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Let us introduce you to Eleftheria Karipidi (pictured right). She’s an expert in the field of interior psychology and all round inspiring babe. At present, the psycho-interiors field is a bit of an undiscovered realm, but it’s a topic that’s attracting a lot of interest. So much so, that we’re predicting that improving wellbeing through interior design is going to be a big trend next year. That’s why we’ve been working with Eleftheria to learn more about how our home designs affect our psyche – and trust us, they really do! Before our colour psychology workshop on August 7th (that the three of us are collaborating on) we thought we’d give you a little taster of what’s to come. So over a coffee with Eleftheria we asked her some questions and got some intriguing answers. We’re really excited to share this with you so we hope you enjoy this interview as much as we did!
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1. What colours are best for stimulating productivity and why?
Cool colours (e.g. blues and greens) are less arousing and distracting, so they can help in concentration and productivity at work. Greens also have the ability to stimulate creative thinking. Another benefit of blue and green hues are the ability to create a relaxing atmosphere and thus help reducing work-related stress. Orange seems to be a colour that enhances productivity, creativity and enthusiasm, however it is better to be used as an accent colour as people either love it or hate it.
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2. What are the key features of a ‘happy’space?
Natural light (or at least special lighting that perfectly imitates natural light), the right selection of colours, the appropriate shapes and also the materials of your furniture are the key features to a happy space. In addition to this, the right ambient scent (e.g. lavender) can also aid a happy space, as it makes us calm down when we’re stressed and stimulates positive feelings.
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3. What do you think is the biggest cause of stress / anxiety in our interior environments?
Clutter is definitely one of the main causes. Insufficient or bad lighting has also been proven as a cause of stress that may even increase a person’s chances of experiencing low mood. Another cause could be the wrong use of colours, shapes and objects. For example, I recently visited a private surgery and in the waiting room they had a big decoration with sea urchins. As sea urchins’ spines are sharp, they can obviously be related to injuries and pain. Not a good choice for decoration as the patients want to think positive, stay away from negative feelings and feel secure and relaxed! In terms of colours, red should be applied with caution as too much of it might encourage strain.
“Red should be applied with caution as too much of it might encourage strain”
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5. What impact do you see the psychology of interior design having on the interior design industry in future? Do you think it will reach the mass market?
The industry has already started becoming more interested by the connection between interior design elements and our psychological wellbeing. The last few years more than ever, wellness and psychological wellbeing has been at the forefront of people’s minds. We can see it everywhere, from healthy and organic food to wellbeing in the workplace and mindfulness.
Our stressful, demanding, unbalanced lives as well as the uncontrolled use of technology make us feel a stronger need for creating spaces; particularly home environments where we can really relax and effectively combat stress. Home magazines, interior designers, architects, construction professionals as well as academics and researchers have already shown a big interest in how they can better design. Why? To build human-focused environments to improve everyday living. I’m confident that the psychology of interior design will be a key issue that everyone will be talking about in three to five years from now, if not sooner!
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If you want to find our more about how you can tweak your home design to improve your wellbeing, you might like to come along to our colour psychology workshop – you can get tickets here.
Photos 3, 4, 5 and the cover photo were sourced from Unplash.
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