Do you come home after a long day at work or school and jump directly onto your sofa? Do you enjoy that feeling of being at home? Does a serene home make you feel more relaxed? Most probably the answer to these questions is in affirmative. Coming back to a serene home always has a positive impact on your mood. It makes you feel excited to be back home to a relaxed space.
Graana.com brings you several ways to make your home a serene and peaceful place.
Organise and Declutter
The first step towards creating a relaxing space is to organise it. If you are a follower of KonMari method, you’ll already know the benefits of organising your home. But if you’re not, you would agree that clutter creates unnecessary chaos. Even if the clutter does not bother you, it is more certainly going to reduce your effectiveness. You really don’t want to spend 30 minutes in finding the car keys, only to realise they were under the unkempt puddle of clothes.
Marie Flanigan, Houston-based designer, says “Few things create mental unrest like clutter … spend time cleaning out unused items for donation, and invest in appealing organisational tools like woven baskets, oversize clear jars, and drawer inserts.”
Engage the Senses
The best way to create a calm space is to take into account the principle of Feng Shui. This principle basically states that a living space should be in harmony with the natural world and for this purpose should employ the senses of touch, smell and sight etc. When a place is decorated using sensory elements, positive energy will flow into the room.
Jennifer Bunsa, founder of Bunsa Studio in Miami, highlights the importance of sensory balance in the following words, “I would argue that texture always helps to create a richer experience of a space–and I think it particularly helps create a relaxing space because it engages our sense of touch and requires our brains to slow down and engage at the scale of the fingertip…the more you can engage the senses, the more you will impact mood.”
Strike a Balance
Always be on the lookout for striking a balance between elements like patterns, colours, lights etc in your living space. A place that is in complete harmony is most likely to be serene. For this purpose, look deeper into your mind and analyse the kind of person that you are. Are you a minimalist? Are you a proponent of glitz and glam? When you have identified your personal style, try to create balance within that preferred choice of decor.
A New York based designer, Clodagh, elaborates this using these words, “You have to filter out stale ideas that your mother or aunt gave you about how you should live, or what you should have in your space…does it have to do with you or not?”
Then try to create a perfect balance. If you enjoy a dark statement wall in one space, try to opt for lighter furniture to balance it. Similarly, if you want a bold sofa set, opt for a neutral colour scheme for the rest of the decor pieces to create that calm feeling and let that one piece be the highlight.
Play with Paint Colour
The choice of colour can significantly impact the way you feel. Different people may have different preferences for the colour of paint in their house. Some enjoy a crisp white colour because they want that clean look while others may be into the retro-styled houses with bold statement pieces. Presently, painting walls dark and moody colours like deep green or deep blue are also trending. It totally depends on an individual’s preference but it is essential to put some thought into the choice of paint that resonates with a person’s personal style.
Go Minimalist
The easiest way to create a calm and relaxed space is to opt for minimalist style. While this may not be everyone’s cup of tea and most definitely, this is not the only way to achieve a serene home, but it can help you achieve your goal. A minimalist styled home is easy to maintain which means it is organised and decluttered.
Minimalism does not mean that you have to let go of every piece of furniture or ornament in your place. It certainly does not mean that you have to live on the bare minimum with just a chair and table. What it really means is that every piece in your space should have value-addition to the quality of your life. Some pieces may be functional like a sofa while other pieces may have sentimental value like a decorative piece given to you by your mother for your first house. Simply, only keep pieces that bring you joy or serve some purpose. Let go of all redundant pieces.
