7 Tips to Creating A Serene Home

The past year has been a stressful year and we are all craving peace, calm, and serenity in our lives. The best way to do that is to start with where you feel the most safe, most authentic, and most comfortable - your home.

Here are 7 ways to create a serene space, making life easier so you can enjoy the present moment - mind, body, and soul.

Miss Alice Designs

1. Functional spaces make life easier

Functional spaces increase the ease of everyday living and promote a sense of serenity. Your home should be working with you and supporting you rather than going against you. Think about how you use a space and what challenges are causing stress in your mind and body. What are your pain points? It might mean making sure to keep things within reach (ex: kitchen utensils and spoons near the stove), having your tableware organized with peg systems in a drawer, or having soft-close hinges on your drawers and dampers on your doors to reduce noise. Having your space work for you in a functional way can impact and decrease your level of stress. If you don’t have to struggle to find something or have to go out of your way to get cookware, life is just easier.

2. Soothing Colors other than white

White, gray, and beige are commonly associated with tranquility, but if you are looking for more color, soft greens and blues also evoke feelings of relaxation and calm. Green reminds us of nature and blue of the vast sky and ocean. Lying down on the grass and looking up at the expansive sky or walking along the beach and hearing the sound of ocean waves relaxes our brain and is therapeutic to our soul. Sherwin Williams Serenely SW9632 is the perfect hue to promote a sense of peace at home. It’s a modern take on everyone’s desire to bring nature indoors and works great against warm white trim, wood elements, and soft textures for a relaxed, calm vibe. 

3. Curves create softness

A lot of straight, sharp lines and too much patterns, particularly ones featuring harsh lines, can be overwhelming to our eyes, causing strain and stress to our bodies. I always like to introduce some curves in a space, whether it’s a round coffee table, table lamp, curved legs on a dining chair, or a chaise with a curved back. Curves have the tendency to remove the edge from your line of sight and draw your attention to a focal point or a particular feature. It breaks up the harshness of sharp lines and softens up a space, creating a calming effect on our visual system and our mind, body, and soul.

4. Incorporate Elements from Nature

"When we are confined indoors, it can be truly important to bring nature into our living spaces as much as possible." — Carla Marie Manly, PhD

Elements from nature provide us with a sense of stability, especially in the home. Nature is soothing and most people feel calm and relaxed when being outside. Therefore, it’s natural to bring the outdoors inside as much as possible, especially if you don’t have the luxury of a great view. Add wood elements to your home from a coffee table in your living room to the frame of a lounge chair. The warmth and character of wood is beautiful and people are naturally drawn to it. Allow the wood to shine and be the focal point. Wood in itself is a beautiful material that's worthy of making its own statement. Besides wood, bring plants into your living space from small groupings of succulents to philodendrons, spider plants, or larger fiddle-leaf fig trees. Bringing plants or greenery inside brings you closer to nature, helping you feel calm and relaxed.

5. Engage your senses

A soothing and relaxing space engages all our senses from our sight to sound, touch, smell, and taste. Engaging your sense of smell is a great way to soothe yourself. Light candles with your favorite scent. If you have a diffuser, use it with lavender or peppermint essential oils. The fragrance from the oils of the lavender plant is believed to help reduce stress and anxiety and also help promote calmness and wellness. I spray lavender on my pillow every night before I go to sleep. Texture engages our sense of touch, bringing us into the present moment. We find comfort and calm through soft fabrics such as velvet, chenille, cotton, or cashmere. Turn on your favorite relaxing music whether it’s the sound of waves crashing, jazz, instrumental, or classical music. Engaging not just your visual system, but also your other senses further creates a serene space.

6. Good lighting makes a space glow

A dark space without proper lighting feels heavy and draining. It can cause tension and stress. Make sure there is a lot of natural light in the room. If that isn’t possible, add artificial lights that allow for dimming and layer your lights using floor lamps, table lamps, ceiling lights, or wall sconces. Incorporating lights at different levels draws your eye around a space and creates focal points. Putting lights on a dimmer allows you to control the brightness and set the mood in a room. A good quality source of light makes a space glow and provides a sense of calm and tranquility.

7. Less clutter and “stuff”

Clutter and too much stuff can make us feel tense, anxious, and stressed out. A messy space can clutter our thoughts, making it harder to think clearly. With so much going on in our lives, the last thing we need is more clutter, both physically and mentally. If there is a lot of stuff that’s been accumulating on your kitchen countertop, your desk, or in your closet, designate a basket or bin that you can toss the clutter into and go through at a later time. When you visually see a bunch of papers or “stuff” scattered around, it doesn’t feel good and can cause unease in your body. The less clutter and the less stuff that is visually in our line of sight, the calmer we feel. Getting a bin, container, box, or anything to hold the clutter for the time being so it’s cleared away helps. You can go through and organize everything at a later time, but the first step is just clearing items away from surfaces.

Life should be fun, joyful, relaxing, and peaceful and it starts at home (in your physical and internal space). If you want a designer's touch to create a relaxing space, please contact me for a 30-minute discovery call.  To schedule your consultation, click here.