How to Reinvigorate Your Life—Via Your Home Decor

Neutrals calm, and darks cocoon—but happy, naturally occurring colors can bring positive energy to a space and stimulate the senses. If going bold isn’t exactly your design MO, try bringing in cheerful pops of color in little ways, like painting the backs of your bookshelves or via subtle patterns on drapes or upholstery. In our tech-driven lives, we innately crave nature—so look to soothing blues, uplifting greens and luminous yellows for a dash of detox.

As anyone who’s ever sniffed an ocean breeze can attest, a wonderful aroma has the power to lift your spirits instantaneously—which is why it’s so important to make your home pleasing on the olfactory front. Hot tip: Try the new Glade® PlugIn® Scented Oil in Hawaiian Breeze™, which boasts 50 percent longer-lasting fragrance (not to mention, a chic, new product design that looks great against your decor). We mean, don’t you want to come home to a house that smells like a tropical escape and makes you happy upon entry?

To state the obvious: Leafy, green houseplants are an instant visual pick-me-up. But many have restorative benefits too—like clearing out common household carcinogens, adding oxygen to the air and aiding in better sleep. Consider “miracle plants” like English ivy, which was dubbed by NASA scientists as the number one best air-filtering houseplant, or aloe, which was found to improve memory and reduce depression in mice.

It’s no secret that visiting museums, going to concerts or really spending any kind of time appreciating the arts can be therapeutic (and help to get your own creative juices flowing). Which is why it’s so important to create moments of arts appreciation in your home—whether that means buying a mini radio for the kitchen so that you can jam out while you cook, or finally putting together that gallery wall you’ve Pin-ing and pining for.

Most folks apply Marie Kondo’s eponymous “joy-sparking” criteria in order to cut clutter. But it’s also an opportunity to figure out what items do spark joy and bring them into your design scheme. Think: pulling your beloved perfume collection out of the medicine cabinet and making a pretty display on your dresser-top. Or displaying that milk-glass collection in the kitchen. Curate your own little mini galleries and smile every time you look at ’em.