So what should I do with all these walls? (And cabinets. And clutter. And my bedroom. And ...)

How do I make my bedroom more relaxing? What's the best 'signature scent' for a house? (What?) Are you sure boxes of comic books and report cards from my childhood count as 'clutter'?

Science has some answers on how to make your living space look like you belong in a fancy magazine.

I want my home to look awesome. What should I know?

If you're home is a little cramped, it's helpful to use “optical design illusions”: If you paint the walls, trim and ceiling the same color, it makes the room feel bigger. So do reflective surfaces (mirrors, glossy finishes, shiny tile) that bounce around light. Furniture with visible legs make a room feel more open and, paradoxically, a sofa or chair that isn't pushed against the wall makes a space feel more expansive.

When it comes to decorating, pay attention to 'layering' your lighting: Instead of relying on a single overhead fixture, designers aim for at least four light sources, which creates a sense of depth and multiple focal points. (One study found that six light sources, each aimed in a different direction, convinced people that a room was 20% larger.)

In your bedroom, for instance, keep the overhead light fixture — but then add lights on either side of the bed that aim up and down, and another across the room at eye level. Voila: the room feels elevated and cozy. The color of the light also matters: cool-white lightbulbs suppress melatonin, while warmer bulbs help you fade into sleep.

Finally, think about scents: Research shows a room's smell dramatically affects how large it feels. Fresh, light scents (citrus, pine) make spaces feel open; heavy scents make the walls press in. Hotels have exploited this for decades. (And hospitals often smell like vanilla because Memorial Sloan Kettering found it reduced patient anxiety by 63% during MRI scans.)

All that said, the best scent for sleeping, it turns out, is something infused with the smell of your romantic partner. So grab their old t-shirt before getting in bed.

Okay, but I've got all this clutter! How do I get rid of all this stuff?

Clutter is in the eye of the beholder (why would I toss this broken mug I once loved in college?). But the costs are real: A UCLA study found that the more cluttered a home, the higher the cortisol levels of the people living there. (This effect was particularly strong among women, and weaker in men, which is why he keeps taking that mug out of the trash.)

Clutter accumulates because we're prone to the "endowment effect": once we own something, we irrational overvalue it. And we often fall prey to the "just in case illusion" — studies show we overestimate how often we'll use an item in the future while, in reality, most things kept for this reason are never touched again.

One solution is changing your mindset. Instead of asking yourself a guilt-filled question like "what can I get rid of?" (if I throw away this 12-year-old lump of clay, do I really love my children?) instead ask "what do I enjoy enough to keep?"

And then, there's the 'container method': Choose a box or a shelf, fill it with your kid's artwork or vacation souvenirs, and toss anything that doesn't fit. Easy peasy. (Another favorite is the 'would you clean poop off this item to keep it?' test, which is surprisingly effective.)

Let's talk about my office. What interior design tricks will make me more productive, successful and wealthy?

That's kind of a high bar, but there's some stuff that will help you get your work done. First, put your desk as close to a window as possible. Studies show workers with access to natural light experience less daytime sleepiness, higher alertness and more creative problem solving.

Also, temperature matters more than you realize. A meta-analysis of 35 studies found that temperatures above 77° Fahrenheit, after just an hour, consistently make us slower, and hurt accuracy on cognitively demanding tasks. Another study found that women tend to perform better on verbal and math tasks at higher temperatures, while men perform better in cooler environments.

Last of all, personalize your work space. When the University of Exeter ran experiments comparing "minimalist" offices with "enriched" spaces (filled with plants and artwork), they found people in enriched offices were 17% more productive. But the biggest productivity boost was among workers who were free to design their spaces however they liked: That autonomy made them 32% more productive, with no increase in errors. (There were, however, an increase in disturbing bobble heads on desks.)

Finally, if you are looking for cool stuff to put on your own desk, I have one recommendation: The 2026 Japanese Stationary Store Awards. (My favorite is the Sonic Digitox Smartphone Time Lock Case.)

What's your favorite piece of furniture? How did you buy your last piece of art? Let us know in the comments!

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