How Your Home Affects Your Wellbeing
The environments we spend our time in can affect how we feel and function. When we are in harmony with our environment, it can help us feel calm and inspired. When we are not in harmony, we can feel tension and imbalance.
If your home feels cluttered and untidy, it is bound to cause frustration. It takes longer to look for things. The home is hard to clean and can attract dust and critters if left untidy for too long. When there is a block in the flow from room to room, or we paint our walls in jarring colours, this can also affect our mood.
However, when our home is clean and organised, it can help us go about our day more smoothly. If the colours around us are soft and muted, it can create a sense of calm. When thought and care go into arranging our furniture, it can help create a beautiful flow throughout the home. We feel a greater sense of ease as we move from room to room.
Here are a few ideas for transforming your home into one that feels calm and uplifting.
Let go of what you no longer need
We often hold onto things for sentimental reasons or to avoid wasting money. We think we may use them later down the line. But how long has it been since you used some of the items that sit around your home? Are they taking up space and worth holding onto?
Taking time to let go of unused items will create space. It will give you one less item to keep clean and worry about. If you are not prepared to let go of them, can you move them out of sight - whether loaning them to a friend who could use them or putting them in a storage area?
Embrace space
We think we need to fill every inch of our homes with something. But space helps us feel calm within. If you have an area of your home that feels quite busy, consider pulling back a few elements. Whether taking some pictures off the wall to have more blank space or removing a piece of furniture to create a better flow - these little touches can help create calm.
Choose colours that feel calming
The colours we paint our home can change our mood. It’s why Mcdonald's paints their outlets in vibrant colours - to encourage you to order, eat and leave quickly. At home, we hope to feel relaxed after a busy day. Choosing colours from nature can help guide you when selecting interior colours. Mellow whites, olive greens, muted blues, earthy browns and reds - it helps to think of the natural earth when making a decision.
My home is a mellow white. I love the feeling of space and calm. White as a base helps achieve that feel. We have earthy tones in our furniture, tiles and finishes. And jars of eucalyptus leaves and olive branches to bring in muted greens.
Connect with nature
Nature has a way of soothing us. Bringing elements of nature into the home can help bring a feeling of calm into our internal spaces. Opening windows during the warmer months will allow air to flow through. Pulling back curtains or blinds will cast natural light and bring life into the rooms. Adding touches of nature through timber furniture, natural rugs, shells, potted plants, cut flowers or greenery will help bring a sense of calm into the home.
Create spaces that invite you to relax
Create spaces to encourage sitting with a book or enjoying tea or coffee. A cosy chair by the window. A side table by the end of a couch with a soft cushion. Or a chair and table outside in the garden. Creating spaces like these invites us in and encourages us to slow down and relax.
Set the mood
We can add touches to create a calming feeling within the home. Lighting a candle over dinner, playing ambient music, baking something delicious to enjoy with family, or lighting incense sticks in a pleasant scent to drift through the home. These little touches create an ambience and encourage us to slow down and savour them.
A calm home can help you feel peaceful and less stressed. When we are in harmony with our surroundings, we feel better mentally, emotionally and physically. It becomes a beautiful space that helps us unwind and gather with those we love.
