8 Mindful Design Tips to Promote Wellbeing
It’s time to tune into your space with your senses!
I always ask myself how I can bring, my yoga practices into my everyday life, I also want to include this philosophy in my design projects as well as my own personal spaces. Now more than ever, we are seeing the impact of the last few years of being stuck in our homes and realizing our connection to them.
So what exactly is mindfulness? How can we bring this into the designs of our homes, where we spend most of our lives? Mindfulness is a mental state of calm, acceptance, and awareness of the present moment.
In the dictionary, mindfulness is defined as, “a mental state achieved by focusing one's awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one's feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations, used as a therapeutic technique” I often inquire, how can we use this technique when we decide to bring items into our home? Mindfulness is a wonderful tool as it encourages us to pay careful attention to every decision that we make, so why not use it when you are home shopping?
In-home design elements, we can promote introspection through distinct elements like architectural composition, visual divisions, and decoration, all of which are intended to be essential aspects that let us be in harmony with our surroundings. One of the first questions you can ask yourself is: what makes you feel good in your home? Introspection is important as how do you know what you want unless you really ask yourself and ponder.
Tuning into your emotions also can make your home your happy place, I like using natural elements and reducing clutter as a focus. For me, this immediately reduces anxiety and provokes a sense of serenity. Conscious spaces make better feelings and when your home feels good, you feel good too.
I’ve added a few simple design ideas that can impact you're lived and get you on the path to your home sanctuary.
Put your office or creative space by a window, utilizing natural light is the way.
Use natural materials in your home from textiles to home furnishings.
Make sure every item has a sense of purpose and makes you feel good.
Engage the senses, use all senses of smell, sight, and sound.
Create a wellness area or room
Make a space for daydreaming, meditation, or writing.
Choose colors that bring you happiness and spark a positive emotion.
Minimize clutter.
Introducing peace into your interior style is as important as building a peaceful living environment within the foundation of your interior design. This is a very powerful tool as our sense of space greatly affects us more than we know. We can use this knowledge to create homes promoting positive mental health and well-being, as mindful design lets us be in harmony with our surroundings and gives us the opportunity to make our home a sanctuary. With these design tips in mind, you can transform your living environment into a peaceful oasis, one that will help you release stress and anxiety from your life and be in your zen.
(Photos: unsplash)