Our homes are our sanctuary. It’s the space where we can unwind, rest and rejuvenate. When you need to escape the stress of everyday life, your home needs to be the place you can truly relax and recharge.
There’s a ton of evidence that supports the connection between our environment and well-being. After all, your home is an extension of yourself–in the way it’s decorated, its feel and its atmosphere. A calm, relaxing home can help reduce stress and anxiety, improve relationships and boost productivity. No matter your personal style, you can create a peaceful home that suits you and brings more harmony into your life.
Even if your home is small, or you share it with housemates, there are plenty of simple, effective and budget-friendly ways to create a calm home. In this article, we’ll discuss how to create a calm home with a few small changes.
How to Make Your Home More Peaceful
If you’re wondering how to create a calm home, we have a few tips and tricks. Firstly, there are a few practical elements when it comes to creating a mindful space; you need to make sure your home is clutter-free, that you have adequate storage, your belongings have a home and that you have comfortable and functional furniture. After that, you can play around with your decor, the colour palette of your home, the lighting and more to help you create a peaceful home.
From spring cleaning, decluttering, colour palettes, decor and scent, there are plenty of elements to destress your home and make it your peaceful sanctuary. We’ll go through how to create a calm home with a few tips and tricks.
Start By Decluttering
The first step is to get organised–what better way than to declutter your home? When the question is ‘how to make your home more peaceful’, less is always more. A cluttered, busy and messy home is a stressful environment to live in. Whether you’re searching for misplaced items, or there is simply too much to take in visually, cluttered homes are a one-way ticket to stress. Start by getting rid of anything you don’t use, give away what you don’t actually like and either dispose of or repair anything that no longer works.
Have Adequate Storage
Make sure all your belongings have a home. When you own something that has nowhere to go, it’ll likely keep floating around the entire house with no real place. Adequate storage can solve this issue. Ensure you have plenty of storage drawers, storage boxes and shelves to store your belongings so everything is organised and in its right place.
Keep it Clean
A messy house is a messy mind. When our homes are messy and unclean, we naturally feel more stressed. If your space is cluttered or messy, it can be draining and stressful. A messy, cluttered home can leave you feeling frustrated and irritated. It can be hard to keep on top of the cleaning, especially with the busy nature of our lives. Start small and tidy a little every day, even if you only clean for five minutes.
There are also studies to suggest that making our beds each morning can have a profound impact on our well-being. By making your bed each morning, you are setting the tone for the rest of the day. When you make your bed first thing after you wake up, you would have been productive before even having coffee and breakfast. This will give you a sense of accomplishment and help you keep this energy up throughout the day. Happiness and general well being are tied to a sense of accomplishment, and this simple task can help you feel happier and more relaxed in your home every day.
Choose a Calming Colour Palette for Your Home
Not sure where to start when it comes to how to create a calm home? Douse your home with peaceful colours. Bold and bright colours are fun but can be challenging to live with every day. A peaceful colour palette is subjective, but generally, colours that are prominent in nature like blues and greens are the best colours to evoke a calming feel. If you prefer, go for earthy, warm tones like yellows, orange shades, warm pinks and red tones. Gentle on the eyes, pair with neutral tones like white, grey and beige.
Bring in Natural Light
Make sure your home has plenty of natural light. Dark, moody spaces can bring down our mood more than we think. For optimal natural light, ensure your windows aren’t covered by furniture and opt for curtains or blinds that open up enough to let the most natural light shine through.
Go for House Plants
If you live in the city or suburbs, you can still bring nature to you! Bring nature inside and surround yourself with plants. House plants are a great way to create a more peaceful home. Not only do they look great, but house plants are proven to help improve air quality, increase oxygen, reduce stress, improve mental health and boost productivity.
Pick Soft, Comfortable Materials
There’s nothing better than getting home from a long day and cosying up on the couch with a good book, or heading to a warm, snuggly bed after a hot shower. When there’s a lot on our minds, our environment needs to be as comfortable and relaxing as possible. Make sure your bedding, including your quilt covers and sheet sets, throw blankets and cushions are soft and comfortable.
Decorate With Peaceful Wall Art & Decor
When choosing your home decor and wall art, surround yourself with the things you love! When it comes to home decor and artwork, it’s best to trust yourself. Choose what you are drawn to. For instance, if you love to garden, go for floral artwork. If you’re a sucker for the ocean, look for soothing artwork of the ocean or decorate with water features.
Abstract art and nature landscapes, fresh flowers, and vases and pots are some examples of peaceful wall art & home decor to help you create a more calming space.
Create a Calm, Peaceful Feel to Your Home
Keep harsh lights to a minimum, and use lightbulbs with warmer tones. Place lamps around the room for true ambience. You can even use a salt lamp or a light projector to set the mood.
Immerse Your Home With Soothing Scents
Stimulate your sense of smell and bring your favourite scents into your home. Aromatherapy can help to improve relaxation and help with stress relief. Essential oils like lavender and chamomile are known to help with relaxation, relieve stress and improve sleep. Candlelight evokes a warm, calm feel and you can choose a scent that helps you feel relaxed, comfortable and at home. Try using an air diffuser with essential oils, scented candles and incense.
Make Your Own Home Spa
We all need a space where we can relax and truly be ourselves. Create an area in your home where you can switch off for an hour or so.
If you have a bath, make the area as relaxing as possible with soothing scents, bath bombs and bath salts and candles. If you don’t have a bath, pop a chair in the bathroom, or your bedroom, and take some time out for yourself surrounded by candles and use your favourite self-care products. Make sure the space is clean and tidy so it becomes a true relaxation zone.
Create Separate Zones for a Calm Home
When you share a home with family, your partner or your housemates, it can be tricky to ensure there is enough space for each activity. For instance, if you’re in a share house, you may need to work and study in your bedroom. Where possible, create separate rooms or zones for different activities. Avoid studying or working on your bed or couch and keep those as spots where you relax. If you’re on the couch trying to relax with a pile of work you have to do in clear view on your desk, you’re not going to be able to fully zone out. If you can’t set up separate rooms for rest, relaxation and study and work, try using room dividers.
Tip: Create a technology-free zone to give your brain a break.
The Bottom Line
Your home should be a space where you can truly unwind and be yourself. There are many ways you can make your home more peaceful, from the decor you keep to the colour palette of your space–but when it comes to asking ‘how to create a calm home’, the first step is making sure your home is clean, tidy and organised. Once your home is organised, douse it with beautiful scents, bring in some nature, switch to a more calming colour palette and reap the benefits!
