You likely spend many hours a week in your home and it is a place that can increase or reduce stress. With the New Year approaching it may be a goal of yours to try to create a more peaceful and relaxing space, but the process of knowing what to do can be frustrating. So in today's podcast (part 1 of 2) I touch on 5 things you can think about changing when you are feeling frustrated with your space but can't quite put your finger on where to start.
1. Clutter: Visual clutter can increase stress, cause you to feel sad or add to depression. Have you ever noticed that when you go on vacation it’s easier to relax when you don’t have papers piled up, and stuff laying around that has accumulated over the last month?
2. Harmony: If your spaces don’t feel harmonious they will feel broken up and jarring. A good way to help rooms flow from one to another is through a color palette or a common style. The rooms shouldn’t be all the same of course, but there should be some commonality between them. You can see in the photo below that the hardwood floors carry from one room to another along with a common palette.
3. Repetition: If you look at almost any beautiful room it will show some sort of repetition. This could be 3 or 4 of the same beautiful chair lined up at a bar, glasses displayed in a row, two lamps flanking a couch, two of the same or similar chair, or displayed using picture frames. In the photo below you can see multiple uses of repetition, including the pattern in the rug.
4. Scale: Scale is how two or more objects relate to one another and often in design it is how an object relates to the human body. The room pictured below is a great example well scaled furniture. They compliment each other and one doesn't overtake the other.
5. Lighting: Lighting is one of the most important aspects of a space and should not only serve the purpose of the room, but it can also make a room more appealing visually. Adding task lighting or accent lighting will beautifully layer a room as well as serve a purpose of doing specific tasks like reading or highlighting artwork.
Next week I'll be highlighting the next 5 things to look at when you feel frustrated with your space. See you then!