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Your home should be your sanctuary—a place to relax, spend time with loved ones, and unwind from the stresses of everyday life. But with many of us working from home, even partially, the lines between life and work can become blurry. And with other stressors bleeding over into personal time, home can start to feel less like a sanctuary and more like the focal point for life’s anxieties.
If you are looking to reduce stress when you’re home and turn your space back into a place of respite, a few DIY redecorating projects could do the trick.
Lighting
How we light our homes (and when we turn the lights off) can have an enormous impact on our mental health. Natural light from unobstructed windows is ideal for boosting your mood during the day, but if you don’t have many windows or prefer your privacy, lamps that produce warm light can be soothing.
Getting a good night’s sleep is one of the best ways to manage stress. Once the sun sets, dim the lights in your house and use blackout curtains to achieve full darkness while you sleep. Avoid lightbulbs that claim to mimic daylight unless you are using them for Seasonal Affective Disorder in the winter months.
Décor idea: Turn off overhead lighting and invest in lamps with variable or dimmable light settings.
Declutter
Though some homeowners are bucking the trends for simple and opting for a “maximalist” style, clutter stresses many of us out. You can go through your house and get rid of all the items that aren’t sparking joy, or you can invest in attractive storage systems that allow you to hold onto your things while keeping them organized. At the very least, make sure you don’t have “to do” stacks or piles in the bedroom.
Décor idea: Try a flip-top bench in hallways or at the foot of your bed to hide away infrequently used items.
Example of a clean bedroom with warm lighting and a bench at the foot of the bed. Image Source: AI Generated Image for Inspiration Only
Feng Shui
The ancient art of Feng Shui has been helping people create calm inside their homes for thousands of years. Whether or not you believe that sleeping with the head of your bed on the north wall of the bedroom promotes deeper sleep, it’s hard to argue with other Feng Shui practices. One such principle is bringing nature indoors. This can be accomplished with living plants or even art featuring wilderness landscapes.
Décor idea: Select one wall in your home and devote it to photographs of living plants or natural settings.
Rounded shapes
Though clean lines and order may feel comforting to some, too many right angles can be overly stimulating. Circles and ovals, on the other hand, feel more organic and soothing. While you may not be able to round out the corners or entry ways in your home, you can add round touches with circular ottomans, oval frames for mirrors and art, and spherical elements such as a globe or orbs on a bookshelf.
Décor idea: Consider wallpaper or wall designs the include flowing, organic shapes such as wood grain or florals.
Color
The hues and shades you use in your home can have the biggest impact on your mood. Bright colors can be energizing, and reds are great for stimulating appetites in kitchen and dining rooms. But if you are looking to bring a sense of calm to a room, muted shades of blue and green or earth tones are best. Don’t mistake “muted” for “light” though; deep ocean blues and forest greens can be soothing while still making a statement.
Décor idea: If you’re hesitant to commit to painting a whole room, experiment with calming colors by incorporating throw blankets, pillows, and artwork.
