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. 

One thing you’ll notice, even in a minimalist home, is the well-placed use of plants. Houseplants are another thing having A Moment—something you no doubt already know if you are (or know) a millennial. Again, this is a trend that connects to something deeper: theorists have posited that, in a world where we can afford very little (and may live in rentals that forbid pets), houseplants are an easy way to ground ourselves and connect with a living organism, even in a tiny apartment. It’s bringing nature into your home. My best friend has a gorgeous monstera that I sometimes I find myself asking after like it’s her child. Plus, plants just look good. A well-placed pop of green can add a little something to a space, especially a minimalist one that favours white and neutral colours. And luckily, for those of us with “black thumbs” who have a tendency to kill plants (RIP to my little fiddle leaf fig, gone but not forgotten), the rise in houseplant popularity has led to a rise in houseplant caring books. I’m partial to Decorating with Plants and Wild at Home (which VPL only has in print format for now), two books that explain in layman’s terms how to care for various plants, and how best to style them. If you really want to get into the nitty gritty, Darryl Cheng’s The New Plant Parent is a great in-depth resource (Cheng runs the super popular Instagram account @houseplantjournal).  

But what if you’ve tried minimalism, and no matter what you do, you can’t seem to abide by its strict rules? Being overwhelmed with Kondo advice might push you to swing in the opposite direction. Welcome maximalism, minimalism’s loud, flamboyant alter ego. Think rich use of colour and texture, prints, book collections, art prints, etc. A misconception about maximalism is that it encourages on one end materialism, and on the other hoarding. It’s not necessarily about “more is more”; a maximalist space can still be well-curated with intentional design elements. Just with, you know, more of them than minimalism. The New Bohemians is an inspirational starting point for this kind of style, from desert-chic Joshua Tree homes—with lots of (fake) animal skulls and Navajo-inspired prints—to Moroccan-inspired apartments full of tapestries and floor poufs. Maximalism tends to be fun and full of personality, and if that’s the sort of thing that makes you feel at peace (rather than, say, plain white walls), you might want to give it try. It might be hard to get your hands on these kinds of stylistic pieces during lockdown, so this could be a back-burner design project while you build up that Pinterest board.  

For more design inspo, I personally like the following: 

Home Sweet Maison (for French-inspired decorating) 

Little Book of Hygge (not about decorating necessarily, but more about adapting Scandinavian principles into your daily life, like candles and light) 

Styled (for general advice and beautiful pictures)

Apartment Therapy (a well-known website that features all sorts of different homes)

Of course, there are hundreds of home decorating resources that might pique your interest more than what I’ve described here. Check them out yourself and see what speaks to you! And a reminder that during the library closure, we are still offering reference services! If you’d like some more personal recommendations on this subject or any others, hit us up on our Ask Us page.