3 minute read
Home & Garden
The best colour to paint your WFH office
Despite the most popular office wall colour being white, it might not be the best colour for your WorkFrom-Home (WFH) office according to Stelrad. com. The company teamed up with psychologist and wellbeing consultant, Lee Chambers MSc MBPsS, to analyse how varying hues can influence everything from our mood to physical wellbeing.
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- Yellow is great if you have a creative job. An interesting feature of yellow backgrounds is that they increase information retention, which is helpful for highlighting key learnings and important information. - Blue is a great colour for productivity and also promotes calm concentration and emotional balance.
However, too much blue can leave you a little too relaxed, so consider adding some warm colour accents. - Green is the colour of nature and it causes less eye fatigue, which helps longer-term focus and attention.
It is calming in a similar way to blue, but research shows that it produces less benefit for productivity, but a higher increase in wellbeing. - Red is a powerful, vibrant colour, and is very situational in its use for productivity gains. Studies have found the emotive and passion fire of red raises blood flow and heart rate. This is great for physical tasks but for a home office can become overstimulating, causing us to lose focus and concentration.
Chambers says we should not only consider colours in OUR eyeline, but what others will see in our background when video calling. He said: “Purple is seen as noble and luxurious, peach is seen as happy and welcoming, while pink is indulgent and warming.”
Get your autumn clean on
Forget the spring clean, the new trend is the autumn clean to get your home ready for the shorter, cooler days. Home and organisation expert, Kathryn Hall from Kath & Kin, has seven tips for getting started:
1. Coughs & colds: Check your medicine cabinet and throw out any out-of-date items and stock up on those medicine cupboard must-haves!
2. Winter food shop: Make room for hearty stews and home-made pies by making sure your pantry is full of stock cubes, baking essentials and pastries.
3. Kitchen cupboards: Empty the cupboards and give them a good clean - pop your summer essentials (ice pop makers) to the back and bring your winter ones to the front.
4. Winter warmers: Change over to your warm cosy winter bedding and blankets. Wash, dry and vacuum pack your summer bedding away.
5. Wardrobe refresh: Give your wardrobe a clean before packing up your summer clothes and getting your winter jumpers and cosies washed and ready.
6. Xmas clear out: Clear out the kids' bedrooms so you're ready for Santa! Make three piles; keep, bin and donate.
7. Doors and windows: Nobody wants to be
What your garage door colour says about you
White
You’re organised and adopt a ‘tidy desk, tidy mind’ mindset, preferring to clean and tidy than potter in the garden. Self-care is important & you love a cuppa and good book to digest.
Black/Brown
You enjoy the finer things in life – good food, good company and great holidays. You like to keep things in order – from your finances to your social life.
Wood/natural
You’re warm-hearted, intelligent and reliable. You enjoy the great outdoors and that includes your garden, preferring a quieter life than the party scene.
Purple
You’re outgoing and social and your hospitable nature means you’re got a large social circle, but your natural empathy means that you’re sometimes overwhelmed.
Blue
You’re cool, calm & relaxed and put loyalty and friendship above all else. Your home is important to you and you prefer peaceful surroundings.
Grey/Silver
You’re trendy, sophisticated and like to keep up with the Joneses. You take pride in your appearance – and your home is your sanctuary, minus the clutter.
Green
You’re ambitious and are likely to only trust close friends and family. Great with money and a lover of the outdoors, you’re a traditionalist who enjoys schedules.
