Blue White

When Winter Gets Your Down, Change Your Home Decoration

The summer time is usually a period of happiness and enjoyment. You spend more time outside in the sun and you just feel like you have more energy. When the shorter colder days of winter approach however, a lot of peoples mood shifts. Seasonal Affective Disorder is a recognized condition that affects around 2% of the population and around 10% of people report symptoms. These include feelings of unhappiness, tiredness and feeling unwell…although there are many more. It is caused by a lack of sunlight in the winter months having an effect on the chemical balance in the brain. The eyes are very sensitive to light levels and if there is not enough of it around, they will trigger the body to release melatonin in to the blood stream, making us feel lethargic and tired.

Amazingly by carefully selecting the interior design items of our homes, we can have a real impact on the negative effects of Seasonal Affective Disorder and feel much better for it. Living room and also bedroom furniture are often the most important to get right as these are the rooms that we spend most of our time in. Buying white furniture like white wardrobes, tables and chairs will increase the amount of light that is reflected around the room and will have a large impact on mood.

A minimal approach to furniture is also a good idea as this helps open up rooms and reduces the feeling of being cluttered. The less furniture in a room, the more opportunity the light has to bounce about it and the more room you have to move about as well. It also helps painting your walls a light and airy colour to improve light reflection as well.

Some ideas for reducing the amount of furniture you have include only having your table large enough for everyday use and taking away or adding chairs if and when you need them, only have one bedside table instead of one each side, and getting rid of small pieces that only have aesthetic value.

Birmingham – Blue and White