Le decor

Home decor for the winter doldrums

By Garrett Faulkner

January 2010

Feeling a little down this winter? Consider the factors: a subzero January climate, stingy daylight hours and a bleak realization that holiday warmth and magic passes swiftly after the party hats, kazoos and 2010 glasses stuffed in the trash. It seems almost (yawn) like it’s your lot to feel like curling up and hibernating until April.
 
Sound familiar? Unless you hail from Palm Beach, it probably does. The American Academy of Family Physicians reports six out of every 100 Americans suffer each winter from seasonal affective disorder (SAD), a recent medical coinage explaining the blues many feel come late autumn, when the weather takes a turn for the worse. Severe sufferers can experience depression-like symptoms — lethargy, extreme introversion, difficulty concentrating — throughout the winter.
 
SAD’s cause is a matter of debate for psychologists and clinicians, but they seem to agree the disorder stems from a dearth of natural light. Those living in high northern latitudes, where days are especially short, seem particularly affected — in Finland, SAD reportedly affects as much as 10 percent of the population.
 
But if you’re feeling blue and cooped up this winter, why not turn your hibernation cave into something a little more hospitable? It starts with how you light and decorate your home.
 
“Small changes can make a big difference,” says Tracy Morris, an interior designer who ran her company on Georgetown’s Wisconsin Avenue for nearly five years (she recently moved her office to Bethesda). She says minor adjustments to a room’s lighting can noticeably improve its depth and warmth.
 
Morris advises moving a chair next to a window to catch some sunlight at the right time of day. If this isn’t feasible, she says the tried-and-true incandescent light bulb is the next best thing. Cheaper than halogen bulbs, ordinary incandescent lighting is warm and yellow, unlike the chilly warehouse light produced by fluorescent bulbs.
 
Boxy, contemporary furniture, hip as it may be, can appear drab and colorless in the low light of January. Morris suggests furnishings with an organic component.
 
“Bring the outdoors into your home,” she says, pointing out that raffia and other wooden furniture is becoming increasingly popular and adds a lifelike element to the décor. Empty coffee or end table? Throw a few moss balls into a silver or glass bowl for an understated yet quaint decoration that’s as inexpensive as it is chic. Potted flowers and plants also make handsome additions.
 
“Try an orchid or tall ficus tree,” says Morris. “Something you can put in your home that has some greenery and makes you feel like there is life other than what’s not growing outside.”
 
Color scheme also dictates a room’s overall feel. Morris recommends neutral — brown and beige work best — and warm spectrum colors like reds and yellows. Not up for hauling out the paint rollers? Try hanging a landscape painting or two with a warm palette. Then light a fire, curl up and forget about shoveling that driveway.
 
After all, that which is cold soon melts away.

For further design tips, contact Tracy Morris at 202-486-6209 or tracy@tracymorrisdesign.com.