These days, we all seem more stressed than ever, and even our kids suffer from burnout, fatigue, depression, anxiety, and other signs of high stress. While we need to take charge of our work and daily lives as much as possible to reduce our stress levels, it also helps to make changes in our homes.
We want to create calming environments to retreat to and live in. Read on for some tips for making your house look and feel more peaceful ASAP.
Declutter
If we want to feel more relaxed in our homes, we don’t want to continually look at mess and “stuff” that reminds us of jobs we have to do or makes us feel bad about not having a cleaner, more organized house. Decluttering is vital to help neaten up areas, making a home feel calmer, more inviting, and more peaceful. Go through rooms to see what you can sell, donate, recycle, or throw away.
As you declutter, look for ways to find a place for everything. If you set aside spaces for all the main things you use daily, it’s much easier to get into the habit of putting things back in these spots. You’ll have much less clearing up to do each week as a result.
Increase Your Storage Options
You can also create a more relaxed look and feel in your home by ensuring there’s enough storage space for you to put everything. Look for ways to utilize space more effectively and add storage so you can organize your belongings better and put them away out of sight. You might need to remodel your closets so they can fit more in and add bookshelves, chests of drawers, storage bed frames and ottomans, and floating shelves to rooms where possible. You may be able to build in storage under windows or stairs, too.
Hide Tech
See if you can hide tech where possible, too. When we look at gadgets, they often remind us of work and other jobs we have to do, which takes away from our ability to switch off. Plus, they emit blue light, which negatively impacts our ability to sleep soundly. Also, while tech tools can be handy in many ways, they can be very distracting. If we work from home or have goals we’re trying to achieve in our time away from the office, it’s easier to procrastinate when gadgets are there, constantly beckoning and enticing us to use them.
Look for ways to hide devices to eliminate these issues. For example, you might be able to set up your TV so it slides into a cavity or gets tucked behind a piece of art, and you may be able to set up your desk and its computer, printer, modem, etc., so that everything is behind a closet or office door.
Use Calming Colors
Consider the color palettes you use throughout your home. To create a peaceful environment, select calming shades for each room. You might, for instance, stick with a lot of neutrals that won’t overstimulate your senses and add some small pops of color through the art, rugs, linen, pillows, throws, and other accessories you decorate your place with.
Learn about various elements of color theory, so you know how different hues can affect our moods and which shades complement each other nicely. If you struggle in this area, speak with paint specialists or interior designers to get some assistance or check out photos of beautifully-designed spaces on blogs, social media sites, and in magazines for inspiration.
Updates Mattresses and Bed Linen
Sleeping is one of the most vital activities we do in our home, as is lying on our beds to rest, read, listen to music, and otherwise relax. As such, we need comfortable, well-set-up beds in our homes that make us want to lay down and get some downtime and quality slumber. If you’ve had the same mattresses for years, it’s time to upgrade to more comfortable and supportive new ones.
Buy a mattress for yourself and your partner, if relevant, that suits the level of firmness you like and the way you sleep, such as on your back, side, or stomach. Also, invest in affordable kids’ mattress options for your children’s rooms, whether single, double, queen or even bunk bed products, so your kids sleep well and are less likely to interrupt your rest.
Add beautiful bed linens to each mattress that look fabulous, add to the calming atmosphere you’re creating, and are lovely to snug into. You want to enjoy soft-on-the-skin, breathable fabrics made from decent thread counts and of a high quality.
Other ideas for increasing the relaxed vibe in your home are to bring nature inside more, reduce allergens, create designated, separate work and study zones, and utilize scents through essential oils, candles, room sprays, and the like. Increase natural light where possible and put in a fireplace or fire pit to relax by, too.
Take multiple steps to make your home more peaceful, and you should soon start to notice the positive effects this has on your mood and lifestyle.
