Grounding. Understanding. Realisation.
It’s important that changes you make to your living space prioritise the things that will make a tangible, positive difference, while at the same time, taking into consideration the non-negotiables we all have in our lives. Changes that create new issues while addressing old ones are unlikely to bring calm so it’s important to be practical as well as aesthetic.
We all have colours and styles that we are naturally drawn to. Whatever your preferences, when it comes to creating a calm space, it’s important to think about what needs to change in your current environment and why. This will help you to prioritise, to be open to new and different ideas and to make choices that will transform the effect of your surroundings on your senses and your state of mind.
What makes you feel content and is that reflected in your home? Surrounding yourself with things that have meaning for you, that tell a story, that capture a memory, an emotion or an occasion, are essential in helping you create a space that grounds you, nurtures you and brings you joy every day. Achieving an understanding of what can do this for you, is crucial to creating calm and needs to inform your design and styling decisions.
This principle is, in some ways, an extension of #3. Although being patient can be hard, the sense of satisfaction you get from finding, not almost the right thing, but exactly the right thing, is hard to beat and it will continue to make you happy and create that ‘hygge’ feeling every day. It can take time to reap the rewards of a curated environment, but the connection you have with your space as a result, means it will always be worth the wait.
Trends have their place but they may not necessarily align with the creation of a calm space. There are always exceptions, but if your goal is to move towards a more nurturing and restorative environment, you may need to resist the temptation to follow the latest interior fashions if they run counter to the core principles of calm styling and design. Applied psychology is at work behind many calming colour palettes and decisions. It’s important to draw on this thinking in order to achieve the best outcome.
It’s understandable that when we’re thinking about giving our home – or maybe a room within our home – a refresh, we often jump straight to a full transformation. This can make change seem overwhelming or costly and so we put it off. Yet calm can also be achieved by a thoughtful approach to the detail. Whether it’s choosing soft edges over hard ones, getting furniture proportions right, improving your storage solutions or picking the perfect scent for your room, making careful choices when it comes to the small things can make a big difference to your space and how you feel in it.
Texture is about more than a look or a finish. It can fundamentally change the feel of a space without the distraction or imbalance that you sometimes risk when you introduce pattern or colour. The variety and contrast it brings add depth and warmth, whilst its ability to build layers introduces interest, softness and a cocooning effect, helping you to feel calm.
Having an organised home is an important contribution to making your environment and therefore you, feel calmer. However, it’s important to create balance. It doesn’t always follow that modern, minimalist environments are calm. The absence of belongings can make them tidy and streamlined but also strip them of essential warmth and character. Finding interesting ways to store your things, can allow you to make both a practical and positive contribution to your home.
