3 Home Decorating Tips That Can Help Your Mental Health
At some point in March or April, it became hard to ignore that the two week stay at home order we were under in NYC wasn’t going to only last two weeks. We were in this for the long haul and the fact that it’s August and not much has changed in our work-living arrangement proves this.
I went into quarantine knowing that it would impact my anxiety and that some days would be harder to get myself out of bed. I’ve always struggled with motivating myself to go outside after nesting too long - it’s like my brain tells me the inside world is safer anyway, so why try.
I’ve been working on getting a better relationship with my mental health during quarantine and a big part of this was developing a healthier relationship with our home.
I wanted to feel inspired and safe within, but also like it was a piece of my world that could help me get the energy to walk back out into other parts of the world.
This led me to finding Jessie Ruanes (jessiefinds) on TikTok, buying some Backdrop paint, and painting our wall inspired by Jessie’s own loft wall.
It’s August and that same “new normal” realization is dawning on me that regardless of the peaks and lows of COVID-19, at least for the foreseeable future our homes will be 90% of our world.
I had Jessie on the podcast to share some tips that can help you create a space that inspires, energizes, and comforts you during the next year or so.
Here are some of the tips she shared.
Don’t buy everything all at once
It can seem like the easier, better thing to do would be to furnish everything at once, but you’re actually more likely to regret purchases this way. Jessie recommends going piece by piece and trying to build a style that’s more reflective of your own personality.
Google Shopping Tab
Jessie shares that you’ll want to make the Google shopping tab your best friend for a couple of reasons. Top of which is that a simple key word search can help you find nearly identical items at drastically different price points.
Nothing is permanent
When I started thinking about painting my wall, I had to deal with some major perfection issues and overall anxiety about the fact that the wall would no longer be white. I know I’m not alone in fixating and overthinking every home decor change because it all feels so permanent. Jessie’s advice? Stop overthinking it! You can paint a wall over.
Listen to the full episode of What Happened After? for Jessie’s favorite sites to shop for furniture and rugs, plus more tips on how to even get started decorating your home.
What Happened After? — wherever you listen to podcasts.