Choose the Curvy One, Probably

When carpets, wallpapers, curtains, upholstery, throw pillows, and other interior design elements are being replaced, repaired, or reconsidered, you have choices to make.

If you’re selecting design options, some of those options are probably festooned with one visual pattern or another—maybe snowflakes or rectangles and hexagons or curving intertwined leaves or interlocked bubbles or something else entirely.

The research is clear about how the geometric elements in your selection will influence how you’ll feel as you look at it.

A key parameter of a pattern, at least to psychologists, is whether it’s relatively more curvy or rectilinear.

When we look at options that feature mainly curvy lines, we feel more relaxed and comfortable, and they bring pleasure, friendliness, and psychological warmth to mind. Looking at patterns/contours that are mainly rectilinear makes us think of efficiency, functionality, competence, and getting things done. As a result, hallways where you want people to walk along briskly should feature carpets covered with rectangles, triangles, hexagons, octagons, basically anything that requires lots of straight line segments. Spaces where people are going to mingle with friends or decompress and revitalize should have relatively more curvy lines/contours—in upholstery, carpets, you name it.

As we continue to live with pandemic related stress, patterns that place relatively more curving visual elements, in upholstery, on walls, or underfoot are likely timely choices. They’ll help keep stress levels in check and help viewers feel just a little bit more comfortable as they move forward with their lives.

“Relatively more” is a key phrase in the sentences above. A space that has patterns with only curved lines or furniture with only curvy contours seems alien, like a still from a children’s cartoon, while a space that has only straight lines in it seems like it’s from a high-tech horror movie. Even a space where people want to relax, for example, should have a few straight lines in some of the patterns. For instance, a laundry room (where I am assuming you want to feel that efficiency prevails) should have a few curvy lines in it somewhere—if the flooring is geometric and the forms of the cabinet doors and washer and dryer feature rectangular shapes, then the door handles on those cabinets should have graceful curves.

Using the insights scientists have gathered about how we feel in spaces that feature different sorts of lines—more curving or more straight ones—makes it more likely that your design decisions will help you and your guests feel good, now and for years to come.