Need Some Calm? 7 Ways to Make Your Home More Serene
As a working mom, it’s hard to grab time for yourself in the midst of meetings, after school activities and, well, life.
Replenish yourself by creating a place of peace at home where you can relax, read or simply kick back with a glass of well-deserved wine. From surrounding yourself with your favorite color to adding greens in every room, here are seven ideas to invite more tranquility into your home.
1. Consider color.
Color can have a huge impact on your experience of a space, but that doesn’t mean a room has to be neutral to be calming. Color is personal, so spend time getting to know how color (or a lack of it) affects you, and intentionally choose your home’s colors to create a tranquil feeling. For some, an all-white space would be the ultimate in calm and relaxation, while someone else may get that same calm, cool feeling in a rich mineral-green room.
2. Simplify the bedroom.
To encourage deep, replenishing rest, keep computer screens out of the bedroom and layer the bed in natural fibers, like crisp linen or cotton sheets and thick wool blankets. If you have overhead lighting, put the switches on dimmers so that you can turn down the lights before bed.
Photo by Nadja Endler Photography - Of all the rooms in a home, the bedroom is the most important to keep calm and simple.
3. Choose artwork that makes you feel peaceful.
Artwork, perhaps more than anything else we bring into our homes, can evoke a strong emotional response. If you want to cultivate a serene, peaceful mood in your home, pay close attention to how a piece of art makes you feel and intentionally choose to display art that makes you feel calm and relaxed.
4. Layer on tactile textures.
Especially if you spend much of your workday looking at screens, reconnecting with your senses is a wonderful way to ground yourself and relax once at home. Think of adding a soft wool rug, tactile leather poufs, a sleek side table and fluffy faux furs.
Photo by Tara Benet Design - Recharge after work with touchable fabrics and materials.
5. Embrace the season. There is beauty to be found in every season, from the lush flowers and abundant produce of summer to the stark elegance of bare winter branches.
A few subtle tweaks can be enough to help your home shift with the seasons. Swap a photo or artwork in a frame, rearrange vases and decorative objects, or make a display with a few seasonal finds from a nature walk or the grocery store.
6. Be a plant collector.
Just the sight of plants can soothe frazzled nerves and a house with plants has cleaner, fresher air, which has positive health benefits. What’s more, collecting and caring for plants can be a stress-relieving pastime. Consider orchids or another plant that enjoys being misted, and make an after-work habit of tending to your plants. In rooms where houseplants can’t thrive, bring in cut greenery instead, to infuse your entire home with the peaceful benefits of nature.
Photo by M+A Architecture Studio - Pretty plants soothe the eye and the soul.
7. Reset weekly.
We can have the best intentions to keep our homes clean and serene, but when it’s been a busy week, it can be tempting to allow the temporary setback to become permanent. Instead, pick a day to reset the mood in your home. Spend some time cleaning up and sorting the week’s mail, open up the windows to let in some fresh air and treat your house to a bouquet of fresh flowers. Then sit down, pour yourself something yummy to drink and enjoy your tranquil space.
—Laura Gaskill
Photo by Tara Benet Design - Set aside some time each week to tidy up and simply enjoy your space.
Written by Houzz for Working Mother and legally licensed through the Matcha publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@getmatcha.com.