TL;DR
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An article in Veranda examines how artwork at home may influence mood, drawing on comments from art historian Susie Hodge and decorator Cameron Jones. They say color and visual qualities can contribute to feelings such as calm or energy, but personal memories and preferences mean no artwork produces the same response in everyone.
A report published by Veranda examines how artwork at home may shape people’s emotions, with art historian and author Susie Hodge and decorator Cameron Jones describing possible links between visual qualities, personal associations and mood. Their central qualification is that reactions to art are individual, not universal, so a color or image that feels calming to one person may affect another differently.
Hodge, author of How Art Can Change Your Life, says that viewing art a person finds pleasing can produce a dopamine response. She compares the euphoric emotions people may feel when they particularly like a work with feelings associated with love. The report presents this as Hodge’s explanation; it does not provide a study or measurements establishing how frequently or strongly viewers experience that response.
Jones says she asks clients how they want a room to feel before helping them choose art and other design elements. In her account, greens, blues and neutral shades may suit a bedroom intended to feel restful, while yellow could add energy to a breakfast room. Orange and red may be used in social spaces to create a more lively impression. She also notes that art can add color without requiring a bold wall treatment.
The report describes shape and composition as further considerations. Jones says her clients tend to feel calmer around abstract art with rounded forms and softer lines. Hodge similarly associates smooth lines, circles, softer colors and horizontal emphasis with calm, while saying sharp angles, jagged lines and bold patterns may feel energizing or unsettling. These are described as tendencies, not reliable rules for predicting an individual viewer’s response.
Choosing Art for Everyday Rooms
Artwork is part of the environment people encounter repeatedly at home, and the experts interviewed suggest it can contribute to how a space feels. That makes the report relevant to readers making decorating decisions: a painting may be chosen not only to match furniture, but also for the memories, associations or atmosphere it brings to a room.
The practical implication is personal rather than prescriptive. Someone hoping for a quieter bedroom might prefer softer colors or forms, while another person may find a vivid work comforting or joyful. The article does not show that selecting art by a particular color or style will produce a predictable psychological benefit. Its emphasis is on paying attention to one’s own response and using art as one part of a room’s design.
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Color, Form and Personal Memory
The Veranda report uses examples from artists to illustrate how color has been discussed as an expressive tool. Hodge says Agnes Martin sought to replace stressful feelings with calm, positive thoughts and points to Martin’s blue painting Night Sea, held by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. She also cites Henri Matisse’s belief that colors could affect viewers, including his remark that “a certain blue enters your soul.” These examples describe artists’ intentions and views; they do not establish a uniform effect on audiences.
Hodge also discusses Mark Rothko, who said he wanted to express basic human emotions and observed that some viewers cried in front of his paintings. The report contrasts such responses with the personal associations viewers bring to art: a familiar image may delight one person and prompt an uncomfortable memory for someone else. It also invokes Andy Warhol’s Campbell’s soup imagery as an example of inspiration drawn from an everyday object, rather than offering a psychological finding.
“When we see art that we find pleasing, it gives us a dopamine rush.”
— Susie Hodge, art historian, artist and author of How Art Can Change Your Life
Individual Responses Remain Unpredictable
The report does not specify the date it was published or cite research methods, sample sizes or clinical evidence for its claims about emotional effects. It also does not establish that particular colors or shapes reliably change mood, or that art can treat mental-health conditions. Hodge’s discussion of dopamine and the artists’ intentions are attributed observations and interpretations, not proof of a guaranteed response.
Personal preference, memories and the setting may all affect how a person responds, according to the experts interviewed. The report does not quantify those influences or compare responses across viewers. Readers should treat its color and composition suggestions as design guidance rather than scientific predictions.
How Readers Can Apply the Advice
The source describes no upcoming study, policy decision or follow-up announcement. Its practical takeaway is to consider how a person wants a room to feel and notice which works prompt that response. Readers can use color and form as starting points, while remembering that their own associations may matter more than general design conventions.
Any broader scientific conclusion would require evidence beyond the expert comments in the report, including clearly described research on viewers’ responses. Until then, the article’s advice remains a set of attributed observations about a subjective experience.
Key Questions
Can artwork affect how a person feels at home?
Hodge and Jones say artwork may contribute to a room’s emotional atmosphere. The report also stresses that responses vary and does not establish a guaranteed effect.
Which colors are described as calming?
Jones suggests greens, blues and cream, white or taupe shades for a restful bedroom. These are design suggestions, not universal rules.
What kinds of art may feel calming?
Jones says some clients feel calmer around abstract works with rounded shapes and soft lines. Hodge also associates smooth lines and softer colors with calm, while noting that reactions differ.
Does the report show that art can treat mental-health conditions?
No. It discusses possible emotional responses and artists’ intentions but provides no evidence that artwork treats mental-health conditions.
Source: veranda.com
