Beat the January Blues With This Dopamine Menu for Home Lovers – Small Daily Actions to Bring Joy and Stimulate Wellbeing

It’s not uncommon to kick off the New Year already feeling depleted from a month full of festivities, but January offers up an invitation to make, do, and change things around our home, and a dopamine menu might be just what you need to fend off the blues.

A dopamine menu isn’t another to-do list. Think of it as helpful encouragement to find home-based rituals and activities to enjoy on your own, or with loved ones. You can find loads of inspiration from some of our favorite tastemakers in our My Ritual series, about what brings them joy and keeps them grounded.

The phrase ‘dopamine menu’ first took off in 2020, when Jessica McCabe posted a video on YouTube explaining how dopamine menus (‘dopamenus’) offer stimulation and rewards for those with ADHD.

Fast-forward six years, and the now-viral dopamine menu concept has been adopted by people the world over looking to boost productivity, motivate their workouts, and even level up their cleaning routine – check out our weekend cleaning dopamine menu.

A dopamine menu for the home is fun and easy to create since the activities align with a restaurant menu. Think quick-and-easy appetizers (for short bursts of energy), entrées (longer, more-involved projects), sides (activities to keep you motivated as you tackle must-dos), and desserts (delightful, but occasional treats). You can also expand your menu to include amuse-bouches (simple activities to help you reset in minutes) and specials (such as big and exciting projects to look forward to or save up for).

We chatted to interior designers and experts about their favorite ways to create a home-lover’s dopamine menu to inspire, soothe, and energize for the year ahead.

Amuse-Bouches

Think of these as bite-sized, mood-boosting ways to kick things off, that are quick and easy to achieve.

Get Tactile

Did you know stroking a comforting texture can trigger a dopamine release? Sarah Abdallah, founder and principal designer at New York interior architecture and design firm, Functional Creative Design, advises introducing a single, soft texture, like a plush towel or a gentle throw, for an instantaneous mood boost.

‘One tactile enhancement changes the mood without adding clutter,’ she says. ‘A soft cashmere throw, a gentle palette, and a relaxed sofa create an inviting spot for this small but uplifting ritual. It’s a simple sensory pause that brings warmth, connection, and an effortless hit of feel-good dopamine.’

Make the Bed

This might sound like a given, but if you feel the January gloom encroaching, the best way to beat it is by doing something physical, suggests Rebecca West, designer, design psychology coach, and author of Happy Starts at Home.

‘Changing your environment or tackling a small task creates a ripple effect: you see change, you feel change, and suddenly, you’re back in control,’ she says.

Making the bed each day is a good start. ‘Tiny chore, huge mental payoff. Even if it means another deadline has to wait a minute, I find that taking time for home care really can be a form of self-care,’ West says.

Making the bed, including adding a lovely throw and some scatter pillows, is a small and achievable action that will instantly uplift the room and give you some encouragement to take on bigger tasks.

Appetizers

These are activities that involve an element of creativity and bring a joyful burst of energy to you and your space.

Rearrange Your Art

Designer and author of Joyful: The Surprising Power of Ordinary Things to Create Extraordinary Happiness , Ingrid Fetell Lee, likes incorporating the idea of New Year renewal into the home. She recommends creating a sense of movement and change by moving objects around, shifting artworks to new rooms and locations within the home.

‘We often think that we put a piece of art in a place and that’s where it’s supposed to live, but switching art around is a free way to make things feel fresh,’ she explains.

Curate a Reset Tray

In just 10 minutes a day, you can start to enjoy mindful rituals at home – which happen to be aesthetically powerful, too, according to Sarah Abdallah.

As someone ‘passionate about the restorative power of small domestic rituals,’ Sarah will use a small surface to curate a pared-back vignette, using only a single functional item and a single beautiful one, which acts as ‘a visual exhale,’ she says.

Sarah is also a fan of the 10-minute ‘romanticise your life, reset tray,’ pairing a small, functional tray (like these IKEA SMÖRLING serving trays) with an elegant Mikasa Fine Bone China cup.

‘Add a few handmade sugar cookies and take 10 minutes to sip, breathe, and reconnect. It’s a simple practice that makes ordinary life feel quietly luxurious.’

Switch Up Cushion Covers

Bailey Baxter, Principal at San Diego-based Bailey Baxter Interiors, swears by swapping throw pillow covers to change the mood of a space in an instant.

‘Pillows in plum, ochre, dusty blue, or muted olive can completely shift the atmosphere of a room and make it feel new again without any major effort,’ she says.

‘For clients who want a quick mood boost but still prefer a calm, collected space, I like to introduce a single unexpected pattern. The goal isn’t maximalism, it’s giving the eye something interesting to land on. That little whisper of pattern creates an instant lift,’ Baxter says.

Studio Anansi at CB2’s Arabella Sand and Black Velvet Throw Pillow Cover in go-with-everything neutrals offers texture and an abstract print to breathe new life into sofas and chairs.

Cook a Cozy Meal

Scruffy hospitality is the way to host in 2026: think spontaneous, unpretentious gatherings with friends and loved ones. Just add comfort food like cozy slow-cooker batch cooking recipes, or wholesome and nutritious soups, and any cold night feels a little warmer.

‘I love a cozy, indulgent meal in the winter. We will often make lasagne with a big arugula salad when we have friends over. Cap it off with some delicious red wine and a chocolate chip cookie,’ says Alex Kaehler, principal at Winnetka, Illinois-based, Alexandra Kaehler Design.

Entrées

The main part of your 'menu' is all about more substantial undertakings that require a little more of your time and focus.

Layer Your Lighting

'Swap cool bulbs for warmer tones and add one low-level lamp. Layered lighting creates a cocooning glow that instantly slows the pace,’ explains Sarah.

Ingrid Fetell Lee, combats the low light of winter by adding lights and ‘lighting candles – when you have breakfast, too, not just dinner.’

And designers Betsy Wentz and Sara Fisanick of Pittsburgh, PA-based Betsy Wentz Interior Design, suggest ‘swapping lamp locations, adding a warm bulb, or clustering two lamps together’ to ‘change the whole mood’ of a space.

Start Collecting

‘Half-day projects can be wonderfully restorative; they’re small enough to be manageable, yet transformative enough to shift a room’s experience,’ says Sarah Barnard of Sarah Barnard Design, who specializes in creating environments that support mental, physical, and emotional wellbeing.

If you have an existing collection of something – teapots, egg cups, gemstones – take an afternoon to touch, admire, clean, and reorganize.

‘Meaningful objects can have an extraordinary ability to lift the spirit. Rearranging an existing collection can make something familiar a renewed source of joy,’ says Sarah.

Or why not start something new for 2026? ‘I love bringing home small tokens of the magic of nature found on casual walkabouts. A dried leaf, an acorn, assorted seed pods, or pine cones all make for a charming countertop display in a simple bowl or saucer,’ adds Sarah.

Get Creative

Designer and Founder of NYC-based home decor label, Inner Child, Michelle Pham considers January her ‘season of crafting’. She makes cards and winter garlands using hand-marbled paper sheets (make your own mabled paper with a Marbling Kit from Amazon).

‘It’s very meditative, and it’s such a low-lift project that everyone in the family, regardless of age or ability, can join in.’

You could also use old offcuts of wallpaper to make paperchain garlands that bring a fresh decor look, as your clear away the festive decor.

Sides

The 'side dishes' are the additional but small activities that you can do alongside other tasks to keep you motivated and focused.

Bring Nature Inside

‘January is a great time to coax a little spring indoors,’ says Michelle, who encourages paperwhites and other spring bulbs to an early bloom. ‘I use this quieter stretch to think about what I’ll add to complement what I planted in the garden in the fall.’

One of Barnard’s favorite new year rituals also involves getting in tune with nature by re-potting houseplants. ‘Spending a few hours tending to leaves, soil, and roots can be restorative because giving our plants room to grow reminds us that we, too, have room to grow,’ she says.

Give some TLC to Busy Spaces

High-traffic areas like your kitchen island, bedside table, or entry console shouldn’t feel overcrowded or uninspiring. ‘These are the surfaces you interact with daily, and they deserve to feel beautiful too,’ says Bailey Baxter, who recommends adding a small piece of art, a candle, or a simple dish like Jonathan Adler’s porcelain Sorrento trinket tray. ‘This is a perfect project for anyone who wants a quick win with immediate payoff,’ she adds.

Desserts

There are the 'treat' activities that you can enjoy occasionally, indulge in a little, but not overdo.

Play a Game of Furniture Chess

The team at interior and architecture design studio Curious Yellow Design love a game of ‘furniture chess.’ Think ‘Tetris, but make it interior architecture.’

To play, simply ‘re-layout a room plan for flow only. No finishes. No opinions. Just circulation.’

The act of moving pieces around will give you a new outlook on your space and make it feel refreshed and uplifted for the New Year.

Hang Something Unexpected

If you’re tempted by a January refresh and need to declutter closets and drawers – but also require plenty of helpful motivation to do so – consider turning long-forgotten items into a new wall hanging by framing something unexpected.

‘Use a patterned scarf, vintage tea towel, or antique pieces,’ says Betsy Wentz. FramelessArtworks (Amazon) is a nifty scarf-hanging system that doesn’t involve glass, for a quick-and-easy way to try textiles-as-artwork.

‘Pick a single wall and transform it with a bold piece of art, a dramatic mirror, or a large-scale textile for instant impact,’ suggests Betsy.

Add a Lick of Paint

There’s nothing like a DIY project to feel creatively fulfilled (and physically spent).

According to Sarah Barnard, ‘color is one of our most accessible tools for expression,’ essential for breathing new life into well-loved furniture or updating a room without blowing the budget. ‘Never underestimate the transformation a fresh coat of paint can provide,’ she says.

Fancy trying something a little different? These designer-approved alternative colors for 2026 will give you lots of inspiration.

Your Dopamine Menu Must-Haves to Inspire, Soothe, and Energize

These home-themed dopamine menu ideas not only offer ways to boost your mood, they can liven up your home and help you find renewed appreciation for the objects you already own. Tempted to decorate with more color this year? Here are the color trends to try for 2026.