Busy Life? Here’s How to Make Home a Little More Serene
Carve out a place where you can pause now and then to appreciate life’s quiet luxuries
Laura Gaskill
September 14, 2016
Houzz Contributor. I cover decorating ideas, Houzz tours & the monthly home maintenance checklist. My favorite pieces to write center around the emotional aspects of home and savoring life's simple pleasures. Decluttering course + discount for Houzzers: https://www.lauragaskill.com/welcome-houzzers
Houzz Contributor. I cover decorating ideas, Houzz tours & the monthly home maintenance... More
Replenish yourself by creating a place of peace at home where you can relax, meditate, or simply kick back with a glass of wine or tea. From adding inspiring art to setting up a welcoming seating area for one, here are 10 ideas to pick and choose from to invite more tranquillity into your home.
Make a “time for tea” corner. Relaxing with a cup of afternoon tea, either alone or while catching up with a friend, sounds lovely — but how often do you actually make it happen? A special corner of the living room stocked with a pretty teapot and favorite cups can serve as a reminder to make time for teatime.
Simple Pleasures: Indulging in Teatime
Simple Pleasures: Indulging in Teatime
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. But beyond either of these reasons, 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.
The Perfect Houseplant for People Who Kill Houseplants
The Perfect Houseplant for People Who Kill Houseplants
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.
9 Reasons to Buy a Painting
9 Reasons to Buy a Painting
Consider color. Color can have a huge impact on our experience of a space — but that doesn’t mean it has to be colorless 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.
Houzz guides to every color group
Houzz guides to every color group
Create a comfy reading nook. A solo spot where you can relax and read, write in your journal or simply sip a glass of wine and look out the window doesn’t need to be elaborate to entice. If you tend to crave R&R during the afternoon, position your nook near a window with a lovely view. If you’re more likely to use your nook in the evening after dinner, choose a warm and cozy corner with a good lamp nearby.
15 Cozy Book Nooks and What They Want You to Read
15 Cozy Book Nooks and What They Want You to Read
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, fluffy faux furs and knitted throws.
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.
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.
Simplify the bedroom. Of all the rooms in a home, the bedroom is the most important to keep calm and simple.
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.
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.
“Reset” your home each week. We can have the best intentions to keep our homes clean and serene, but when a really busy week happens, it can be tempting to allow the temporary setback to become permanent. Instead of letting a particularly busy or stressful week derail your efforts, set a weekly date to reset the mood in your home. Spend a little 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, light some candles, pour yourself something yummy to drink — and enjoy your tranquil space.
Please tell us: How do you recharge at home? Share your favorite idea in the Comments and see what others do.
Please tell us: How do you recharge at home? Share your favorite idea in the Comments and see what others do.
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Hews? Hues maybe, sorry it's my OCD that insists that I mention this.
Really got some good takeaways from this article. I'll be reassessing my art and bringing in a tea corner by the fireplace. Not into messing with plants but loved those globes with branches!
"Reset" is a WAY more attractive idea than "housework"! Thank you!