How does the design of your home make you feel? If you’re typically someone who is rarely home, maybe spending most of your time there asleep, you may not have ever given it much thought. If you’re a homebody and maximize your time there, you’re probably at least unconsciously aware of the effects interior decorating can have on your psyche. There have been plenty of studies on the effects of beauty and aesthetics on the human mind. So since we’re all stuck looking at our own walls 24 hours a day, now is the perfect time to reconsider how our decorating decisions make us feel.
Ever since Netflix released a televised version of Marie Kondo’s The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up, the push towards minimalism has been unavoidable. Remember all the jokes about “sparking joy”? But the value in minimalism goes beyond trendy platitudes. It goes hand in hand with another very trendy buzzword, mindfulness. Put together, these lifestyles are meant to promote mental clarity and reduce stress. Think about how much better you feel being in a freshly cleaned and decluttered space. It’s not a coincidence! Luckily, since this trend blew up, there are tons of e-resources for checkout on Hoopla and Overdrive, from Kondo’s seminal series to The Minimalist Home. For very hands-on, practical advice, books like Remodelista are packed full of useful tips, from creative storage solutions and one of my favourite, super simple but surprisingly ignored ideas: hide your cords! It’s incredible how such a small change can make such a big difference in your home. These e-books usually come with the same photos you’d find in the print versions, and honestly sometimes just looking at photos of beautifully organized homes is enough to get inspired (if you have a Pinterest board related to decorating, you know what I mean). Oh, and since books on minimalism are quite popular and tend to be checked out, a reminder: with your VPL card, you can also access Markham and Richmond Hill’s Overdrive library! Between the three, you’re likely to find what you’re looking for.