We are all looking to live in a relaxing home and I am going to share with you five decorating tips that will help create this feeling in your home. Good lighting, fresh air and tranquil space to breathe in are the main things you need to create a zen feeling in your home and after the pandemic, we all are in dire need of finding a place to relax and unwind.
With so many of us going through a period of excessive stress and trying to balance work, homeschooling and parenting, it has become vital to have a place in your home to escape to and find and find peace. A calming space to unwind and a zen home or room ticks this box and it is much easier to do than you might think if you follow our simple tips.
How to create a Zen Home theme
From serene wallpapers by Ever Wallpaper and soothing aroma lamps, read on these five tips to create a living space that will relax your mind, body and soul.
Go For Natural And Earthy Hues
When looking for interior ideas for a tranquil space, the first thing that should come to your mind is modifying your spaces with earthy and natural tones. There’s something about these hues that creates a soothing effect to your hues and helps you relax.
Moreover, these hues bring a chromatic harmony to your decor, making it look serene and modern at the same time. This applies not only to your walls but also to furniture, accessories and curtains. You don’t need one single shade for everything. Rather, mix up different earthy tones and choose the style that suits you the best.
Although monochrome black and white is the traditional colour scheme, modern scenes look more to natural hues. Nature really does know best so look to Nature for the tones and hues that work best for you. What colours make you feel calm?
Layer your Fabric
The next important thing you must consider is decorating your rooms with natural fabric. This applies not only to curtains but also to cushions, bedsheets and rugs. The Zen ethos encourages us to walk barefoot in our homes so pay attention to underfoot with soft area rugs or underfloor heating if you have a cold hard floor. You could even use traditional tatami mats like in Japaease homes.
Choose a fabric that is soft and beautiful. You could go for floral prints or graphic patterns, but, if you want to bring more serenity into your decor, go for less busy or plain fabric in coordinating colours, preferably in natural or nude tones that complement each other. Look at using voiles to provide privacy at your windows but let in natural light.
To create a feeling of calm, lots of layers and textures give a feeling of depth and cosiness without clutter if you stick to a colour pallet, but less is definaty more and you do not need 101 scatter cushions!
Soft And Natural Lighting
Lighting can make or break the feeling within a room and for a calming zen feeling, you want to opt for warm soft lighting rather than blue cool tones. Lots of indirect lighting is more soothing than a direct overhead light. The Zen feel is about softening harse light and creating peacefully areas within the room and home.
Look at task lighting for specific areas such as reading, watching TV (suitably hidden) or social areas and using lamps rather than ceiling lights and dimmable lighting is great. Wall lights are great and you no longer have to have them put in by an electrician as many come with cables and plus or alternatively you could use battery operated lights to avoid the cables.
You can also add death and tranquillity by adding aroma with scented candles or essential oil burners too. Japanease lanterns add lighting and make for a great simple decoration too.
Keep it Subtle And Simple
You don’t want to crowd your space with too much or too ornate furtinture if you are going for a calm and zen space. Look at more scandi or japandi style furniture with clean lines and lighter wood (mid century also works well with its clean lines). Steer clear of overly ornate pieces and also avoid using pieces all from the same “line” as things can be too matchy.
You want the furniture to go well with the decor and create an overall peaceful vibe which is why you want great storage pieces to hide all the clutter of modern living from sight. Multi functional pieces work really well such as a storage footstool or a ratten cabinet that the TV and electronics can be placed inside.
Traditional Zen spaces are lessons in minimalism. One Zen principle is datsuzoku (freedom from worldly attachments). So a zen room should be clutter free and contain things that are beautiful to look at and useful too.
Go Green With Indoor Plants
House plants are brilliant at creating a natural look and feel to a room in addition to the fact that they actually purify our air. I am a big fan of house plants that create an interesting focal point. For the zen feel you want to make sure that your pots and planters are all the same colour theme but in different shades and the interest is created with interesting foliage rather than bright flower colours.
However, stay away from artificial flowers or plants. They really are not a great alternative as no matter how good they are they still look fake and take away the natural element from your rooms.
The Takeaway
Adding serene elements to your home seems pretty simple, but it is all in the planning and choosing natural hues for your furniture, walls, curtains and cushions and natural finishes. Your senses play a large part in the zen philosophy, so rooms should not only look and feel nice, they should smell and sound nice too. A small water feature and insece burners or sticks are great as are wind chimes and bells. But you can always bring sound int o your home with birdsong or zen meditation sounds on Spotify or Amazon Music.