Decorating tips for a stress-free home

For many of us, we step into our homes to find unpaid bills, hungry children or restless pets, a house in disarray, and an overwhelming stack of tasks that scream, ‘I Will Not Go Away Until You Finish Me’. But we all need time to unplug from our week, to retreat from the stimulation of our busy lives, and to rest in the cozy solitude of our homes.

Commonfloor brings you these easy 10 decorating tips f0r a stress-free home:

Create a feel-good focal point in your entryway:

The first thing you see when you enter your home should be something you love, whether that’s a piece of art, a vase of flowers, or a special souvenir. A beautiful first impression helps you relax from the get-go.

Organise daily debris:

Piles of stuff at your entryway send the message that there’s more mess and chaos inside, and who wants to walk into that. Have a designated place for every item that enters and exits your house.

Is your home a cozy retreat?

Or is it just another place where you complete task after task. Do you spend most of your time at home doing dishes, cleaning up, finishing up work from the office, studying, doing laundry or watching TV? Do you take regular time to unplug at home?

Consider making a regular, weekly unplug appointment at home:

Treat it like a real appointment and do not schedule anything else at that time! If you find yourself saying “but I don’t have time!” start to question that inner voice. Self-care is not selfish or indulgent — it is important for your physical and mental health.

Unplug completely from all of your devices:

Turn off your phone, power down the computer, and turn the TV off.

Make a list of things that make you calm and happy:

Pick a few, and do at least one of those for an hour every week.

For at least one hour, do something that completely relaxes you: read a book without interruption, drink some tea and ponder the universe, paint, draw, write, take a bath, soak your feet, or just do absolutely nothing.

Create space:

To reduce the clutter and make the room feel larger, ask yourself if you really need all those end tables or picture frames, and cut anything deemed nonessential. Consider painting a table or bookshelf the same color (or a similar one) as the wall it’s up against, so it “disappears” into it. Painting walls white or a light color will also make a smaller room feel more spacious.

Light up locations, not whole rooms:

Bright overhead light can make it difficult to wind down at the end of the day. Use spot lighting for areas where you need brightness, such as next to the sofa where you read, and put overhead lights on dimmers. Also, switch to full-spectrum bulbs, which mimic natural light better than standard ones do. They cost a bit more, but they’re worth it because they create a more soothing natural atmosphere.

Create pedestrian-friendly paths:

“If you can barely get into a chair without banging your leg on the coffee table, or if the path from the sofa to the door is cramped, rearrange your furniture. Not being able to safely and easily move about produces anxiety – not to mention an easy way to trip or stub a toe.

Simplify your color scheme:

Use restraint with patterns and loud colors. If you mix patterns, keep their color schemes similar, and if you like lots of colors, keep patterns to a minimum. If you have too many bright colors or high-contrast patterns in a room, your eyes are going to be drawn all over the place, making it difficult to relax.

Bring the outdoors in:

For a more peaceful home, bring in a couple of houseplants or hang a mirror across from your largest window to maximize outdoor vantage points.

Switch off electronics:

To rest easier, remove all televisions and computers from your bedroom. The light emitted by these devices signals the brain to stay awake, interfering with a good night’s sleep and leaving you with elevated levels of stress hormones in the morning.