De-stress Your Space
by Carmen Pease

There’s more to decor than meets the eye. We went to the pros for tips on how to make your space a tranquil retreat—and the tools you need to pull it off.

Picture it: A place that makes you smile as soon as you enter. Stress melts away, and you’re overcome with a sense of comfort.

Reality check: It’s your own house.

Believe it or not, it’s possible, and there’s a whole science fueling
this quest to make home sweet home happen. Dubbed “design psychology,”
it explores how the environment affects people emotionally and how
designing your space can make you feel happy. “The things we do
consciously to arrange the places we live in can infuse us with a
feeling of well-being,” says Constance Forrest, Psy.D., of the
California design psychology practice ForrestPainter Design. Here’s
how to make your home a haven.

Brush up with color. Leatrice Eiseman, author of Colors for Your
Every Mood suggests using a serene hue like periwinkle blue, the
color she painted her own bedroom.

Why: “In most people’s minds, blue is the color of the sky, the
sea—those things in the world we can always depend on,” Eiseman
explains. Spice up the room with a complement like apricot; a
designer rule-of-thumb is that a single color should dominate only
75 percent of the room.

Try: Benjamin Moore’s “California Lilac” and “Southern Charm”
($25 to $40 per gallon).

Plant seeds of serenity. Incorporate live plants and natural
materials. “Associations with the natural world are soothing and
grounding,” Forrest says.

Why: Toby Israel, Ph.D. and author of the design psychology
how-to book Some Place Like Home, suggests this hankering for
greenery harks back to childhood, when the outdoors represented a
wonderland escape.

Try: An easy-to-tend philodendron, Christmas cactus, or spider
plant. Even the warmth of hardwood floors lends a natural feel.

Shine on. The wrong lighting can kill the charm in any room.

Why: Brett Pransky, a New York City designer who’s fashioned sets
for Sex and the City, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, and Mona
Lisa Smile, says the most common mistake is to rely solely on
overhead lighting, which throws harsh shadows. “Lamps should be
spread around the room to create balance and ambiance,” Pransky
says.

Try: Simon Pearce’s sleek, shaded glass lamp ($125), or scour
thrift shops for offbeat, conversation pieces.

Go with the flow. Arrange and organize your space so people feel
at ease.

Why: Israel distinguishes the three kinds of spaces you need to
balance: private, public, and shared (such as a playroom or den).
“An overload of shared or public space is unhealthy,” she says.
“We need to establish those personal-space boundaries.”

Try: Make sure your kitchen has an inviting table or counter so
your clan can gather ’round while the meal’s in the make. Snag
tabletop trays (Crate & Barrel, $7.95) and chic storage bins you
can label (The Container Store, $21.99) so everyone can get to
things in a jiffy.

Play favorites. In the end, the space should reflect your
personality—not some swanky designer’s.

Why: “Using design elements that reflect you can make you feel
connected to that space,” Israel says. The opposite holds true,
too: “If a house doesn’t reflect who you are, you may not feel
like you belong there.”

Try: Stow memory-laden objects around your house, whether that’s
a collection of antique vases, a favorite novel, or childhood
keepsakes (like the wooden toy train Pransky displays on his mantle.)