Dopamine Living – Colors for a Good Mood with Anna Schmidt

by Anna Schmidt 26 Feb

63 7 min 0

Colors for a good mood – who wouldn’t want to bring that into their own four walls? Interior designer Anna Schmidt explains at Planetmoebel how the two are connected. With her tips, you too can find the right color scheme for your home and improve your quality of life through dopamine living.

Color Psychology in Living Space and Modern Interior Design

Dopamine living is one of the big buzzwords in interior design. The term is named after the happiness hormone dopamine. It triggers feelings of happiness in the brain. The neurotransmitter is usually released when people treat themselves to rewards. For example, when we talk to friends, when we eat our favorite food or do a pleasant sporting activity. Recent studies suggest that colors and shapes also influence the release of dopamine. But is it really possible to use colors to put you in a good mood? How are colors and well-being related? What does science say about decorating with colors and dopamine living for color design in the home?

The American fashion psychologist Dr. Dawnn Karen did important pioneering work in this field. She researched the effects of color perception and developed the term “dopamine dressing.” Clothing is chosen in such a way that it triggers feelings of happiness. Colors and well-being are thought of together. Dawnn was the first to recommend using colors to put you in a good mood in your daily wardrobe. Her second piece of advice: combining solid colors with certain activities. This ensures a well-established sense of security and self-confidence. It brings colors and well-being together in color routines.

Today, similar principles are used for furnishing living spaces with colors. Colors are not just used for simple feelings of happiness, but in a comprehensive sense. Interior designers use the research findings when designing colors for the home. They bring colors and well-being together in a holistic interior design with a color concept.

How do colors influence our mood?

Another study on colors and well-being was published by Stephen E. Palmer and Karen B. Schloss from the University of Berkeley. In their essay “An ecological valence theory of human color preference,” the researchers found that color perception differs according to culture. However, it triggers certain reactions in people from one culture. Today, research into dopamine living and color design for the home is building on these results. For people who grew up in western industrialized countries, this means: red and yellow promote creativity and inner energy. Blue and green calm and strengthen concentration. Pink and purple have an inspiring and positive effect when decorating with colors.

How Dopamine Living Became an Interior Trend

The connection between colors and well-being has not only been noticed by scientists. Color design for the home has recently been taken up by design and lifestyle publications. Elle Decoration and Architectural Digest have dealt with furnishing with colors. And when designers such as interior designer Abigail Ahern and furniture designer Sophie Robinson started to look into it, the trend became increasingly well-known.

What is interesting about these discussions about happy color design for the home is that they are linked to a paradigm shift. Scandinavian design with its minimalism and hygge furnishing with neutral colors are being replaced. The trend is moving towards bolder colors that combine colors and well-being. These colors are combined with striking patterns and coarse textures. It is furnishing with colors that confidently appeal to our senses. And it is materials that offer a tactile experience. In other words, textures that make you want to touch them.

Dare to use color: tips from interior experts

Color	Mood Effect	popular applications
Yellow	Creative Energy	Wall design, pillows, conscious accents in work rooms
Blue	Relaxation	Bathroom and Bedroom
Red	Activation	Dining room, Common rooms and study
Green	Harmony	Living room and home office
Pink	Positive attitude	Rooms for young people and conscious accents
Purple	Sophisticated charm	Decorative accessories and textiles

Practical tips for more color in your home

Color design for your home is by no means about painting the entire apartment in a lucky color. Colors for a good mood mean something different. Choosing the right colors for the room and its function. Combining colors and well-being in a meaningful way. Setting targeted and personal accents. Dopamine living is therefore not a patent recipe for furnishing with colors for a good mood. It offers a toolbox for furnishing with colors. And tips that help you find the right colors for a good mood. Colors with which you can create your own personal colorful place of power.

How Walls Provide More Well-Being

When it comes to wall design, I recommend bold concepts when decorating with colors in the right places. Interior designers talk about “accent walls.” If you decorate them with bright colors to put you in a good mood, you’ll create a real eye-catcher. Such accent walls control the mood in a targeted manner. On the other hand, there are areas where peace and colors are needed for a harmonious home. Soft pastel tones are recommended here. Be careful when you combine colors and well-being.

Mobilizing good emotions with furniture

A key element in furnishing with colors is furniture and accessories. Dopamine living can also be achieved here. I recommend buying statement pieces with colors that put you in a good mood. These are individual pieces of furniture that stand out visually. Colorful armchairs or sofas – in a reading corner, for example – bring color and well-being into the room. Bright carpets on the floor achieve the same effect. This innovative color design is even easier to achieve with cushions and curtains. You can also use colors that put you in a good mood. Here it becomes clear that dopamine living can also be implemented cheaply and easily.

Light, Colors and Shapes

Then there is another aspect of the topic of colors and well-being. Unfortunately, it is often forgotten. I am talking about the lighting situation in rooms. Lamps and warm light or even lamps with color effects bring colors into a room to put you in a good mood. They play a major role in the color design of your home. If you want to cleverly implement the decor with colors, you can bring works of art and decorative objects into the room and use light to highlight them. A targeted dopamine decor – trend colors for 2025 can also be worthwhile. Overall, this results in a dynamic play of shapes and colors. Something that appeals to the senses and combines colors and well-being wonderfully.

Avoid common mistakes when using colors

There are a number of common mistakes that should be avoided when choosing colors for your home. As with so many things, it’s all about getting the right balance when decorating with colors. People who read about dopamine living for the first time and want to implement it immediately sometimes go too far. The problem with that? Too many bright colors lead to sensory overload.

There are also color combinations that don’t harmonize with each other. For example, when colors create opposite mood effects. Cold colors harmonize more with cold and warm colors with warm. On design websites, consumers can find out which colors harmonize well and where colors are popular for a good mood. They can visualize the combination in advance before they decorate the room accordingly. When choosing colors for your home, you should also keep the size of the room in mind. Why is this important for color design for your home? Because dark colors make small rooms seem even smaller.

A personality question: Which colors make whom happy?

Anyone who has discovered dopamine living for themselves should pay attention to one more thing when decorating with colors. The question of how colors create a good mood is a question of personality. Decorating with colors provides color-emotional impulses. But do you need any?

My personal impression is that extroverted people should go for strong colors like orange, red and pink when choosing their home color scheme. Conversely, calming tones like blue, earth tones and green are recommended for introverts. Creative people benefit from color contrasts. They can use colorful home ideas to bring more joy to life and experiment. Every color scheme for the home strengthens a personality trait that is inherent in people. So it’s not about using the same colors for a good mood everywhere. Dopamine living is a character choice for colors and well-being.

Dopamine Living for a Happier Home

The human brain reacts very sensitively to sensory perceptions. As research shows, strong color accents can promote the release of hormones. They also affect sensory perception. Dopamine living takes advantage of this effect. It uses colors to create a good mood, combining the sensory perception of colors and well-being.

When designing your home with colors, it focuses on accents that can stimulate the release of the happiness hormone of the same name. But the dopamine living approach doesn’t just promise the possibility of using colors to create a good mood. It supports the person’s strong points and creates the right mood for each room. Choose the right color scheme for your living room and bedroom. This is how you can use colors to create positive energy in your home.

Would you like to try this approach yourself? Then use the tips mentioned and the color scheme for colors and well-being when furnishing with colors. And use Planetmoebel.de now as a source of inspiration to set colorful impulses with suitable furniture and home accessories. This is how you will successfully find your way to dopamine living and your optimal color scheme for your home.