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An article in Veranda reports that art at home can affect mood through color, shape and personal associations, according to art historian Susie Hodge and decorator Cameron Jones. Their comments describe possible emotional responses, not universal effects: the same artwork may soothe one person and unsettle another.
A report by Veranda examines how artwork in the home may influence people’s emotions, drawing on comments from art historian Susie Hodge and interior decorator Cameron Jones. They describe color, shapes and personal memories as factors that can contribute to feelings such as calm, joy or anxiety, while stressing that responses to art are individual.
Hodge, the author of How Art Can Change Your Life, says viewing art that someone finds pleasing can produce a dopamine response. She compares the associated euphoria to the feelings some people experience when looking at someone they love. The report presents this as Hodge’s explanation, not as a measured result applying to every viewer or artwork.
Jones says she asks clients how they want a room to feel before helping choose its design. In her account, greens, blues and muted neutrals may suit a bedroom intended to feel peaceful, while yellow can add energy to a breakfast room. Reds and oranges may suit a social dining space. Artwork can introduce a chosen color without requiring a bold change to walls or other furnishings.
The experts also discuss form. Jones says her clients tend to feel calmer around abstract art with rounded shapes and softer lines. Hodge describes soft colors, smooth lines, circles and horizontal emphasis as qualities that may feel peaceful, while sharper angles, jagged lines and bold patterns can feel energizing or unsettling. Neither expert presents those reactions as universal rules.
Choosing Art for Everyday Moods
Because people spend time in the rooms they furnish, artwork can be part of how they shape the atmosphere of their homes. The report suggests that people choosing art may want to think about the mood they hope to create, rather than selecting a piece only to match a room’s palette. A picture with a small amount of color, for example, can add visual energy to otherwise neutral furnishings.
The advice is not a guarantee that a particular color or style will produce a specific emotional effect. The practical point is more personal: notice how a work makes you feel and how that response fits the room. Art that brings up a valued memory for one person could have a different meaning for someone else, so the person living with the work is central to the choice.
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Color, Form and Personal Memory
The report uses well-known artists to illustrate how artists have thought about color and emotional response. Hodge says Agnes Martin sought to replace stressful feelings with calm, positive thoughts; the article describes Martin’s blue painting Night Sea, held by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, as intended to create an uplifting response. The work’s intended effect does not establish that all viewers experience it in the same way.
Hodge also cites Henri Matisse’s belief in color’s effects, including his remark that “a certain blue enters your soul” and “a certain red has an effect on your blood pressure.” She describes Mark Rothko as an artist who aimed to express basic human emotions and says some viewers cried when confronting his paintings. These examples underline the report’s distinction between artistic intention and individual response.
Personal associations can change how a piece is received, Hodge says. A painting that delights one viewer might remind another of an unpleasant experience. Jones similarly describes art interpretation as personal, shaped by memories and imagination. The report also mentions Andy Warhol’s Campbell’s soup imagery as an example of finding inspiration in an everyday subject; Hodge says Warhol depicted the soup he ate regularly.
““When we see art that we find pleasing, it gives us a dopamine rush.””
— Susie Hodge, art historian and author
Why Reactions Differ by Viewer
The report does not establish that particular colors, shapes or artworks reliably produce the same emotional response in everyone. The observations are attributed to Hodge and Jones and include Hodge’s interpretation of artists’ intentions and Jones’s experiences with clients. It supplies no study design, sample size or measurements that would allow readers to assess how broadly those patterns apply.
It also remains a matter of individual interpretation whether a piece feels calming, joyful, inspiring or uncomfortable. Prior memories and associations may outweigh a work’s color or composition. The supplied report does not quantify how long any emotional response lasts or whether art has a lasting effect on well-being.
Applying the Advice at Home
The report offers no upcoming research or policy milestone. Its immediate takeaway is to use personal response as a guide: consider the intended mood of a room, look at how a piece’s color and form feel to you, and account for the memories it brings up. A piece need not follow a fixed color rule to belong in a home.
Readers seeking evidence beyond the expert observations would need research that measures how different people respond to art across settings and over time. Until such evidence is supplied, the article’s recommendations are best understood as design guidance, not a prescription or a clinical claim.
Key Questions
Can art in a home affect how someone feels?
Hodge and Jones say artwork may contribute to feelings such as calm, joy, energy or anxiety. The report also stresses that individual reactions vary and does not claim that a particular work will affect everyone in the same way.
Which art qualities may feel calming?
Jones says some clients feel calmer around abstract art with rounded shapes and softer lines. Hodge also associates soft colors, smooth lines, circles and horizontal emphasis with a peaceful impression. These are observations, not universal rules.
Should I choose artwork based on room color?
The experts suggest thinking about how you want a room to feel. Jones says artwork can add a measured amount of color without changing the walls, but the report does not say that matching a specific color guarantees a particular mood.
Why might two people react differently to the same painting?
Hodge says viewers bring their own experiences to what they see. Memories and personal associations can shape interpretation, meaning a painting that feels pleasing to one person may be uncomfortable for another.
Source: veranda.com
