How the dopamine decor trend helped this influencer get up

It’s the feel-good interior design trend that’s lifting spirits across the country – and helping some people get out of bed in the morning.

When influencer specialist Emily Lawrence took a look at her dreary home office, she decided to spice it up with a fresh and colorful style.

Emily Lawrence took her boring home and found ways to breathe new life into it: through second-hand shops, arts and crafts. Image: Emily Lawrence/Ruggable

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Using her “Dopamine Decor,” she transformed her dull workspace into an exciting interior art project and gave her home a fresh look on a budget.

“Before adding pops of color to my space, I was sluggish in the mornings and took much longer to get out of bed,” she said. “Adding color to my space gave me a reason to be more creative, got me more excited about secondhand decor, and honestly gave me a whole new lease on life!”

Ms Lawrence moved into her apartment just before the Covid-19 pandemic began and struggled to adjust to her new space during lockdowns. She told carpet company Ruggable that she took inspiration from her parents’ antique collection from her childhood home and scoured local secondhand shops and Pinterest boards for new furniture to spruce up her new apartment.

Before Mrs Lawrence renovated her home during the Covid-19 pandemic … Image: Emily Lawrence/Ruggable

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And then, when she started to breathe new life into her apartment. Image: Emily Lawrence/Ruggable

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Her home is now filled with unique decorative items. Image: Emily Lawrence/Ruggable

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“I was sick of seeing beige, grey and Kmart-crammed homes online and I realized there was a way to create your own style on a budget,” she said. “Thrift stores allowed me to get creative while not adding more junk to the landfill. It opened so many doors for me and now I can participate in home decor trends in my own way.”

Now Ms Lawrence is going secondhand shopping with a group of friends in Prahran, Victoria, looking for new, unusual items that she can decorate with her own unique paint jobs.

“There are loads of things I’ve either made myself or repurposed, like my plant stands and frames, all of which I’ve hand-painted,” she said. “My colleagues have been delighted to see my Zoom background become more and more colorful over the years – I’ve always gotten compliments in meetings!”

She found many of the items in her house cheaply in nearby second-hand shops and then remodeled them herself at home. Image: Emily Lawrence/Ruggable

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Some of the things she found in second-hand shops are worth a lot today. Image: Emily Lawrence/Ruggable

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Lucy Sutherland, director of insights and trends at furniture retailer Temple and Webster, said she had recently seen a rise in people livening up their homes with new and exciting interiors.

“It’s a very personal thing and depends on what lifts a person’s mood,” she said, “whether it’s using bold colors and patterns or simply introducing tactile textures and curves into living spaces.”

Roger Wei, director of design and product development, says small additions like candles and towels can make a big difference in changing the mood of a room.

“In addition, lighting from floor and table lamps can add warmth and mood to a room,” he said.

If you want to do the same with your home, focus on the little details – lots of little things add up. Image: Emily Lawrence/Ruggable

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So how can you breathe some life into your home office with “dopamine decor”? It’s not enough to just check out your local thrift stores and keep an eye on Facebook Marketplace.

“Be open to new styles and ideas,” Ms. Lawrence said. “You never know what you might find.”