{"id":3042,"date":"2019-10-21T08:00:13","date_gmt":"2019-10-21T07:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.clairstrong.co.uk\/blog\/?p=3042"},"modified":"2021-02-21T14:43:52","modified_gmt":"2021-02-21T14:43:52","slug":"uplifting-design-to-beat-the-winter-blues-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.clairstrong.co.uk\/blog\/inspiration-and-theory\/uplifting-design-to-beat-the-winter-blues-part-1","title":{"rendered":"Uplifting Design to Beat the Winter Blues: Part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Clair Strong Interior Design<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

I know it\u2019s not winter quite<\/em>\nyet, but the days are getting shorter and it will be here quicker than you can\nsay, \u201cwinter is coming\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you dread the arrival of dark, cold mornings then this two-part\nseries is for you. Today and next week we\u2019ll be looking at the ways in which\ndesign can boost your mood and help combat those pesky winter blues. There\u2019s a\nlot to cover, so let\u2019s dive in:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fill your home with\nnature<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s been said many times on this blog but nature is the\nultimate mood booster. When we surround ourselves with greenery, natural\nobjects or even just photographs of beautiful landscapes, we feel good. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In winter we\u2019re perhaps unable to get outside as much as\nwe\u2019d like to enjoy the myriad\nbenefits of the great outdoors<\/a>. But by filling our homes with houseplants,\nraw materials, and beautiful wall art we can create some of that connection indoors.\nAnd if you\u2019re worried you can\u2019t keep a houseplant alive, faux plants have a\nsimilar effect because just the suggestion of nature is enough. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Clair Strong Interior Design<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Look at your lighting<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s unsurprising that daylight (or lack thereof) is\nconsidered to be a primary cause of winter blues. Think about how energised,\nmotivated and generally cheery you feel on a bright summer day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One\ntheory<\/a> is that the lack of sunlight increases the natural levels of\nmelatonin (the sleep hormone) in some people. The increase makes us feel\nsluggish and lethargic, which in turns leads to lack of motivation and a\ngeneral feeling of malaise. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So what can you do about it? Well, you can look at the lighting\naround your home. Add more lamps – especially in gloomy corners, switch to\nbrighter bulbs, replace lampshades that block the light and keep those curtains\nopen during the day. If you find yourself really affected by lower light\nlevels, you may find benefit from a SAD lamp. This\none<\/a> from John Lewis is affordable and unobtrusive. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Get started with those two tips and I\u2019ll see you next week\nfor part two! <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I know it\u2019s not winter quite yet, but the days are getting shorter and it will be here quicker than you can say, \u201cwinter is coming\u201d. If you dread the arrival of dark, cold mornings then this two-part series is for you. Today and next week we\u2019ll be looking at the ways in which design…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3043,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3042","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-inspiration-and-theory"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.clairstrong.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3042","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.clairstrong.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.clairstrong.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.clairstrong.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.clairstrong.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3042"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.clairstrong.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3042\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3046,"href":"https:\/\/www.clairstrong.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3042\/revisions\/3046"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.clairstrong.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3043"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.clairstrong.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3042"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.clairstrong.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3042"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.clairstrong.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3042"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}