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People are now spending more time at home. For many these days, home is where it all happens: work, school, hobbies, and entertainment. Be it an apartment, a house, a farm, or a cabin, you can have your own happy sanctuary without investing much time or money. Here are seven ways to convert a space into a soothing place.
Declutter
When the house is disorganized and messy, it can lead one to feeling out of control and stressed. A study in the Journal of Neuroscience found that too much external stimuli can overwhelm the brain and make one less focused.
Decluttering can help free up your brain. Look around your space. If you feel your home could use some reorganizing, buy some storage bins for items you want to organize and use garbage bags for the items you don’t need. When you restore order, you will feel more harmonized.
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Include happy memories
When you are enveloped by items that make you happy and remind you of positive memories, you may feel more content. If you have inherited an item or a piece of furniture that has negative connotations, give it away.
Add positive vibes by making a collage of photographs from family trips or outings that you loved. Arrange them gallery-style on a prominent wall. This will also enable you to reflect your own narrative in your home. It is better to have the decor style match your personality and not your designer’s! When you are able to express your true self, you can feel more connected to your place.
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Let your light shine in
A study showed that lighting has a positive impact on your mood. Try to maximize the amount of natural light in the day, and at night, minimize the glare. As exposure to natural light increases melatonin, you will sleep better at night, as suggested in this study.
Lamps set on a side table and lighting placed closer to the floor can make a room feel more intimate and relaxing. Bright ceiling lights and fluorescent lighting actually cause anxiety in some people, as seen in this study. Placing candles or a Himalayan salt lamp in the room are simple ways to give it that “sanctuary” feeling.
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Play relaxing music
People’s moods are affected by music. As playing music in your home is an easy way to add ambiance, fill your space with the sounds of a relaxing piano concerto or the soft beat of jazz. This will calm the environment. PsychCentral writes that music is also therapeutic as it can release people from negative thought-looping.
If you have a TV centrally placed in your living room, make sure to turn it off or even hide the screen with a blanket. Light some candles, fill your home with calming music, and unwind.
Show your true color
Just as light and sound impacts emotions, so does color. A study from 2014 speaks of color related to mood. Yellow is joyful and friendly, while soft blues as greens, as well as earth tones, are calming and peaceful. Ocher, olive green, and burnt sienna are all soothing earth tones. Bring these soft hues into your rooms by placing accent pillows on a couch or bed, and placing a throw blanket over an armchair. Painting one accent wall a nature-based color can also invite serenity into your home.
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Invite nature indoors
Just as you will welcome natural colors into your home, you can also use houseplants to bring real nature inside. Houseplants will purify the air and, according to this study, enhance positive mood. If you live in an apartment without a view onto nature, try to place plants on a sill to enhance the window, creating an outdoor effect inside. You can also start an herb garden in a bright window.
Houseplants can be placed anywhere. Arrange several pots together on the floor, place a beautiful ornamental on a side table, and put up wall shelves filled with plants, memorable photos, and your favorite books.
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Diffuse
The sense of smell is powerful and evocative. According to a study, scents are proven to be calming, so bring aromatherapy into your home by diffusing relaxing essential oils. Lavender, bergamot, and clary sage are all good choices as they help induce a positive mindset. You can also buy scented candles or burn incense. As smells trigger memories, you should choose a scent that reminds you of a positive time in your life.
Now that you have candles flickering, soft music playing, and the soothing smell of lavender wafting in the air, you may feel as if your living space is a spa!
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