We all need a bit of space to ourselves in our home these days. Just a space we can sneak off to and relax, away from the hustle and bustle, the kids and the noise. It’s so important in the context of our mental health, especially if we have been suffering or have fallen victim to diseases such as depression or addiction.
For those people in particular, a space to escape to and get some headspace is a must, while many rehab centres also recommend the likes of yoga and meditation. And for that you need a quiet and calming area to practice.
Your reasons for a quiet spot to relax in your home could be varied, but they should all share familiarities, and here are our top five tips on how to create the most relaxing space possible…
Don’t Go Bold & Bright
While it can be nice to have plenty of colour in your home, for a relaxation room you need it to be relatively calming. Bright and bold patterns are more energising and encourage productivity rather than relaxation, with neutral and softer colours more suited to a room in which the aim of it is to kick back, relax and switch off your brain from the outside world.
Get the smell right
A relaxing space will satisfy all our senses and one of the most important ones is smell. You want the space to distract you from what’s beyond the door, and smells can be incredible for taking you to a different place.
Candles are excellent for this, with the likes of lavender, rose, chamomile, jasmine and bergamot perfect scents for a calming and chilled out atmosphere in a room.
Comfort is a priority
Really, you want some furniture you can just sink into and drift away in. Comfort is paramount when it comes to relaxing and a sofa, chaise lounge or seating could be the biggest investment you make in such a space.
Think about it. You want to relax and even potentially have a little bit of a nap as you drift off. That’s not exactly going to happen on a bench is it?
Embrace nature
You will likely already know the power of houseplants and they really should be embraced in rooms that you want to relax in. They’ll provide you with cleaner air as well as being scientifically proven to reduce anxiety.
You’ll need to think about the light you have in your space, and how good you are with keeping plants alive, as there really is nothing relaxing about a dead plant in the corner of your room.
And embrace light
It isn’t just plants you should embrace, you should also embrace natural light. Natural light is so good for us and if you’ve got plenty of light coming through your windows, then you should position furniture and elements of your room to make the most of that.
Then, come the evenings you need to be able to transform the room into somewhere cosy, with soft lighting that isn’t too sharp on the eyes, as this can be disruptive and not conducive to calmness.
