Happy St. Patrick’s Day, loves! I’m traveling in England at the moment so if I’m feeling up to braving the crowds (doubtful) I might pop into a local pub for a pint of Guinness later today.

But to otherwise honor of the holiday, I’m dedicating today’s post to… the color green!

I’m a bit biased, because green is already my favorite color. Personal feelings aside though, green has been shown to be associated with a whole slew of positive affects.

But before we dive into that, I’d like to preface this by saying that all color psychology should be taken with a grain of salt. Everyone will have their own opinions of and emotional reactions to colors, which may be based on culture, personal experiences, or personality. I don’t mean to imply that the following discussion is the end-all-be-all, or that if you aren’t a fan of green you’re a big dumb-dumb.

If you don’t like green, that’s cool. We can still be friends.

And yet the numbers don’t lie. While blue is undoubtedly the world’s favorite color, green regularly ranks in the top 3 most-loved colors across multiple countries. Clearly, humans across the planet are drawn to green on a massive level.

But why?

Green is frequently associated with the natural world, which we link to renewal, growth, and vibrancy. Nature has profound effects on our cognitive abilities, stress levels, and even on our capacity to heal, so it only makes sense that we would feel good around a color that is so prevalent in the natural world. Because green helps people feel calm and at-ease, you’ll often see it used in hotel lobbies, restaurants, and other commercial settings. Some studies have indicated that simply looking at the color green can enhance certain types of creative thinking. So it’s little surprise that in Feng Shui the Wood element - associated with creativity, growth, and action - is represented by the color green.

Now that you know some of the benefits of the color green, here are 3 easy ways to incorporate it into your home:

1) Accessorize! The easiest way to add color to a room is always through the accessories. These can usually be found for affordable prices and won’t take a lot of time, expertise, or money to install. Your dash of green could come in the form of paintings or prints, window treatments, pillow covers, shower curtains, throw blankets, bedding, or even a piece of accent furniture (think an occasional chair). Best of all, you can easily swap these items out if future-you starts craving change.

2) If you want drastic change and are up for a slightly larger project, target your walls. Paint, wallpaper (there are amazing removable options out there nowadays), or even wall decals (Etsy is my recommended source) can immediately shift the feeling of a room. My biggest piece of advice? Get samples. Don’t just buy the first paint you see in the store. Paint will look different in your room than it does in the store. It will look different at different times of day. With different lights on. Do yourself a favor and put in the effort to get samples and ensure you are making the right choice. This goes for wallpaper too.

3) Bring on the plants. Adding house plants is easily my favorite way to “greenify” your space - in my opinion, a house is not a home until there are plants. Plants have the incredible power to immediately shift the feeling in a room. They’re shown to enhance creativity, productivity, and reduce stress. If you’re worried about killing your plant babies, try out some of these low-maintenance options. (Pet owners, be sure to check that you don’t get plants that are poisonous to your cat or dog!)

At the end of the day, I believe that you should listen to your own intuition and inner guidance when it comes to design decisions about your home. But if you’ve found yourself drawn to any of these ideas, then by all means, enjoy going green!

Cheers,

Joanie

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Now that you know some of the benefits of the color green, here are 3 easy ways to incorporate it into your home:

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