With millions of Americans still working from home, it’s more important than ever that we consider how our indoor spaces affect our mental health. The way you decorate your home can have profoundly positive (or negative) impacts on your mood. So, if you’re one of the many who find themselves in this position, you may want to spend a little of your free time on projects around the house. Often it’s the smallest changes that pack the biggest punch, whether it’s redecorating or remodeling there’s many effective ways to make our homes brighter, healthier places to live.

Lighten up

For maximum mood-boosting potential, you really want your indoor spaces to in some way reflect the outdoors. This means open, decluttered spaces that are brightly lit with natural light. The first DIY project you may want to consider then is repainting the walls of the rooms you occupy most. If you have a home office then this is the perfect place to start. Replace wallpaper and dark colors with soft shades of white. Choosing paints with a satin finish will help your walls reflect more light and brighten the room. Of course, all the paint in the world won’t do a lick of good if there’s no light making it into the room so make sure to clean the windows! 

Scent has been scientifically proven to affect mood and work performance. So when designing your spaces you need to seriously consider their aromatic properties. Cooped up in a home office it’s easy for the air to become stale without you realizing it. Fix this by maximizing the airflow of your home. Keep open windows where possible and install fans around the house. During the colder hours, candles make excellent air fresheners and can be DIY’d with some essential oils, paraffin wax, a wick and a mason jar!

Find it a new purpose

The mental health benefits of DIY projects don’t lie solely in the end result. Indeed, research shows that the act of engaging with a craft can have a range of positive effects such as decreasing anxiety, stress and improving mood. Handcrafted furniture and ornaments are becoming increasingly popular in modern interior design. These items bring a charm to your home that mass-produced factory-perfect decor just can’t match. Upcycling is a fun DIY practice that turns trash into treasure by repurposing old or broken items around the home and giving them new life. Mason jars are perhaps the most widely known example, being used by hipsters as drinking glasses once their original contents have been used up. However, this is just one example and the beauty of upcycling is that creativity is your only limit. Old wine bottles can be turned into lighting fixtures with candles or fairy lights.

Americans are spending more time at home than ever so it’s important that we’re reminded of the role interior design plays on our mood and wellbeing. Luckily, even the darkest space can be transformed with just a little creativity and a shoestring budget thanks to upcycling. Brightening up your indoor spaces and adding some greenery can make a world of difference so don’t wait, do it yourself!