Space of Harmony for Body and Mind
The Pandemic has proved once again that my home is my shelter. Here’s how to create a house that fits not only physical but mental needs.
As you walk inside of a house, the house of a stranger or a close friend, the impression of its appearance impacts your inner being perhaps even without you realizing it. Despite such facts as scents, colours, and cleanliness of the place that your eyes catch at first, your mind signals your body and you feel either relaxed or alarmed.
Often we underestimate the power that a combination of textures, furniture and interior design, in general, have on humans’ minds. We think of the indoor space under our possession as something usual, and avoid putting an extra effort into thinking how the whole concept of its appearance will make us or our guests feel. Supposedly this mistake was never that obvious until the moment we were enforced to stay home longer than usual.
It was the pivotal moment when the desire to redecorate grew to avoid boredom and stay productive without the ability to leave the house for longer than a grocery shopping run. The months of isolation proved once again that owning a place is a blessing and a privilege, and having a house that supports not only physical but mental needs is work and effort. Today we will discuss a few stages of creating such space that go deeper than the colour of pillows on a couch.
HOUSE THAT REFLECTS YOUR INTERESTS: THE SPACE TO LIVE
At first, when people start wondering about creating space that would allow relaxing, that would be a mental and physical shelter where one could restore the weary body and spirit, they mean the place that would be individual in its organization. As we all have different tastes and preferences, it is only logical to conclude that our houses should reflect those differences. The highlight of the paragraph “the space to live not to impress” responds to the whole idea of creating that personal space.
To make the process of creating such space easier, one must distance themselves from all ideas of trendy decor advertised on Instagram, and ask self-vision and desire of what style would respond to that inner idea of a perfect place. Interior design that was chosen to satisfy the genuine taste of the owner allows him to feel safe and relaxed, although, this might differ from popular ideas of the picture-perfect home. However, that is the whole point. The first step toward redecorating, or decorating from the beginning, is to keep in mind the original idea and then proceed with the research for colours, textures, materials, and scents that support that vision.
OBSERVING THE SPACE AS A WHOLE SYSTEM, AND NOT FEARING EXPERIMENTS
Designing an interior, keeping in mind all those ideas to implement, the house owner should observe each room and each element as a whole working system. If every object serves its purpose even if it is only an aesthetic purpose; if it balances function and beauty, such an interior will be satisfying not only to look at but also to live in.
This idea of observing the space and its design as one working running organism supports and gradually follows the point mentioned earlier – the place that reflects its owner’s personality and that is well-organized. When you stand in the middle of the room, thinking of what items would brighten it up, would add comfort, and would coexist in perfect harmony, think of mixing and matching.
As people, we are full of different opinions, interests, and personality traits, and it would be unfortunate not to bring these differences into the spaces we own. To reach the harmony of the inner and outer world, one can try to bring something of both – habitual, and unexpected. Mix a yellow sofa with blue painting. Add a bit of an art-deco glam to a minimal room. Experiment with plants on the shelves. As Variety Magazine describes, “One of the foremost decorative themes that burbled away in the first half of the year and are almost guaranteed to explode shortly, is the art of bringing the outdoors inside. Nature-starved homeowners have been craving what they’ve been denied of late, so expect to see an increased number of plants and lush indoor gardens, earth-toned colour schemes, outdoor-style interior flooring, and even the occasional attached greenhouse.”
According to their words, we, as space owners, must engage in the idea of connecting closer to nature, and reflect the desire for that connection in our rooms. The same approach can be considered with other items that only a while ago we had no time or courage to try out in our spaces. Well, let us suggest that now it is a perfect time, and as soon as one dares to respond to the inner call to add some brighter electing details into the interior, one will be satisfied with the result of the experiment. If the whole design, each room is obeying certain rules of balance, no experiment of adding something new will ever ruin it. Contrarily, it will add a spark, and that will help the owner feel refreshed in already familiar rooms.
MINIMIZING CLUTTER, MAXIMIZING RELAXATION AND HARMONY
As much as the colours of our decorum affect our well being, keeping things clutter-free is important. Whatever is it in life – clothes, emails, jobs, even connections and conversations, not even speaking of the house, it has a significant negative pressure on the mind if it is cluttered with unhealthy, unnecessary rubbish.
“Clutter is an overabundance of possessions that collectively create chaotic and disorderly living spaces,” says Joseph Ferrari, a professor of psychology at DePaul University in Chicago who studies the causes of clutter and its impact on emotional well-being. A cluttered home, researchers are learning, can be a stressful home.
Even though keeping spaces organized and clutter-free can be a lot of work, in the end, it is much less effort than dealing with depression and stress while finding no peace and harmony in your own space. One of the best and easiest ways to stay away from constant clutter is a combination of the right mindset, conscious consumerism, discipline of putting thighs where they belong, and the desire to support the house stress-free and harmony full. After all, those endeavours are not useless; they contribute to the inner well-being of mind and body.
+ Words:
Maria Kossman
