Zoning Out!
Zone out! Create zones in your yard or garden, even if they’re tiny, so that users can, to the extent possible, develop their own sets of experiences, having options boost moods. Some areas should...
Curves & Hedges
Cushions that have curves The links we make between curving things and feeling comfortable is quite strong. Curving lines in art make it likely that piece will make a space feel more blissful and...
Well Wood do you know? We all need Wood
Salvador, after completing a literature review, reports that “A literary review based study revealed wooden materials in interiors and objects to have a positive psychological influence in humans, with a pacifying and relaxing effect.” Salvador. 2019. “Human...
Not the Same Old Oval Office
Most offices, even if they’re used by well-known people are unseen by most of us. Titans of industry and even many public officials spend their “office hours” working in places that only their professional...
Soundscapes and Sensitivity
Tarlao, Steffens, and Guastavino’s work verifies that many factors besides the actual noises themselves influence perceptions of acoustic experiences. The researchers report that “Previous soundscape research has shown a complex relationship between soundscapes, public space...
How new homes should be designed post-Covid
The Place Alliance surveyed people in the United Kingdom during the COVID-19 pandemic (May, 2020) and after analyzing the data they collected online have reached some conclusions about how homes should be designed in...
Want to think Creatively? 9 of the Best Quick Solutions
Research on spaces where people are more likely to think creatively is clear, these spaces share certain attributes. Home offices where people excel at creative thinking: Feature all sorts of different shades of green.Many...
Are you a Messy Bunny?
Visual clutter makes us very, very tense. It degrades both our mood and our mental performance and our ability to learn—it may even contribute to us eating in less healthy ways. If you have...
Ventilate!
Natural light has an almost magical effect on how we think and behave. Whenever you can incorporate it into your home, without glare, the psychological payoffs are worth the effort involved. In your house...
‘Tis the Season for Cosy
The space in this photograph is a fine place to spend some time. Nothing says “cosy winter afternoon” faster than a fireplace fire. Staring into those flames is, what’s known in the psych biz,...
The Science of Using Scents
Happily, for most of us, most of the time, are noses are doing their job and we can pick up odours in the world around us. Scientific studies consistently link particular smells to particular...
Mirror, Mirror on the Wall…
Seeing oneself in a mirror makes it more likely we’ll follow the rules that our society has set for us, so they’re good options for places such as entry areas where properly stowing boots...
Change your viewpoint!
If your stock portfolio is filed with risky options and you’re nearing retirement, a move to a lower floor may be in order. Jami reports that “Multiple studies show that exposure to the viewpoint...
What is Environmental Psychology?
Since the first of our ancestors set up a home and cared about the experiences of people living there, there has been environmental psychology. Whenever people developing or managing spaces have cared about making...
80% of people prefer curves…
Creating a path? Work in a curve. D’Acci, collecting info on urban streets, found that “80% of a . . . random sample of 102 people stated to prefer, ceteris paribus [other things being equal]...
Favourite Colours
Around the world, when people are asked what their favourite colour is they are more likely to say it is blue than any other colour. The colour that people are most likely to say...
Guide People Through a Space
Like moths drawn toward flames, humans approach warm colours. If you want someone to move across a space in a particular way, paint the wall behind the desired final destination a warm colour. Have...
Stop the walls closing in!
What you’ve heard throughout your life is true, lighter colours on walls do indeed make those walls seem a little farther away than they actually are while dark colours on the same walls bring...
Speed Up or Slow Down the Passage of Time
Time going too fast for you? Time seems to pass more slowly in warm coloured spaces than cool coloured ones. Spaces where people may need to think time is passing more quickly than it...
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