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An article in Veranda examines how artwork at home may affect mood, drawing on comments from art historian Susie Hodge and decorator Cameron Jones. They describe possible links between color, shape and emotional response, while stressing that reactions are personal and not universal.
A report by Veranda explores how art in the home may shape people’s emotions, with art historian and author Susie Hodge and decorator Cameron Jones describing ways color, form and personal associations can affect how a room feels. Their advice is not a universal formula: both emphasize that responses to art differ from person to person.
Hodge says viewing art that someone finds pleasing can produce a dopamine response. She compares the strong pleasure some people feel in front of a favorite work to euphoric feelings associated with love. The report presents this as Hodge’s explanation; it does not supply a study or measurements establishing how often or how strongly people experience such effects.
Jones says she asks clients how they want a room to feel before choosing art and other design elements. In a bedroom intended to feel restful, she suggests colors such as green, blue, cream, white and taupe. For a breakfast room meant to feel lively, a small amount of yellow in a painting or other artwork could add color without requiring a brightly painted wall. Red and orange may suit a social dining space for clients seeking a more energetic atmosphere, she says.
Shape and line also factor into the designers’ recommendations. Jones says clients often feel calmer around abstract works with rounded shapes and soft lines. Hodge describes soft colors, smooth lines, circles and horizontal compositions as qualities that can feel peaceful. By contrast, she says bold or jarring colors, sharp angles and jagged lines may energize one viewer but cause anxiety or anger in another.
Choosing Art for Everyday Moods
People spend much of their time in their homes, so artwork can contribute to how a space feels during ordinary routines, from getting ready in the morning to hosting guests. The experts’ suggestions give readers a way to think about art as more than a finishing touch: it can help create a visual atmosphere that matches the intended use of a room.
The report does not establish that a particular color or style will reliably change someone’s mood. Its practical point is more limited: consider how a work makes you feel, and use that response as one factor when selecting art for a room. A colorful piece can introduce energy or warmth in a neutral interior, while softer forms may suit someone seeking a quieter setting. Personal preference remains central.
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Personal Meaning Shapes the Response
The report stresses that the same artwork can prompt different reactions because viewers bring their own memories and experiences to it. Hodge notes that a painting one person enjoys may remind another of an unpleasant place or period in life. Jones describes this subjectivity as both a challenge and a defining quality of decorating with art.
Veranda also uses examples from art history to illustrate how artists have worked with color and emotion. Hodge says Agnes Martin intended her blue painting Night Sea to encourage calm and positive thought. She also recounts Henri Matisse’s belief that colors could affect viewers, including a statement that a particular blue could enter the soul and a red could affect blood pressure. These are attributed interpretations and remarks, not evidence in the report that the colors produce the same physical or emotional effects in everyone.
Hodge says Mark Rothko focused on expressing basic human emotions through layered fields of color and that some viewers cried in front of his paintings. The report’s examples show how artists and viewers have connected art with feeling, but do not establish a single, predictable response to any work.
“When we see art that we find pleasing, it gives us a dopamine rush.”
— Susie Hodge, art historian, writer and artist
No Universal Mood Formula
The report does not provide a controlled study, quantify the effects of viewing art at home, or show that a given color or shape causes a particular emotional response. Hodge and Jones offer expert perspectives and design observations, while the examples from artists’ lives and work illustrate possible meanings rather than universal outcomes.
It is also unclear how long any emotional effect may last or how it compares with other influences on mood, such as lighting, room function and personal circumstances. The source gives no publication date, and it does not identify new research or a forthcoming study tied to the report.
Use Personal Response as a Guide
The report offers no formal next milestone. For readers applying its advice, the practical next step is to notice their own reactions: whether a work feels calming, energizing, comforting or distracting, and whether that response suits the room. Jones’s approach is to begin with the mood a client wants from a space, then consider art and color choices that support it.
Those choices can remain flexible. A person can introduce color through a single artwork rather than repainting a room, or choose softer forms and lines when seeking a quieter feel. The experts’ comments support experimentation, not a prescription: the viewer’s own response is the clearest guide available in the report.
Key Questions
Can art at home affect how I feel?
Hodge and Jones say artwork can influence how a space feels and describe possible emotional responses to color and form. The report does not establish a uniform effect or quantify how strong or lasting it is.
Which art styles may feel calming?
Jones says clients often feel calmer around abstract art with rounded shapes and soft lines. Hodge also points to smooth lines, circles, horizontal compositions and softer colors, while emphasizing that people react differently.
What colors does the report associate with different moods?
Jones suggests green, blue, cream, white and taupe for a restful bedroom, and says yellow can add energy to a breakfast room. She mentions red and orange for a more lively dining space. These are design suggestions, not guaranteed effects.
Will the same painting make everyone feel the same way?
No. Hodge says viewers bring personal experiences and memories to art, so one person may find a work pleasing while another has a different or negative reaction.
Source: veranda.com
