The home is the center of your life. That’s why a brand new mansion, an old run-down farmhouse, and a tiny one-bedroom apartment can all bear the title “home.” It isn’t about the specific kind of location, but rather, the space itself.
With remote work, virtual school, and normal everyday life keeping many people on the homefront around the clock these days, it’s particularly important for the home to embrace a sense of inviting tranquility. This can help with an individual’s mental health, physical condition, and overall spirituality.
With that in mind, here are several of the best ways to create a mindful, calm, and invigorating living space, no matter where you may find yourself dwelling at the moment.
Designate Your Spaces
One of the first things that you should do if you want to create a space that’s conducive to calm, spiritual endeavors, is to designate your spaces. With things like work, school, eating, sleeping, recreation, and hobbies all taking place within the same four walls, it’s easy for everything to blur. When that happens, it can make it difficult to maintain balance. Work concerns leak into personal life. You can get distracted from a task by a chore that you know needs to be done.
Instead, decide what each room will be used for. For instance, if you have an additional bedroom or two, decide what the unused rooms will be used for. A space that may be considered a “bedroom” can also double as:
- A home office or study;
- A recreational room;
- A home movie theater;
- An exercise room;
- A hobby room.
Make sure that each bedroom in your house has its own distinct purpose. Use a spare room as your office, your own bedroom for sleeping, only eat and relax in the kitchen, and so on. If you can set and respect boundaries within your space, it will make it easier to focus when you’re occupying each area of your home.
Steer into a Theme
There are countless themes that can imbue your living space with purpose and vigor. For instance, a minimalist approach can help streamline the appearance of your home and give it a clean, neat, and tidy feel (more on the impact of neatness on stress further down).
On the other hand, if you’re looking for a warmer feel, you can embrace a hygge vibe throughout your house. The Danish concept is famous for the cozy, charming, and special feeling that it brings into a space.
The specific kind of style doesn’t really matter. What’s important is that you choose decor that truly inspires you.
Set Up Social Areas
Spending time with loved ones is one of the best ways to reduce anxiety and manage stress. This makes the social aspects of your home an imperative part of setting up a well-balanced, calm-inducing space.
In other words, living rooms, dens, and other recreational spaces should get their fair share of attention, too. Along with productive areas like a home office, kitchen, and bedroom, also take the time to purposefully set up your social spaces. That way, whether you’re relaxing with your nuclear family or having friends over for dinner, you can all partake in a deeply spiritual interpersonal experience in a space focused on relaxation.
Address the Details
Along with major decorating and structural themes, it’s also important to consider the little details that go into a spiritual space. For example, try to choose calming paint colors like sky blue and lilac when you paint the walls.
Pay close attention to things like natural lighting, too, and hang plenty of mirrors to help your spaces feel fresh and large. Also utilize aromatherapy to establish a scents (pun intended) of calm in your living space.
Additionally, look for small ways that you can make your space more sustainable. DIY projects and self-sustainability are great ways to put your own specific stamp on a space. They also allow you to rest in the calming comfort of knowing that you’re doing your part in keeping your own spaces from negatively impacting either those around you or the Earth itself.
Create a Cleaning Schedule
You may not want to see “cleaning” as an item on a list focused on relaxation and inner serenity. However, maintaining a clean and tidy space can often be an essential element in creating a calm and inviting space.
According to Brenna Renn Ph.D., a University of Washington psychologist, getting rid of clutter is an excellent way to improve one’s focus and, once again, win that perpetual battle with stress and anxiety. On top of that, keeping your home clean can cut down on potential physical health issues like reactions to allergies and mold. So set up a cleaning schedule that fits your needs and then do your best to stick to it.
Setting the Stage for Spiritual Calm
There are many aspects to achieving spiritual calm and focus. Inner peace, mental clarity, mindfulness, and physical relaxation are all important. However, your environment is also a critical factor that shouldn’t be overlooked.
From designating your spaces to decorating with a purpose, setting up social areas, tending to details, and keeping your space neat and tidy, there are many ways to turn your home into a calm and spiritual living space. The important thing is that you go about the task with purpose and a goal to find the particular mixture of themes and decor that suits your own needs.