•Sometimes lines are curvier, other times they’re straighter. Paisleys feature lots and lots of curving lines and teardrop-like shapes, for example, while plaids are heavy on straight lines arrayed at pointy angles to each other, along with squares and rectangles of color. Paisleys are more curvilinear, while plaids are more rectilinear. We generally are more relaxed by patterns and objects with more curves and more energized by those that are straighter and “pointier.” We have the same response to curved and straight lines whether they’re in patterns on surfaces or if they determine the shapes of furniture or other objects.
•Curvier lines and forms are associated with women, femininity, friendliness, and comfort, while more angular ones are linked to men, masculinity, action, strength, and efficiency. Rectilinear patterns and shapes in furniture, moldings, and elsewhere are good for exercise zones and laundry rooms; curvy ones are best for nurseries. A pattern that’s a mix of curvy and straight elements will be more or less relaxing, depending on which elements are more plentiful.
•Small size patterns on wallpapers, etc., are the ones most of us like best. These patterns will repeat more times in a space than larger patterns. A small size pattern on wallpaper might feature daisies that are two inches across or smaller; a large size pattern could include daisies larger than that, for example.
•Moderately complicated patterns are preferred to more complex ones and are also those that are most pleasant to look at. These patterns use just a few shapes, although those two or three shapes might be of several sizes and a similar number of hues. A pattern of moderate visual complexity might use circles and squares of a few different sizes and colors on a neutral color background, with about half of the background visible. One alternative with moderate visual complexity would be a pattern that uses several different flower shapes in several darker shades of pink on a light violet background. A few more examples: a Navaho rug has moderate visual complexity, and a Persian rug has high visual complexity.
•Rug patterns can be used to make hallways seem shorter. If two different patterns or textures are used in a corridor, or one asymmetrical pattern is used and that pattern sometimes seems more to the left and at other times seems to be more to the right along the length of a hallway, the hall will seem shorter. If distances are perceived as shorter, people are more likely to move forward, so this information can be used to encourage trips down hallways, for example.
•Visual symmetry, which is often linked with formality, has several forms: reflected and rotated, for example. With reflected symmetry, the shapes are found on either side of a straight line, but their position is reversed. If the image is duplicated on either side of a vertical line, for example, whatever is on the left side of the image on the left side of that vertical line is mirrored on the right side of the image when it’s on the right side of that same vertical line. With rotated symmetry, items are repeated around a central hub, the way spokes repeat around the center of a wheel. Humans generally prefer symmetrical patterns, graphics, and artwork compared to asymmetrical options and find them more beautiful. They also prefer symmetrical architecture to asymmetrical spaces. Seeing something that’s symmetrical is also likely to improve our mood.
•We’d rather look at horizontal and vertical lines than diagonal ones. Also, diagonal lines that start on the lower left and move to the upper right (ascending lines, ones like this /) are linked in our minds with relatively higher activity levels than diagonals that are higher on the left and lower on the right (ones like this \); these descending diagonals are linked in our minds to relaxation. Ascending lines are better for exercise areas and descending ones for meditation spaces, for example.
•A common color or shape can coordinate various patterns and design elements (such as wallpapers and carpets).
Light
How a space is lit has a major effect on our mood. Natural light is as welcome to a human as it is to a begonia. The light that flows through windows helps us keep our circadian rhythms in sync with the world around us. When they’re out of sync, we feel like we’re jet-lagged, we grow tense, and our level of well-being plummets.
When we’re in a space at least partially lit with natural light, we think more broadly—so we are more apt to be creative, better at solving problems, and better at getting along with others. Position curtains to let in as much daylight as possible, or consider taking them down altogether. Window blinds that roll up or move completely to the side of a window can provide privacy when needed but don’t block sunlight when they’re rolled up.
Be mindful of glare if you forgo the curtains. Glare can counter all of the good effects that flow from bathing your rooms in sunlight. Sheer curtains can help keep the glare down at different times of day, and so can judicious use of shiny finishes; with fewer shiny surfaces, there is less glare. Some PlaceTypes find shiny things more desirable than others do, but even people who relish shine should plan a space to keep it glare free.
Just like colors, light can be either warm or cool. When we talk about research on colored light, we’re discussing investigations of subtle gradations in the light experienced, not those garish red, blue, green, and orange bulbs sold at Halloween and Christmas time. Those odd-colored bulbs distort social interactions; it is thought that is because they make everyone’s skin seem to be odd colors. They aren’t something you’d want to use in your home or office.
The packages that most light bulbs come in today are labeled warm or cool. If you have some older bulbs hanging around and they’re marked only in degrees Kelvin, warm bulbs have a temperature of about 2,700 K(elvin), while light seems cool at about 4,000 or more degrees Kelvin. Warm light is best for relaxing, thinking creatively, and getting along with others, while cooler light is ideal for alertness, concentrating, and analytical reasoning. Our memories also work better under relatively cooler light as compared to warmer light. Researchers have found, for example, that we tend to be in a better mood in warmer light (around 2,700 K) than we are in cooler light (around 6,000 K) at about the intensity of light generally found in offices.
•Warm light in your living room is a good idea—which won’t surprise you if you’ve ever lit a gathering with candles or a fire.
•What should you do about light color in your office, home, or elsewhere? The answer clearly depends. If you’re a poet or an accountant (the latter field being one in which creative accounting sometimes leads to jail time), choosing a light color doesn’t seem to be a problem, as the advantageous choice is clear; when your occupational success clearly depends on creative or analytical thinking, light bulb color selection is easy. It may be best for you, however, to have both warm and cool lights in your office and to turn one type or the other on at a time, with the color selected depending on what you’re trying to accomplish.
•Another consideration: surface colors look best under light colors in the same temperature family—warm surface colors generally look best in warm light and cool surface colors in cooler light. Cross temperature design can make surface colors seem muddy or like they need a good scrub. Since the saturation and brightness of a surface color determine its emotional effect, it’s generally best to pick a surface hue after deciding on the light color that makes it more likely you’ll think the sorts of thoughts you’ve planned for a space. After you’ve selected a light color, you can select a warm or cool surface color to coordinate with that light temperature.
•Warmer lights are generally preferred during the evening (which makes sense because in our evolutionary past, fires would have been a comforting presence at night), while cooler lights win out during the day. Having a mix of bulbs in a room means you can light a space in different ways at different times.
•When you’re using warm lights, for full effect, they should be placed lower than the top of your head and be focused on tabletops and other horizontal surfaces. Energizing light, that is, cooler light, should be placed higher than the top of your head and should flood the walls and splash your ceiling with light.
•Night-lights