How to add to the feeling of relaxation at home

“A man travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home to find it”. George Augustus Moore was too knowledgeable to say this as a passing remark. He meant every bit of it.

Homes are after all the true embodiment of your personality. If you love your existence, the sheer power of being alive and happy, then it would reflect in your home.You home would then be one bright place where you would want to return- the cocoon of comfort.

So, how do you make your home even more comforting and relaxing?

These are certainly very hectic times and people long to put their feet up on returning home. This increases the need of apt home decoration measures. You can follow these few tips to make your home an enticing prospect when you return, a lot more harmonious and beautifully relaxing.

• There is no substitute to natural light. Unless you have a monster of a neighbor, try keeping the drapes and curtains up during daytime, allowing sunlight to reach every part of your home as much as it can.
• The importance of flowers cannot be overstated. They work magic with their aroma and are great in terms of visual aesthetics too.
• White candles do not only present a sense of purity but also enhance the serenity of a home. Be wary of the nauseously fragranced ones.
• The choice of colour can be the difference between a composed home environment and a frictional one. It is always better to go with the earthly colours or various subtle tones of colours like blue or green. You can choose the really bright and powerful colour shades for your art room, or creative spaces in the home.
• “I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library.” So books there must be, spread across your home, in shelves, display cabinets and other spaces within hand’s reach.
• Area rugs can create a unity of form and scale in a home. If used well, it can also create an additional illusion of space.
• Fireplaces can be a worthy augmentation.

We have taken a look at the home’s embellishment in general. Let us be more categorical and see how we can fill each room of ours with a sense of calm and harmony.

Ideas for the bedroom:

• Keep the cluttered mess away from the bedroom dressers and tables. Clothes should not give the impression of hanging just about anywhere.
• Use bed sheets that have high thread content. Use beddings of earth or pastel colours.
• Use a few extra pillows on the bed; they offer you added support and also permit you the sensation of comfort.
• An area rug placed adjacent to the bed is always aesthetic to look at.
• Use of soft colours and natural sunlight should be paid due consideration.
• Keep a basket right next to your bed where you can push off all the electronic objects during night. Also, keep them in off mode until there is a strong reason to do otherwise.
• Arty wall hangings add to the sense of harmony.
• Use those lights which come with dimmers. Diffused lights in bedrooms also help. Also, you can take aid of task lights and accent lights for the wall, they help you in compartmentalizing bedroom space.
• Flowers, candles and books are the troika which can make bedroom spaces very appealing and relaxing.

Ideas for the living room:

This is where you spend maximum part of your home-time so it certainly deserves a little brain-racking to put things in perfect order.

• Keep blankets handy, neatly stored in easily accessible ottomans or trunks.
• Keep the family portraits quite proximal to the central couch
• Use a fireplace mantel to add to the cosiness quotient of your home.
• Use a wooden setting for the fireplace to increase the sense of idyll.
• Use chic tapestries like the honeycomb style
• Keep fresh cut flowers in the living area.
• Give special importance to Ottomans; they serve the three-fold purpose of storage units, magazine holders and embellishing unit.

Ideas for a relaxing kitchen:

A survey suggests that more than half of the prospective homeowners look at the kitchen first while inspecting homes. An organized kitchen automatically imposes a sense of relaxation.

• Keep the cupboards and pantry area spic n span. Keep checking every now and then what resources or utility items you may be falling short on. Keep reinvesting in the supply.
• Segregate the coffee bar area. This is where you need to put in the coffee maker, cups and mugs.
• Use a kitchen countertop that is close in resemblance to stone or quartz (if not stone or quartz). Yes, the latter can be really costly but is every bit worth the expense. If budget is not a constraint, you can also extend the countertops till the gourmet area.
• Maintain a snack drawer for children where they can indulge in some healthy eating. At the same time, use high-drawers for those items that must be kept away from child’s reach.
• Keep the tables, countertops and any extra furniture clutter-free. Generally, we have a tendency towards clearing the mess around our cooking space. This often leads to the clutter being directed to other parts of the kitchen. Refrain from this practice. The whole kitchen must look clean.
• Use smart accent lights and sober colors.They add to the feeling of relaxation.
• Use an iPod or a music box that churns out rhythmic tunes of soft nature while you cook food.

Ideas for bathroom:

Bathroom is your relaxation chamber when you return from a hectic day at office.

• Use diffused lights in a bathroom; you can also use lights well-hidden behind curtains and plants. They create the impact of calm.
• You can segregate the bathroom space by using different shades of light in different areas. Of course, this is only possible if your bath space is huge.
• A Jacuzzi is always a huge plus. Nothing like it really!
• Use travertine tiles or something similar that shows a rich texture of veins. It augments the sense of trance that a bathroom should ideally produce.
• Give natural light its due.
• A bath pillow is another feather added to the comfort level.
• Keep a small table right next to your bathtub. Keep books or wine glasses on it.
• Use flowers and candles in generous dose.
• Use a massaging head instead of a shower head.
• Area rugs and wall hangings further beautify the area.
• You can also invest in a towel warmer.

Technology constantly marches ahead and brings to us a few delightful options in the way.

For instance, a LED prototype using preprogrammed ‘light recipes’ is about to get mass-produced. It will allow us to keep various versions of ‘relaxing and harmonious’ light shades saved in our smartphone. All we would need is to select a shade and the lights in our homes would automatically start giving out that shade of light. A meditation shade, a yoga shade, a power nap shade- What do you say?

In the end, nothing stamps this write-up as well as the following Lennon quote “Turn off your mind, relax, and float downstream.”

What are your favourite touches for creating a relaxing environment at home?