Make your home a relaxing sanctuary that fits your personality.

I work with my clients to create a home that is a sanctuary for them; a retreat where they can rest and renew from the busy outside work. Due to the coronavirus we have all been stuck in our homes for the last several weeks and though the outside world has slowed down, for families it has been busier than ever with balancing work, home schooling, and constant cooking and cleaning. Many people I’ve spoken with say that being at home feels more like a jail sentence than a relaxing retreat.   

Glass Seashell Interior Design Decor

However, it doesn’t have to feel like that! Here are tips to make your home feel more like a sanctuary which is more important than ever, given that we are going to be spending more time at home for quite a while. 

Vacation photos in your interior design

  1. While being grateful for what you have, take an inventory in each room of your home and think about what makes you happy and what could use improvement. This can sound stressful though just commit to one room a month, then within a few months you will have worked through your entire home. Maybe you will have so much fun with this that you commit to one room a week. Make it a family activity and ask them what they like or dislike about the spaces. When looking through things in my home I keep asking myself the question, “Why do I have this?”, “What does it mean to me?”, “Does it bring me joy/happiness?”.
  2. What items are in your home that evoke memories and joy? Are they on display or hidden away? Is it something you inherited from your grandparents or great-grandparents estate? Something you have had since high school or college? 
  3. While watching your evening television show spend some time online shopping to find a few new things that reminds you of a beautiful memory. Not just things that look fun, things that have a reason behind them. What brings you peace? What helps you to relax? Maybe it is a glass seashell that reminds you of a beach vacation with your family or frog statue that reminds you of a camping trip. And though you can shop online at Pier One Imports or At Home, there are also plenty of small businesses that could use your support on Etsy or local companies like Trove Warehouse in Upper Arlington and New Albany that have their inventory online also. 
  4. Go through the camera on your phone to look at the pictures from your last vacation or your last several vacations and find a picture or a few that you could have printed on a canvas to display in our home to remind you of fun, relaxing adventures. 
  5. Create more white space/empty space. Clutter creates chaos. If you don’t have enough storage for everything you have, you may have too much. You only have to watch a few minutes of the TV show Hoarders to feel how much stress and anxiety clutter creates, and though most people aren’t hoarders, even a smallest mess can create stress.