Balance in a room is as much about emotion as it is about good design. And, if you’ve had a busy stressful day, returning home to the feeling of calmness is a surefire way of combating day-to-day tensions.
Proven to do more than just improve mood, a balanced and healthy home environment is where we can be ourselves and unwind. So, if you need to add a little wellbeing, it’s time to re-think your interiors — because harmony starts at home!
Light and breezy
You might not be surprised to hear that the amount of light — natural or artificial — can have a huge effect on your state of mind. Those with a brighter home typically feel more relaxed, confident, and optimistic.
If waking up and feeling refreshed is your biggest challenge, you might not have the right light balance. If possible, try allowing more natural light to flood your home and place the furniture you typically relax on within its rays. For darker months, introduce more artificial lighting and warming candles to see how they add to your overall mood.
Colour therapy
Just like lighting, the colours we chose to decorate our homes with can have a profound impact on mood. Often, one sign of an amateur decorator is where the colours match perfectly — too perfectly. Choose two or three main colours that you can blend and spread throughout your room — this will carry the eye and keep things interesting.
To create a balanced and relaxing atmosphere, try blending neutral tones, such as tranquil greens, blues, greys, and whites. You can easily incorporate burst of colour to energise a space and play with the lighting of a room to make it cosier.
Green healers
Whether it’s houseplants, fresh flowers, or fragrant herbs — a touch of nature indoors helps to improve productivity, lower stress, and make your home feel alive. From easy-to-care-for succulents to bold and beautiful bouquets , our green friends not only look great, but they re-oxygenate the air and even absorb radiation from electronic devices.
Try moving a low-maintenance peace lily or English ivy into your bedroom and see if it helps your sleep pattern. Or, scatter some feel-good orange flowers around heavy-use rooms — the colour is said to promote happiness and joy!
Cut the clutter
Let's adopt a new mantra: mess causes stress! Studies have shown that clutter is bad for our health. As it grows, it demands more and more of our attention, to the point that becomes distracting and makes it harder to relax — it can even encourage us to overeat.
Before your home falls into a state of lawlessness, consider cleaning up the trash masquerading as clutter. Old magazines; broken eyeglasses, that vintage collection of receipts from the early 2000s — they can all go. Unworn clothing and unused toys, why not donate them to charity? Think of it as simplifying and getting back to basics.
Touchable textures
Adding touchable textures to your interiors can create a range of different moods. From the comfort-inducing shag of a luxurious rug to decorative metal elements linked with the feelings of strength and independence — what you feel, really can be, what you feel!
Arrange your furniture in a way that creates a seamless flow of energy in your room — one that avoids dead space — and play with your textures to find the perfect balance. And remember; no matter what changes you make to create a balanced healthy home — have fun with it!