How To Design A Home for a Healthy Mind

Home design is not just about aesthetics and beauty. For anyone struggling with mental health issues, design and maintenance can be powerful tools for creating a sanctuary for ruminating, depressed, or uneasy minds. How can you apply interior design and home maintenance principles towards promoting mental health? Here are three points to consider:

Dedicate Your Bedroom to Sleep

It’s no secret that restorative sleep is a key ingredient to sound mental health. In order to dedicate your bedroom to truly restorative sleep, start with your mattress. If it’s no longer comfortable, replace it and take advantage of return policies until you find the right one for you. You should also use blackout curtains to keep any and all light out of your bedroom at night. As clinical sleep medicine and neurology specialist Dr. Brandon Peters explains, the human body’s natural circadian rhythm follow dark-light cycles, which is why we’re more active in the day and more inclined to rest at night. Embrace sleeping in the dark and your mind will thank you for it.

Of course, any sleep oasis would be incomplete without personal touches that bring you feelings of comfort and safety. You can see how it is possible to personalise a sleep oasis in our blog post on ‘A Look Around My Home – Bedroom’. Alongside personal effects like a Himalayan salt lamp and the string lights on the vanity mirror, the bedroom has minimum clutter. This is because visual clutter can seep into the mind and prompt mental rumination before bedtime. Go ahead and personalise your space for comfort and safety, but be mindful of keeping the clutter to a minimum.

Turn Your Bathroom Into a Home Spa

Any bathroom can turn into a spa where you can relax and indulge in self-care. James Hale writing for Bustle even argues that the bathroom can become a point of stability for those with mental health issues, adding how the bathroom has become part of his night-time routine. He writes that it de-stresses the mind and lets the body know that it’s time for sleep. To this end, you can add a few touches that can turn it into a more relaxing space, such as warm lighting, lavender-scented candles, indoor plants, and natural wood or stone surfaces. You can even add features like a new and high-tech shower or bathtub that are designed to provide a relaxing experience.

Just remember that such improvements come with technical maintenance concerns. If you’re not so handy when it comes to plumbing and boiler connections, it could be easier on your mental health, and your bank account, if you just let the specialists do the work for you. Just make sure you are financially prepared for all outcomes, especially if something goes wrong. HomeServe details how common gas boiler and heating insurance plans can include other things as well such as plumbing and drainage coverage – all of which are needed to create a spa bathroom. It’s one way to keep your mind off these concerns and make more space for mental health. Which you can then replenish in your spa bathroom once everything is complete.

Create a Separate Home Office That Inspires Productivity

Much like how you’ll sleep better with a dedicated bedroom, having a dedicated home office can help improve your productivity. This means separating your work area at home and doing nothing but work in that particular space. This is why all of the gorgeous home office design ideas on Architectural Digest —big or small— are solely dedicated to the purpose of work productivity. Although the ideal situation would be to assign an entire room in your house for this purpose, a corner of your home or a table will do for smaller flats. What’s important is that it’s a space where you’re as free as you can be from all distractions, and everything you need to do your work is within easy reach. This is true for every profession, from lawyers doing paperwork at home to full-time craftswomen and those who make and sell art for a living.

Home is where you should feel the safest and most comfortable. Keep these design tips in mind if you want to turn your home into a fortress for a healthy and happy mind.

Current Interior Trends – Summer

Just like clothing trends change from season to season so do interior trends, today I am sharing a few trends that are set to become fairly big over the summer months.

• Colour

Colours which are going to be popular in the summer are neons, the brighter the better!  These will pair well with colours such as grey, sand and lighter natural colours.

Another colour that is going to be fairly big this summer is sunset reds, pinks and oranges.  Again these tones will work well with neutrals and also neons.  One thing though, try not to clash your neons with any kind of pinky coloured walls, rather opt for pink and orange neons to mix and add pops of colour to give a more thoughtful effect.

• Texture

Plain rustic wood which is left unfinished, added as furniture items (think tables and shelving) is perfect for a light, relaxed, casual summer vibe in the home.

Crochet texture is also something to consider adding through the addition of throws or cushion covers, think bohemian chic and you are well on the way to embracing this trend.

• Shape

Spring was all abut geometric shapes with sharp edges but summer gives way to softer, more rounded shapes, think scallops on chairs, more natural forms and less sharp edges.

• Fabric

Think tactile as far as fabrics go, whether it is curtains, rugs, cushion covers or upholstery, anything that looks or feels touchable.  Velvet is still a popular choice along with suede and other soft feel fabrics, however, rugs and mats can be made from seagrass or other natural fibres should be considered too.

• Print

Tropical print is really having a moment right now, think accent walls with covered large green leafy printed wallpaper or windows accented with printed curtains.  Animal print has never really left us but is making big waves in the home this season, the easiest way to add this is with bedding, add a bit and see if it is something you like then add more.  Mixing animal prints can create a bold, statement area and is worth thinking about and experimenting with.

• Accessories

Anything pearlescent or finished with a pearl effect will look lovely and add a summery, on-trend feel to the home.  Look for ornaments, vases,  picture frames, mirrors and other little accessories that you can easily incorporate into a room.  Silver, gold and rose gold, brass in the matte finish are also set to be big additions.

Anything that has an arts and crafts feels is also going to be pretty big this season, with vases, catch-all dishes, to homeware such as plates and mugs in ceramics with a hand made feel are perfect for this.

• Look and feel

When thinking about pulling a room together take inspiration from 70’s Scandi style, the bohemian movement and anything that is light and airy.  Textures and fabrics can make a room, and having several different textures going on, in the same colour pallet is a simple way of creating a style.  Even if you don’t go full out on a style just switching things up here and there, adding elements that you like can bring about a different feel to space!

As with all trends, it is about finding things that you like and having fun with them!

Let me know what summer interior trends you are loving in the comments!!!

 

 

Current Interior Trends – Spring

Since Pantone revealed their Colour of the Year  on the 6th December 2018, I have been waiting for an influx of all things “Living Coral” coloured, or at least coral, but there have not been too many of those items to be seen in places selling home interior items.  Today I am looking at what the current home interior trends are for spring and there doesn’t seem to be a coral object amongst them.

Marble effect items seem to still be going strong, this trend has been around since 2016 and is showing no sign of stopping.  You can get pretty much anything with a marble effect finish, from notebooks and stationery items to side tables and bedding though I have noticed a move from the grey and white marble effect into other colours such as pink and blue.  I don’t think this trend will be going away soon.

Houseplants seem to be fairly popular this year, from tiny succulents and cacti to bigger, more leafy plants like the Cheese Plant (Monstera) and even the humble spider plant is seeing some love again.  Houseplants (especially succulents and cacti) can be really easy to care for, they just need some water and light and to be kept out of drafts – the are labels that come with them often give some really good care tips and are worth checking out before purchasing.  Houseplants add something to a room’s atmosphere that you just can’t get through an ornament or object and I’m not really sure how to explain that feeling, but its a good feeling.  They add interest to an area, bring nature indoors and help to keep the air in the room fresh as well.  I like having houseplants in the kitchen, on the windowsill near the sink, in my living room, on book cases and coffee tables, and I like plants in the bathroom too.

Terrazo is making a comeback in all sorts of ways.  Terrazo is a speckled composite material which was created around the 16th Century and was a type of palazzo flooring made of glass, marble and stone chips set into polished concrete.  This kind of material can be found in pots, kitchen accessories and the print can even be found on notebooks, desk accessories and even on wallpaper.  While it does remind me of flooring in public areas (like museums, train stations and toilets) I think it is an interesting pattern and is more eye-catching than the grey, industrial trend of the plain concrete look that came before it.

Metals and metallic touches are not going away fast, although there is a shift from bright, shiny gold, silver and rose gold towards a more muted brass tone.  Little touches can be added to your existing interior by choosing simple objects like this floor lamp.  Though, there are lots of ways of incorporating brass finishes to your home from light switch covers, crockery drainers, bookends, pots for holding pens/makeup brushes and many more.

Ombre is no longer an effect saved for hair, it’s now making its way into our homes and onto home furnishings and there are some really lovely pieces around to add a pop of colour.  There are beautiful curtains, vases, cushions and candles that make adding this trend to your home really easy.

The geometric trend still seems to be on the rise, from coffee cups shaped geometrically, to tables with geometric legs, lamp stands and wallpapers, it seems that this trend won’t be going anywhere soon.  I love that the geometric trend can be utilised over so many products both 2D and 3D and comes in so many colours so you can be sure to get something to match and update your decor style or go all out and refresh your style completely.

I don’t think we can ever escape pink, but this time around we are not seeing girly, princess or even Barbie pink.  This year is all about the dusty, vintage pink which oozes a kind of glamour reminiscent of the 50’s and is very much a grown up, sophisticated colour. The pinks found in Michelle Keegans Home range fit this trend really well as the range is not just the perfect shade of vintage pink but it mixes in metallic prints, different types of fabrics and interesting finishings like tassels and stud details.

Textures are being reintroduced to our homes, this time through the addition of fabrics like velvet and suede, satin and wool.  Go into any store that sells soft furnishings and you will find an array of different textiles on offer.  I love adding interest with cushions and love the velvet and long faux fur ones available in Matalan.  Cushions are a really easy and cheap way of testing out a trend before adding bigger pieces to the room.

I’ve been seeing a lot of textile wall art which seemed to start at some point last year with macrame wall hangings being sold in many high street stores.  This year people are embracing different types of materials woven together to create tactile wall art that is interesting and can add warmth to the room.  I love to browse etsy for this sort of thing as there are so many different styles and types of material used and you are guaranteed to have a one-off piece that no one else has.

Monochrome has never really been out of fashion, it’s always seemed to be there in the background but I think that this season we will be bringing it into our homes in a bigger way.  Monochrome has always been seen to be very chic and a touch Parisian with black and white stripes featuring on so many different items.  This season there will be an array of different items available in black and white stripe, polka dot and even different patterns and prints such as animal prints like dalmatian and zebra.  I am loving this Habitat footstool in a monochrome pattern which also ties nicely with the texture trend too.

Tropical prints are another trend that started creeping in last year and is set to continue to grow this year.  It seems that everywhere you look there is a tropical print on something!  I really like Asda’s Palm Print duvet set which really hits the nail on the head with the tropical trend.

Walls are starting to make more of a statement now and there is a shift back towards wallpaper with big prints making bold statements this season, think floral, tropical, bright, big patterns and you won’t go far wrong.

Painted walls are still fashionable too though there is a move from greys to brighter colours  like mustard yellow, brown/tan, Dulux Colour of the year is Spiced Honey and is a perfect choice but pair it with other colours like deep navy blue for an on-trend look.  We see darker colours coming in to play and they are perfect to team with the brass and textile trend, just make sure any accessories you add are lighter and you will find that they make your accessories really stand out.  Consider deep greens, denim blue such as Farrow and Ball – De Nimes, teal and even deep plum tones.  On the other end of the spectrum are muted vintage colours, think dusty pinks, chocolate and sage greens and neutral colours like mushroom, nude pinks and light tan which would be perfect with chunky woolen accessories, vintage inspired prints, shabby chic furniture and hints of velvet.

Which interiors trends are you loving this season?

Pulling the Room Together

As promised, this is the second post about decorating my downstairs room and the extra decoration I have added.

After painting and leaving the walls to dry for a time I decided to add some fun touches and textural interest to the arches and alcoves in the form of multi-colour pompoms.  I measured the alcoves and archway and searched the internet for what I had in mind…. I eventually found what I wanted from Amazon .  I was able to purchase this in long lengths which was what I was looking for, each length had to be more than a meter so I could run a continuous length rather than fixing lengths together to fit into the alcoves.

I bought some Command Hooks from B&Q that are meant for hanging decorations such as Christmas Lights, to hang the trim up.  Command Hooks are able to be used and removed without harming the wall underneath and, having used several of their other products in the past, decided that these would be the best thing to use.  The hooks were a bit fiddly as they come in a pack – the hooks all connected to one another and the sticky part separate.  You need to break off the hooks and attach the correct side of the sticky to the hook before peeling the other side from the sticky and attaching to the wall.  I found it easier to break off all the hooks and then attach the sticky to them all before using.

I placed the hooks up the alcoves at equal distances but alternating the facing of the hook, so one faced towards the wall, the next at 180 degrees and facing away from the wall before weaving the trim up and through each hook.

I was really worried that upon the trim being delivered it wouldn’t be as bright as I’d wanted or, not even the correct thing at all (going by past experiences…) and worried that the overall effect would not be like I imagined.  I’m really pleased with how it turned out though, and it always makes me smile.  Visitors to my home have commented on how nice it looks so I’m guessing that it’s not just a hit with me!

Here’s some pictures of the room with the trim up!  (please note that some of these photos are really recent ones…)