Fresh Interior Design Ideas For Summer
The days are getting warmer, flowers are starting to bloom, and that winter coat is being left at home more often than before…Summer is on the horizon! As the season changes, we feel a fresh burst of energy, and start making new plans.
A little interior design update can really lift our home and office to match our summer mood, and help us carry the new season’s energy into greater productivity and satisfaction. If you’re looking for some interior design ideas to brighten up your office for summer, take a look below at our top tips.
Bring The Outside In
Making room for nature in your office space can really make all the difference in boosting your working atmosphere in the summer months. Try bringing in some house plants, ideally real, for a great space refresh. Ferns and greenery, as well as blooming flowers and colourful trailing plants, can add levels, layers of interest, and positive energy across your workspace. Make the most of window sills, shelves, and dead space to create a mini jungle you’re excited to step into.
If bringing plants inside won’t work for you - perhaps you’re severely limited on space or navigating allergies - some extra natural brightness or a natural view can shake things up. Realign your desk or workspace to get the most of any windows bringing in natural light, and look at incorporating more desk or standing lamps to keep your day bright and energetic. If you’re lucky enough to have a view of the natural world outside your office window - let it in! If not, look at adding some framed photography or other artwork that can connect you with the world outside your window.
Add A Splash Of Summer Colour
There’s nothing like a colour palette reset to welcome your space into the season and rejuvenate your work space. Aside from being pleasing on the eye, colour is also known to have a significant effect on our mood and physiology. As Clara Vetter explores, colours work as a powerful cue for the eyes and mind on what to focus attention on, and also triggers certain emotional and cognitive responses from us due to the combined effect of neurological, evolutionary, and cultural influences.
Emotionally, warm colours like orange, red, or yellow evoke passion and happiness, whilst cooler colours like blue, purple, and green can trigger calmness or sadness. Neurologically, our brain is wired to pay more attention to red over other colours, as the majority of cells responsible for colour vision are most reactive to the colour red.
You could use this understanding of colour to influence your office productivity by including red decor around your immediate working space to hold your focus here, but incorporating cooler colours like blue and green in a chill out space for when you need to take a break. Creating a balanced contrast in your office between spaces of high focus, and spaces of calm, can help you feel productive and maintain concentration, without burning out.
Incorporate Scent For Design That Welcomes Wellness
Similarly, adding summery scent into your working space can greatly alter the mood. Reed diffusers or candles can be great options if you’re wanting to create a more stylised space, and work with natural materials, bringing in further options for light and calm at the same time. Alternatively, a plug in scent diffuser can offer consistent scent in your space but may feel a little more artificial and less connected with the natural world.
Floral scents, like rose or lavender, are an obvious choice to create a warm, sunny atmosphere, whilst also helping minimise stress. Citrus, lemon, or jasmine, on the other hand, have been proven to help optimise focus and concentration. Studies from Thailand note the observation of increased beta waves in brain areas responsible for positive emotion and activity level when test subjects smell jasmine, whilst similar studies from Japan record that test subjects made 54% fewer typing errors in a study whilst smelling lemon.
Soft Furnishings Warm Your Office
Lastly, make room for soft furnishings in your workspace to not only make a room you want to be in, but to create a relaxed, summer feel. Try adding bright, soft blankets in a chill out space, and accented cushions or throws for a burst of colour. Soft furnishing that tie your design narrative together can not only highlight your flair for sharp, stylised office design, but also energise and revive your space for optimum productivity this summer.
