment of ease and fun as you go about your life.

Key questions to ask yourself:

1. -What’s the last thing that I properly laughed or sincerely smiled about and how can I add that spirit to my room?

2. Do I want a subtle nod to humour, or should I go all out and be as playful as possible?

3. What’s a must-have to make sure this room makes me smile?

Think about texture

Similarly to colour and humour, the textures we like are highly personal. I love unpainted wood and metal so that’s what I tend to focus on. I can then juxtapose the hard character of those materials with soft fabrics for cushions or rugs. Creating a dynamic mix of textures is a great way to achieve a funky feel in your home décor. A top tip is to find ways to incorporate sensory experiences when choosing your textures. Is there a way you can add some dimensions to pieces of furniture or items you interact with a lot? This could be a particularly soft chair cover or a textured curtain. To add a funky vibe to your room that helps you feel uplifted, think outside the box and look for unique experiences you can create for yourself as you go through your day.

Key questions to ask yourself:

1. What textures am I strongly drawn to?

2. Do I want a go all in on an individual texture or would a more dynamic mix work better?

3. How can I add touches of sensory delight through texture?

Use wall art to showcase your character

As a visual artist, I have to admit I have a bias towards wall art. Any room needs at least one good piece of wall art as a focus point that works alongside all the other elements of your home décor. When you’re going for a funky feel in your room, there are so many directions you can go to with wall art. You could choose a piece that’s not traditional in material such as a metal artwork or you could lean into colourful quotes to express how you feel. I have to mention my own art at this point, if you’ll forgive me, because I genuinely think it would make a great addition to any funky room. With every piece of art I make, I focus on creating a strong emotional response from viewers, so whether it’s cat eyes staring at you or a graceful and powerful whale, choosing one of my collages will surely create a dynamic focus point in your room, while allowing you to showcase an artwork you connect to.

Key questions to ask yourself:

1. What piece of art would best complement the other elements in the room? (think colour palette, shapes and lines or content)

2. Do I want to focus on unique materials, relatable quotes or striking compositions?

3. Does this room call for one centrepiece or many pieces that can work together? (think about the wall space you have available and the rest of the décor)

The takeaway

To conclude, a funky room can be a great way to showcase your personality, imagination and sense of humour. That’s why it’s essential that every decision you make is based on what your personal response is to a particular colour, texture or piece of art. Of course, you can keep in mind general principles, but to truly create a space that uplifts you, make sure it’s reflective of your taste and character. Your imagination is the only limit!

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