MAKE YOUR HOME A PEACEFUL HAVEN
Bring the outside in!
Oh yes! ‘Mindfulness’ is now being used by architects and interior designers to help us enjoy living more ‘in the moment’. It’s a ‘thing’!
So, banish that pile of crap off one end of the dining table, clear that hallway table of unopened post (guilty, but the incoming is overwhelming), organise those bookshelves. I often ask myself, ‘Jo, why do you put lovely ornaments IN FRONT OF the most popular books on the bookshelves?’ Organise those plants, and get a bit of chi flowing through your room and find that ‘money corner guys’! (The Feng Shui idea (also known as Chinese geomancy) is that you create a grid of nine squares (like Sudoku) mimicking the base of your home - the top left square (No1) would be your money corner with the bottom row 7, 8 ,9 - 8 being your front door)
BRING NATURE INSIDE
Be inspired by lifestyle concept stores such as Urban Outfitters, Neptune and Petersham Nurseries who cleverly use plants and the colour of nature to bring life and energy to your living space. Incorporate plants to increase oxygen and reduce carbon dioxide, pollutants and dust particles. Peace lily, golden pothos (Devil’s Ivy), spider or snake plants are known to be air purifying and relatively easy to keep alive! Create a corner of greenery, tumbling from a shelf or in a large pot, and place a chair in this space and use it as a mindful meditation corner for peace and quiet reflection.
Nature’s hues of greens and blues
DECLUTTER
Mess and clutter in the home only serve to make us feel low, out of control, overwhelmed and even depressed. It’s the Marie Kondo effect - clarity and order can only help bring peace and calm to your space, both physically and mentally. Being surrounded by things you don’t love or find useful lowers our energy and the energy in our home, leaving it uninspiring and gloomy. Start by decluttering one small area at a time, say a kitchen surface, a hall table. If you can’t get rid of items, but want your space to feel less chaotic, seek out better storage ideas. We have several large antique trunks in our home (filled with old magazines and tear sheets from my work over the years that I don’t want to throw away) that I stylishly pile up on each ther and use as a side table.
Spring Collection from Neptune
LIGHT SWITCH
Incorporate lots of different types of lighting around the home - from LED spot lights for bright invigorating light, to standard lamps, angle-poise side lamps, multi-coloured mood lighting to pure, eco candles for soft romantic lighting. If you can have a real fire or logburner in your home (I llove mine and am ignoring The Mayor of London) these add to the feeling of comfort, warmth, cosiness and make us feel ‘at home’.
Side lamps by warmlydecor.co.uk
