Design
What Is Lemonading? (+ How To Do It In Your Home)
Photography by Alex Lukey (left)/Donna Griffith (right)
Design
What Is Lemonading? (+ How To Do It In Your Home)
Turn lemons into lemonade… with your decor?
Your surroundings can have a profound impact on your well-being. This rings especially true for your home, a place meant for recharging, reinvigoration, and coziness.
To make your space—and yourself—feel even better, consider implementing a new strategy. Coined by psychologists as “lemonading,” it's inspired by the classic phrase “turn lemons into lemonade.” Rather than turning to the eternal optimist's somewhat unrealistic outlook of “everything will work itself out,” lemonading is about finding a solution to a problem that will serve you better in the long run.
Authors of the study challenge us to “creatively imagine and pursue positive possibilities to cultivate adaptive, enjoyable experiences while maintaining a clear-eyed realism about challenges.”
How to use lemonading in your home
So, how does this philosophy translate to interior design?
First, you can use it to get ahead of potential home issues. If you’ve noticed that a faucet isn’t working properly, for example, call a plumber rather than ignoring it. Or if your front steps are feeling a bit creaky, consider getting them fixed instead of telling yourself that it’s nothing.
On the other end of the spectrum, use lemonading to bring more joy into your decor. Bring in elements that make you feel happy, whether that’s colour, texture, or light.
Here are our top tips for making your home feel more joyful.
1. Colour and pattern
Photos by Janis Nicolay (left)/Donna Griffith (right)
Scientifically speaking, colours have a direct correlation to mood and emotions. Warm colours like red and yellow can evoke energy and happiness, while cooler blues and greens can feel more relaxing.
Choose a palette that speaks to the feeling you want from your home (or even specific rooms in your home), be it a soothing haven or creativity-fueled oasis.
2. Light
Photo by Patrick Biller (left)/Eymeric Widling (right)
In the same vein, light is a necessary consideration. Adjust the lighting in your home to suit your needs, from bright kitchen pot lights and hanging lights to cozy low-level glows in the living room.
3. Functionality
Photo by Phil Crozier (left)/Lauren Miller (right)
Lemonading is all about action-oriented solutions that bring you greater joy. In other words, your home needs to actually work. If open shelving is too onerous to dust and keep tidy, go for closed cupboards or swap out your trinkets for larger decor. Or, if you’re a big entertainer, make sure you have a functional space for hosting inside or out.
4. Invite in plants and nature
Photo by Alex Lukey (left)/Angus McRitchie (right)
Lastly, welcome healing nature into your home. Plants are not only beautiful decor, they have plenty of health benefits, including improving air quality, boosting serotonin, and reducing stress.
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