When it comes to interior design trends that we're going to be seeing in 2022, then this year's Pinterest Predicts Report has labelled “emotional escape rooms” as being one of the hottest trends. The idea here is to have a highly curated but relaxing space in your own home that allows you to decompress. This can be, for instance, after a stressful day at work or any sort of emotional experience. In fact, we should point out that each emotional escape roomI is tailor-made and unique for its own particular owner.

The actual type of room can manifest itself in any number of ways. For example, for some people it can be more relaxing having a mini library or structuring the room to form meditation circles. Others may prefer something more light and bright, similar to a painter’s studio. That's because everyone relieves their own stress differently. Looking at Google searches for “inspirational designs”, we find that all age groups are interested in having their own private space at home. When we do a deep dive into the actual search terms you get from using Google Trends, we can see that there are four main terms for emotional escape room inspiration. These are; music theme rooms, crystal rooms, tiny library rooms and home massage rooms.

A Stressful Year

After over a year of extreme stress, mainly thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic, we can see that more and more people are looking for emotional escape rooms as a means of improving their mental health. A number of organisational psychologists have suggested that by establishing a space for individuals to create their own activities, as opposed to having to be productive, means a person is able to self- improve mental health. To that end, it does sound like a good idea to create a personalised space within your own home. This can provide the benefits of somewhere to unwind, relax and improve your mental wellbeing. In fact, personal curated spaces have been shown to have a mood boosting effect on those who incorporate spending some time within, at various points throughout the day.

Keep in mind that to create an emotional escape room you don't need to build something new. There’s no need to really spend any money either. When it comes to the specific room design, the changes can be quite minimal. It doesn't matter if it's a bedroom, a living room or even a closet. Just somewhere you can put your feet up and relax without the worry of being disturbed.

Create Space

Part of the process of clearing your mind involves making a new space by reclaiming an area of your home that may already be cluttered. Many people have all sorts of things lying around that they haven't used for at least 6 months. As a general rule, this is a good time to set a limit on your possessions, that after a certain time of non-utility, you should then give them away. By doing so, you'll be clearing your mind of clutter at the same time. This of itself will have instant mental benefits. What you’re really doing is trying to start with a totally clean slate. When you get to that point, then you'll see that the possibilities of creating an emotional escape room will become virtually limitless. It's a good idea to incorporate storage into the room where it won't interfere with the overall appeal of the existing interior. Simply by dint of tidying things away, you'll find that your mood will improve considerably.

Utilise A Relaxing Colour Scheme

When it comes to planning out your emotional escape room, you'll find that the colours you choose will have the power to make or break the functionality of the room itself. The thing about good use of colour is that it can be used to bring out the best emotions in you. By doing this, it will uplift your mood and also can give the physical  illusion of being a larger space. In contrast, negative use of colour can only serve to encourage anxiety, as well as break the balance of your home by optically shrinking the room size.

A quick Google search will help you to learn about colour psychology and colour theory. Knowledge that’s needed in order to make the right decisions when creating your emotional escape room. Today you'll find many of the trendiest colours, including sage green and light blue, are able to invoke feelings of tranquillity. Keep in mind that you are designing an escape room to allow you to focus on relaxation. With this point in mind, examine some of the emotional colour charts available before you dive in

On the other hand, you may be the type of person who's wanting to create a room that will make you feel more upbeat and energised. The most common colours associated with friendliness and happiness are a bright orange and radiant yellow. Once the walls are painted, then be equally careful to select the fabric choices you're going to use and ensure that they complement the walls. If you look at the emotional colour wheel chart, you'll see that colours that are across from each other on the wheel will add intensity to the room. Whereas colours that are analogous, and next to each other on the colour wheel, will be more aesthetically pleasing and thus have a greater calming effect.

Decorate With Purpose 

For some people, simply having an empty space with the walls painted in relaxing colours would be enough. Yet for others, their emotional escape room may need some accessories in order to feel complete. Only you will know what it is that makes you feel relaxed when you're in your personal emotional escape room space. Keep in mind that the idea here is to be able to escape from any negative thoughts and worries. To that end, it's important you don't add anything to the room that might be visually irritating or out of place, as this will leave you feeling subconsciously nervous. In the same way that Feng Shui Was incredibly popular a couple of decades ago, today's interior designer trends tend to be centred around the idea of self-care. As such, every decision made in relation to the formation of your emotional escape room should be seen through the lens of revitalising both your mind and body. 

So strong is this trend of creating a personal space that it will actually pique the interest of buyers should it become necessary to sell your property. You might imagine that having a personal escape room space is not something that's going to appeal to other people. Afterall, they have different tastes, wants and needs. But in this you'd be wrong. The Zillows 2022 Home Trends Survey, showed that a house with a personal space dedicated to relaxation will add up to 2.2% more on the initial selling price. With house prices being so high right now, we imagine that the buyer of any house with emotional escape room will certainly be using it, as they consider their stressful financial situation!