There’s no place like home

I’ve always believed in the significance of the rooms we inhabit. The best spaces nurture, sooth and support our relationships, work, hobbies and family life.

Our home does more than tell our story, it provides a welcome and much needed respite from the coarse reality of modern life.

Providing shelter is the most basic function of our home, but as we contend with climate change, political instability, stock market volatility and a pandemic virus, we need a lot more from our home.

When you’re hunkered down at home, ask yourself if your home is working for you. How can it better suit your needs and support the details of your life? With a few tweaks and adjustments, your home can be a source of happiness and comfort as you weather the stresses of daily life.

3 ways to create a soothing home environment

1. Make space for hobbies and activities that help you relax. I’m not talking about TV. What I’m referring to is having a technology free space to read, draw, knit or do a puzzle. A place to play music or a game of cards. Spending time with people you enjoy will help mitigate stress but first your furniture layout needs to make even small gatherings easy.
2. Seating and flexible seating options. Do you have formal spaces that sit empty and unused? By repurposing spaces and rearranging furniture, you can easily create spaces that make casual get-togethers no big deal. Now more than ever, we need our home to be a source of comfort where we can spend time comfortably as a family and when this current crises subsides, one where we can eagerly and easily spend time with friends. Your home can help both become a reality.
3. De-clutter. Nothing elicits more anxiety than a cluttered space or puts the kibosh on relaxation like looking at mountain of stuff you don’t know what to do with, can’t deal with, and maybe don’t need or want.
   Having grown up in a house with way too much stuff, I can attest that you simply cannot relax and recharge in a space overflowing with stacks of paper, old toys and piles of clothes. While we’re all encouraged to lay low, now seems like the perfect time to tackle clutter.