Mood Makers: Create a Peaceful Place
Sink into the restfulness you crave with these design tips for transforming a space at home into an oasis of calm
Kristie Barnett
May 29, 2012
After a long day we all want to come home to a place that feels peaceful — a place to recharge, restore and relax. It's one thing to create a space that is visually beautiful, but it's quite another to create a space that can make you feel calm and at peace with the world. How do you design such a space? Let me share some insider secrets.
If you want your space to feel calm and balanced, it’s important to introduce symmetry. People who enter a room that is arranged symmetrically will often describe it as peaceful. This is an example of great symmetry in a bedroom. The windows, the lamps, the side tables, the pillows — all harmony and sweet dreams. A room like this makes for a great night's sleep.
Even when the colors and patterns are lively, there is a inexplicable sense of harmony in a room that is based in symmetry. The matching side tables and lamps ground this conversation area, and even the reflection of the wall art in the coffee table adds to the symmetry.
Too many people make the mistake of ignoring their architecture. Use your architecture as the axis on which to create balance and symmetry. A fireplace, a bay of windows or another significant architectural element can be the center point of a seating arrangement.
Good color flow is another way to bring peace to your home, especially if you have an open floor plan. Gradual and pleasing color transitions, as well as repetition of color, give a sense of order and calm the chaos.
Keep your color scheme simple to bring peace to a room. Choose a neutral and another color, then choose a light, medium and dark version of that color with the same undertones. See how these bookcases appear so calm — using books with covers in the same neutral does the trick. You can even cover your books in kraft paper for a similar effect. (But make sure you label them with the book titles.)
Clutter creates stress. Using larger but fewer accessories calms down visual clutter. When there are lots of little things to look at, there is a lack of focus in the space. Don't make your decorative items fight for attention.
Related: Clutter-Clearing 101
Related: Clutter-Clearing 101
For when you need to take a deep breath and relax, orient your furniture to take in the view. This is a great idea for a desk or workspace, and so much better than staring at a wall.
I think it would be a travesty if the chairs in this beachfront bedroom faced into the room, don't you?
Tell us: What do you do to make a space feel peaceful?
More:
Mood Makers: Small Rooms, Spacious Feel
Serene Spaces: Finding Peace and Calm Through Design
Tell us: What do you do to make a space feel peaceful?
More:
Mood Makers: Small Rooms, Spacious Feel
Serene Spaces: Finding Peace and Calm Through Design
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The second room has too-obvious karate-chops in the pillows and spiky things behind my head. It's like Alex Forrest did an interior design course.
The others are WAY more relaxing!
I go sit in our boat and enjoy watching the clouds drift by.