Let’s face it; life is stressful!

From the hustle and bustle of family life to the pressures we face at work, our minds and bodies probably cry out for a sense of calm and peace, and the opportunity to rest and relax in the comfort of our own home.

But here’s the thing. Many of our homes aren’t conducive to relaxation at all. With endless chores to complete, clutter to salvage through, and as we mentioned, that hustle and bustle of family life, with all the noise and melodrama that comes with it, getting the opportunity to fully relax isn’t easy. However, while we can’t come into your home with a magic wand to make everything calm and peaceful, we do have some tips to help you achieve a greater sense of relaxation in your home. We hope the following is helpful to you!

#1: Stay on top of your clutter

A tidy house is a tidy mind, or so the saying goes, and the opposite is true with a cluttered house. When you are having to wade through the mess of your home, be that a living room piled high with your children’s toys or a bedroom littered with discarded clothes, your mind is going to be distracted by the disorderly state of your home.

You need to make it a habit to stay on top of any clutter, tidying up before you are faced with a mountain of stuff and extra household chores. This decluttering guide may be helpful to you, so follow the suggestions within, and take steps to achieve a tidier home. You need never step on a loose Lego brick or trip over a discarded pair of shoes again!

#2: Pay attention to your bathroom

It’s not easy finding a place to retreat to for alone time, especially when sharing a home with other people, but in theory, the bathroom should be the one place where you can lock the doors to escape from others. For this reason, give your current bathroom a makeover to give it a more relaxing feel. Paint the walls in relaxing colors, such as a deep shade of blue to befit common bathroom design.

Change up your bathroom suite, perhaps with a jacuzzi bath or one of these Dreamstyle Kohler Showers to amp up your relaxation time. Install speakers into your bathroom ceiling to pipe out your favorite playlists while you’re having a hot soak. And add calming scents, with aromatic candles, flowers, and fragrant soaps. With a few alterations, and a ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign hanging on the door, this is the one room where you might be able to fully relax and unwind your tired body and mind.

#3: Focus on your bedroom

Away from your bathroom, the bedroom is another place in the home where you should be able to relax, and not only at bedtime. You could create a mini-living room in the bedroom, perhaps with a comfortable armchair and a lamp in one corner, alongside anything that will help you to chill out alone, such as a bookcase, magazine rack, or a portable television. You will then be able to retreat here during the day and evening when you need your own space away from the rest of your house.

And to help you sleep, you might want to invest in a new mattress for your bed, or some bedsheets with a higher thread count. If streetlamps are a problem, you might want to add shutters to your windows so you aren’t disrupted by light, and if noise is an issue, you might want to seal your windows if there are any gaps, or at the very least, invest in a pair of earplugs to shut out any unwelcome sounds.

#4: Convert a spare room

If you have a spare room in your home, such as your loft, basement, or an unused bedroom, consider converting it into your relaxation zone. This might be something specific to you, or it could be something that will benefit your whole family so you can relax together. As examples, you might want to create a games room, home cinema room, library, a bar lounge, or a place to enjoy your favorite hobby.

This could be your go-to place when you want some alone time or the place where you can bond and socialize with others. It could be the place where you relax in peace and calm or a place to amp up your fun factor at home. Think about the kind of environment that would suit your relaxation time, and set forth with your renovation plans.

#5: Do something with your kitchen

For some people, the kitchen isn’t a relaxing area at all. Being a busy hub within the home, there is much potential for clutter and food and drink spills. Therefore, concentrate on two aspects. For starters, transform your kitchen space into an area that is easy to clean, as this will remove some of the stress of household chores, and give you more time to relax elsewhere in the house. Secondly, add anything to the room that will give it a more relaxing feel, such as bowls of fresh fruit and vases of flowers on countertops, ambient lights around task and eating areas, art and photographs on the walls, and calming kitchen colors, including pastel greens, yellows, and greys.

#6: Create a relaxing living room

Considering this is the room you will (in theory) be spending the most of your time in, it’s worth paying special attention to your decor and furniture. So, you might want to add decor that is personal to you, such as family photographs, pieces of art, and collectible ornaments. You should try to rearrange your furniture to improve your relaxation time, such as grouping sofas and chairs together to create an intimate setting. Or put specific chairs near places that offer scope for relaxation, such as the television or windows. To add to the comfort on your sofa and chairs, you might want to add throw blankets and a few extra cushions. And you might want to include extra storage, such as ottoman furniture and added shelving, so you can keep clutter to a minimum.

#7: Make a list of household rules

You don’t want to be too strict with your rule-making; it might only make your home more stressful for others if you do! However, there are some general rules that will add to the relaxing feel of your home, so talk to the other members of the house and together, come up with a list. It might include ‘leave a room as you found it,’ as this might encourage people to tidy up after themselves. You might have other tidy-up rules, perhaps around a cleaning rota that everybody can abide by. And you might also want to set rules around noise, perhaps instilling a quiet time in the house after a certain time.

There are probably other rules you can think of, but remember to follow them yourself, as you will have a hard time getting others to follow them if you don’t! Pin them up somewhere in the home, so people don’t have the excuse of forgetting them.

The home should be a place to relax and unwind; a safe haven away from the stresses of the outside world.

We hope our simple tips have been helpful to you, and that they will help you create a sanctuary that is easy to rest in. But let us know what you think, and if you have any tips to share with our readers, perhaps because you have somehow reached a state of zen in your home, be sure to let us know for the benefit of the rest of us.