Gain the wellbeing benefits of living in a healthier living space.
With all that is going on in the world and with most of us now working from home and practising social distancing, it is showing all of us just how important our home space really is. The space we live in has a massive impact on our physical health, our mental health and overall wellbeing and happiness. With the fast-paced world we normally live in we don’t often stop to pay attention to how our home makes us feel or how it may affect our mood. I mean let’s face it, most of us are only home for dinner and bed. But as we are now spending significant time at home it really is important to step back and reorientate our lives and how we are living. A clean, clear and defined space reflects an overall better environment for us to feel at ease but also more productive.
De-clutter your spaces
When we style someone’s home, we often notice an abundance of items in every room that unnecessarily take up space. Whether It be appliances we no longer use, sentimental items, gifts that never got used or items that simply don’t have a “place”. Life is made up of the little things and sentimental moments and we know a lot of these items do hold importance, but sometimes just as many items are unnecessary items that we have left out out of habit.
Having a lot of items out, or a lot of small items simply just reserve space within your home, making it feel like you have less room or space around you then you actually do. It’s important to stand back and look at every room individually. Asses your belongings:
- Why are they out?
- Do you use them or not use them?
- Are they important or just bad habits?
- What can you get rid of?
- What can you put away?
Create a sense of harmony within the home
Creating cohesion in your home provides you with a sense of harmony and balance. This can be achieved by simply minimising the number of strong colours you have to just a few complimentary tones, or by creating a cohesive design through furniture style. Mixing styles like contemporary, mid-century modern, coastal and classical can work in select scenarios, but it’s always safest to limit one style per room.
Think of every room in your house as having its own identity! When you remove conflicting colours, shapes and styles, whilst focussing on one particular style you are then defining that room, bringing it clarity and cohesion. Once your rooms are defined you will find that you feel more harmony within the room and space and overall calmer within the room.
Your home is your story
Your home is an important expression of you and your story. It can be seen within the colour and furnishing choices, to the small trinket items. The way you choose colours and textures certainly creates and a mood. For us, every time we walk into a home, we get a glimpse of who you are as a person, if that’s the case what story do you want your home to tell about you? What moments do you want us to see.
Most of all, all stories have a climax – what is the most impactful or favourite thing about the home? Is it a view? The garden or outdoor area? A beautifully styled room where all your friends and family come together? Find your home’s biggest “moment” and let the whole home flow towards it. Meaning toning down all other distractions throughout the home.
Give your space a sense of personality
Achieving balance between removing clutter and maintaining the rooms personality, sounds confusing but it is simple and doable.
Creating a clearer space in your home is essential for healthier mental wellbeing, and to achieve this it doesn’t mean that you have to take away all sentimental items that mean something to you. We all have items that we love and can’t live without, the difference is simply putting these particular items on show whilst getting rid of any others that simply take up space. By keeping those important treasures, you give the room its personality, but now it’s not crowded or overshadowed by the unnecessary items.
Providing Calmness
Our home is our sanctuary and should be a place that we feel calm in. When you feel a little low, it’s amazing how a walk in the park or nature can do wonders. That’s because when we get in touch with nature, we reduce mental fatigue and stress, while increasing relaxation.
Even brief exposure to nature has been shown to make us calmer. Indoor air pollution can be sometimes up to five times as polluted as outdoor air, from synthetic building materials, airborne mould, viruses, energy efficient construction; making spaces as airtight as possible, which reduces the air circulation.
Therefore, it’s so important to open home the home up, the blinds, the windows – allow fresh air and nature in as much as possible. Fresh flowers, plants and greenery are amazing at reducing stress and even cleaning the air quality of a room.