Our interior design can be important in a lot of ways – including helping with your mental health. If you’re keen to make the most of your home, you’ll probably want it to be as simple as possible. As it happens, there are a lot of things you can do to keep your interior design simple. In doing, you’re creating a comfortable and enjoyable space at no extra mental stress. Comfortable spaces have a great influence on our mood, behavior, motivation, and even our stress levels. The visuals, the colour of the area, the lighting, the fresh air, and the noise all contribute to our varying levels of calm.
A lack of natural light, excessive and continuous noise, clutter, overcrowding, poor hygiene, and poor ventilation can all have a huge impact on us. If we live with these things on a daily basis, we’re going to begin to see negative impacts on our mental, physical, and even our emotional health. It’s important that the majority if not all of these issues are addressed in order for us to feel a sense of calm. Even if you don’t think it, the above can have a detrimental impact on your life and how well you and your family function.
With all that being said, here are some of the best ways in which you can hope to keep your interior design much simpler. All of the following are well worth thinking about.
Interested in learning more about how interior design can impact you? Check out this post.
How to optimise your environment to create a simple and comfortable space.
Focus On Minimalism.
You don’t have to go minimalistic in order to keep things simple, but it is definitely going to help. At the very least, it’s something to consider. If you adopt a minimalist style, it will mean that you just have less to worry about. This is definitely something to aim for. Of course, it doesn’t mean that there is nothing to think about – and it can actually be challenging to get the minimalist approach right. But it will definitely keep things simple in general, so you should make sure that you are thinking about that.
I’ve discussed the impacts of clutter at length in “How clutter impacts the workspace.” In that post, we learn about the varying issues that clutter can create including the mental, physical, and emotional impacts.
Clutter not only creates an eyesore, but it also increases our stress levels, reduces emotional tolerance, and increases the likelihood of bacteria and dust. None of the above are ideal for creating a calm environment and therefore it’s essential that we reduce ‘mess‘ as much as possible.
Here are some additional decluttering tips to keep in mind.
Be Detailed-Oriented.
The details are also important. If you take care of those, you’ll also be taking care of the bigger picture. Once you start to look into it, you soon see that there are a lot of details you have to be aware of, and you might be surprised at just how many of them you need to think about. It can be anything from needing the right fosroc conbextra gp to making sure that the trim colors on edges are right. In any case, just try your best to be detail-oriented, and you should find this helps you to keep it all much simpler.
Pick the right colours.
Did you know that our bodies and minds react differently to different colours? Yellows and blues tend to be more relaxing colours, while deep reds, blacks and even some greys can be stimulating and negatively received. If you’re able to paint your chosen room or area, it’s suggested that you use bright or pastel tones in order to promote a sense of calm. Here’s a quick run down of some of the primary colours that influence our mood.
- Green represents balance and harmony, specifically if it’s pastel.
- Blues are a popular calming colour in bedrooms and bathrooms.
- Yellows are considered to be emotional, and can even encourage a feeling of optimism.
- Whites, although clinical, are also natural and clean. They add some much-needed light to small areas but the wrong tone may also trigger some to become more anxious.
Everyone is different, so pick a colour that creates calm within you. Get some swatches from your local hardware store or even buy small sample sizes of paint to try on the walls before committing. You can even get some funky wallpapers to really make it pop!
*If you rent please make sure that you speak to your landlord before painting.
Struggling to find the love in your home? Check out this post to help you learn how to fall in love with your home again.
Develop A Narrative.
For each room that you’re designing, you’ll find it helpful to have a particular narrative in mind. Once you come up with the story of the room, as it were, that is then going to dictate everything that you can do in the room, and you’ll find that this provides you with a useful form with which you can approach your interior design. It really is amazing how well this works, and it’s an example of using your creativity to keep your interior design as you want it to be. Develop a narrative, and you will actually be making things a lot easier on yourself.
Make sure you’re physically comfortable.
How we feel physically has a big impact on our mental health. If we’re feeling unwell or uncomfortable, it can create a shroud of darkness. No matter what we do, if we’re living in discomfort, it’ll be difficult to maintain a positive outlook on life.
Remember to stock up on comfortable cushions, well-downed pillows, warm blankets to keep us warm and a better mattress for a better night’s sleep. If you suffer from any aches, pains or physical difficulties, it’s also important to consider the various tools available to help you live a safer and more comfortable life.
Sacred scents.
If you want the optimum calming experience burn a few scented candles or even invest in a diffuser. Smells are one of the easiest ways to encourage particular emotions and sensations. While smells like citrus encourage us to be more energetic, lavender promotes sleep and relaxation.
Want to know more about how smells work to decrease stress levels? Check out this post all about aromatherapy.
Create balance with Feng Shui.
Have you ever heard of Feng Shui? It’s the Chinese art of optimising your living space to promote a harmonising flow of energy! Feng Shui splits the world into five main elements: wood, fire, earth, metal, and water.
Everyone’s space and what we have access to are different. Like many things, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach. Although some may suggest hiring a professional, that’s only necessary if you’re really taking things seriously. I much prefer experimenting and learning things in my own way so that I can best cater to it to me. But I’m far from an expert, therefore I highly recommend checking out this guide to simple Feng Shui.
You should also check out this guide to the perfect pillow arrangement. Is it essential? No. But will you need these aesthetics in your life? Big yes!
Natural sunlight and fresh air.
Natural light and fresh air has a lot to do with our mood! Lack of exposure to natural lighting is known for causing a disruption to our circadian rhythms, which later results in a variety of other physical and mental illnesses. Think about it. When the spring arrives and the sun finally appears, we generally begin to feel better. Therefore it’s a good idea to pick a spot that allows you access to natural sunlight and, if possible, some fresh air from an open window!
Above all else follow your preferences.
Above all, the main thing you’ll want to do in any interior design is just to make sure that you follow your own preferences as closely as possible. If you can do that, it’s the kind of thing that is going to make everything a lot simpler and easier. Once you are just trying to please your own tastes and styles, everything else is going to fall into place a lot more easily. Make sure that you are doing this therefore for yourself.
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How have you created a calming space in your home? Do you have any more tips to share?
I’ve just stumbled on this post and had to comment! I totally agree — I think creating a cosy home definitely impacts positively on mood and positive mental wellbeing. There’s nowhere I’d rather be than at home on a grey winter’s day like this 🙂
Love this!! Minimalism and the right colors go such a long way for creating a peaceful and comfortable space.
We are struggling right now with the space in our house. The kids are getting older, they both need separate rooms, we need our room, plus space for work…Minimalism, plenty of sunlight, and a quiet room. Those are my favorites.
As someone with kids, I find it so helpful (and necessary!) to focus on minimalism where I can in my house. If there’s chaos, it definitely affects my stress level and overall mood. Great advice!
Ahhhh this is one of my favorite topics. Creating a home that you are happy in, comfortable, and completely relaxed is a joy and not to be understated.
Clutter is one of the biggest culprits! Less is definitely more.
These are amazing and quite great ideas to help anyone create an incredibly comfortable space in the house! I love the thought of being minimalist! Simple is simply beautiful.
Your article on creating a comfortable space in your home was a great read! I especially enjoyed your tips on decluttering and adding natural elements to your decor. As someone who is new to creating a cozy home environment, your insights were very helpful. And now I’m off to check out your recipe section!
It’s so important to be comfortable in your own home. We have a lot of natural light, minimal stuff, and comfortable seating. I want my home to be a place that my kids feel the most comfortable so strive for that.
Everyone has a great desire for calming space. Mine is the scents. I love scented candles!
After a tiring day at work, home is the only place where we can calm down and relax. I love to create a comfortable space by always decluttering.
Minimalism is my favorite approach for a couple of years. You can go wrong with it.
“Make Sure You’re Physically Comfortable”. This is my biggest determinant to addressing my comfortable space at home. Besides that, I am quite details-oriented.
I love this post, so many great tips with a in depth explanation of each. I really do agree with you the way you decorate your space matters. I made sure my office had plenty of nautral light, pictures from favorite memories and plenty of music to be played. Thats what helps me most. Keep up the great work.
So important to make your space comfortable for yourself! I had quite a few things that help me relax and love my time at home.
I go with blue or white in my space. I prefer calming and natural colors.
This article has inspired me to make my own comfy space in my office area. I hope to check out the Feng Shui book you reference. Thank for the tips!
This post is so apt for me right now. I know I’ve already commented but now we’re decorating an ENTIRE house, I’m constantly thinking about colours, decor and how to make the spaces feel as cozy and comfortable as possible!
I always enjoy these type of articles as I can learn so much when it comes to making your house a home. I am in love with blue’s so when I have my own place its going to be very organized with warm shades of blues.
Woo I will check out your fengshui article. So curious to read more thanks for the guide.
Couldn’t agree more with this post. For me, I declutter once in a while as this gives me peace of mind.
Living in a comfortable home makes me feel relax and calm. This is so nice to read
Removing junk from your house make it easy to plan and rearrange your house to bring out any design you want.
It is so important to me to have a comfy and stylish space at home. Because it helps me to calm and to relax.
These are great ideas at the perfect time. We are doing a major decluttering right now. Maybe we can use one or two of these ideas when we get through this process.
I love these suggestions. We are decluttering right now and hoping to choose colors next.
I love that you touched on color use in this post. Color has a POWERFUL impact on our psyche and our ability to relax and be calm.
These are all great ideas. It’s so important to have a comfy space to relax in. It helps you recover from the rigors of the day.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read x
YES!! Love this post – speaks so much to how important our physical space is on our mental space. I’m a huge fan of removing excess clutter as well as aromatherapy I always have a candle of essential oils in my office! Thanks for sharing this post.
Great post. I really need to re do my room.
Great ideas, comfy seating is so important and I’m even thinking about it for the garden area too!
Clutter is my biggest pet peeve. I am most weeks scanning our home for things that we don’t need and sending them to the op shop so clutter doesn’t take over. It’s true you don’t have to be a minimalist but there’s not much point having things that aren’t practical or are good for our mental health.
I love these tips. I feel that there are lots of things I have not used this year when stuck at home so I am very unlikely to need them when we go out more.
Being stuck at home for the best part of a year has really made me focus on decluttering. It’s amazing the amount of “stuff” we keep hold of! Great tips
Great tips. I particularly love the aromatherapy link as it’s something I often over look when considering room decor.
Great tips here, I really don’t like clutter in the house but I still want it homely especially as we are in so much right now
I agree 100%. I never knew that a better environment meant a happier and healthier mind and body but it makes sense. Whenever there is clutter around or things out of place I am miserable and cant seem to get motivated. Once I tidy it up and create a nice comfy spot for myself with all my favorite things around, I feel so much better.
Great tips. I try to decrease as much clutter as possible, but sometimes my daughter has other plans. Great post.
These are wonderful tips!
I definitely agree not having clutter decreases stress & I can also focus on my work!
My apartment has all white walls, which is nice because it makes the rooms appear bright & bigger & all the rooms except the bathroom have big windows which lets in natural light & fresh air. I also LOVE scented candles!
Great tips thanks for sharing I’m working on some spring cleaning decluttering and adding plants to my home and office
What a wonderful post! I’ve noticed how much my environment effects my mood and my ability to be productive. When things are cluttered and messy, I have a hard time concentrating, but when everything is cleaned up I immediately feel more relaxed. I love that you shared some information on colours and their meaning. So helpful. Thanks for sharing!
I love this! When I’m down my rooms gets so messy and I always feel happier once it’s all tidied up! I love the thing about colours, my room is yellow and I love how bright it is, especially on a sunny day! Great post
Really lovely post girl. I hate clutter and it definitely makes me more uptight and anxious when I’m surrounded by clutter. I like both light and dark shades. Green is my favourite – I have a green office and it’s so calming! x
These are lovely tips for creating a comfortable space in your home! It’s so important to have that space in your home for yourself! x
Lucy | http://www.lucymary.co.uk
I am SO bad for clutter and I hate it! It makes my mind feel very busy and tired. I really think it’s amazing the impact colors can have on you too. My house now is all white and it has impacted my mental health in such a positive way. (Before I moved, my old house was very dark with brown walls.) This was an excellent post!
These are some really great tips! It’s so important to have a comfortable space in your home and I definitely agree most about the scents xx
Clutter is my biggest problem, it just suddenly adds up. You’ve reminded me I need to start spring cleaning!
These are all great tips! Thanks for sharing.
This is a really helpful blog post. Thank you for sharing your tips on creating a comfortable space.
Lauren