The environment of your home has a lot to do with the way
you feel on a day-to-day basis. For example, if your home is cluttered, you
will tend to feel lazy, tired, or frustrated. If your home’s interior paint is
black, you will possibly feel slow or depressed. Much of our idea of a home is
represented in who we are. The reverse is true as well. So, if you are looking
to turn your life around, or simply feel more stress-free, then there are a few
simple changes you can make to your home to help out.
Smells
Smells have one of the biggest influences on us. Don’t
believe me? Walk into a house that smells like someone just removed chocolate
chip cookies from the oven. I dare you not to feel happy. Other scents, such
as, citrus (orange, lemon, and grapefruit), jasmine, lavender, vanilla, and if
you need a more robust scent, fresh bread or coffee. Scent can help relieve
depression, soothe our spirit, wake us up, or provide a variety of other
sensations.
You can always purchase items like candles and plug-in air
fresheners, but I prefer the al natural way with fresh ingredients. So, pull
out that baking pan before guests arrive or fill a pot of boiling water with a
sliced orange and a couple rich spices such as cinnamon and vanilla.
Feng Shui
Feng
Shui is the belief that your home, or the area around you is a
mirror-representation of who you are on the inside. By utilizing the energy of
what you bring in (and everything has energy), you can better manage how that
energy flows through your home.
For example, on furniture, your couch should be against a
wall, leaving a few inches between the wall and couch to allow energy to flow.
There should be open pathways through the room, and into other rooms. Round
coffee tables are more inviting than rectangular ones. However, your living
room should have a variety of shapes: Squares represent earth; rectangles,
wood; triangles, fire; round and oval, metal.
Feng Shui also covers color, clutter, seating, and how
arrangements mingle with each other, as well as represent the home.
Color
The color of your home can also influence how you feel. This
doesn’t mean you need to paint your entire home, but adding a splash of color
utilizing accent colors is a great way to brighten-up or soothe your home, or
in some cases make your home appear larger such as with blues, greens, and
purples. Whereas reds, oranges, and yellows will help your rooms feel vibrant.
Shades and tones can also liven, or tone down a room.
Understanding a color-wheel and how it works is one way to balance out varying
complimentary colors of your home and pick out accent wall colors. An accent
wall is great because of the overall affect it has on a room, with a small
amount of work to paint that wall, or section of wall.
Simplify
Simplifying a room is essentially de-cluttering a room of
excess furniture, trinkets, and unnecessary items. For example, have you ever
walked into a house where one or all of the tables had magazines strewn about?
The home owner may have felt like they were representing who they are by what
they read, but in fact they were distracting the mind to think the home was messy.
A few tricks to keep a home simple, is to use bins for items
you would like in the room, and would otherwise leave them lingering about
where you leave them. The idea of “everything has a place” is very effective
when it comes to keeping a clean and simple home. Your remotes, car keys, and
magazines should all have a location that is orderly, and near point of use.
Simplifying may also mean removing too much furniture. Do
you have six chairs around a small dining table that has only ever held four
people? Do you have one too many lounge chairs in your living room? Are your
kitchen counter-tops filled with nifty small appliances? These are all signs
that your home is too busy and distracting. The more items you have strewn
about, the more cluttered, and small your home feels.
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