These unprecedented times have no doubt taken their toll on both our personal and professional lives.
The Covid-19 pandemic has caused great distress for millions, not just in the UK but around the world, and our mental health has suffered as a result.
Anxiety and stress have hit hard particularly during the national lockdowns. Even those keeping busy through remote work have been impacted, with a report from Nuffield Health recently revealing that 80% felt that lockdown negatively affected their mental health.
Anxiety, however, is no new phenomenon, there are millions of cases of anxiety in the UK every year with women twice as likely to be diagnosed with the condition than men.
But the design of your home could just help you keep anxiety and stress levels under control, even during this difficult period.
Read on to discover how you can decorate your home for a calmer, cosier and less anxious home life.
Bring the outdoors in
Go green with your interior by bringing the outdoors into your home. The presence of plant life within your home can have a huge positive impact on your stress levels.
House plants also make beautiful additions to both modern and traditional schemes.
Even if you aren’t green-fingered, most house plant varieties are easy to care for and don’t require a lot of watering – especially during the winter months.
This means all you have to worry about is finding the perfect position to make the most of the light (or shade) in your home.
Buying fresh flowers regularly is another route to giving your indoor space an outdoor twist. The beauty of fresh flowers has a soothing effect that will work wonders for your mental health.
Natural foliage, like bundled lavender and other herbs, also provides soothing sights and smells to lift the mood and promote relaxation.
Choose calming shades
The paint on your walls cements your wider home décor so needless to say you have to choose your shade wisely to achieve the peace and tranquillity you crave within your home.
Contrary to popular belief, cooler shades work better than richer, warmer tones, as Wisegeek explains:
“The most relaxing colours are generally believed to be cool shades such as green and blue. Designers, psychologists, feng shui experts, and advertisers all agree that blues and greens make us feel calm, balanced, and less emotional.
They use these hues, especially a sage green, in hospitals, test centres, and television stations to ease nerves and attenuate harsh emotions.”
Sky blue in particular is instantly calming. Its connection with renewal provides a soothing effect that restores your natural rhythm, a fact that makes it the perfect colour choice for the bedroom.
Cut the clutter
A cleaner environment means a clearer and less cluttered mind, so get started with that spring clean a little earlier than planned to give your home a calming makeover.
Keep bookshelves half-empty (or half-full!), cover-up technology, and devise smart storage solutions that help you to maintain a comforting space.
Embrace the natural world
Natural materials should play a part in every home, synthetics, after all, are so last season!
Adding a touch of nature to your home also has a positive impact on your physical and psychological wellbeing.
Every home should be a sanctuary. Natural materials offer that all-important connection with the outside world that ensures a personalised living space where you can feel right at home.
Natural materials make any home a pleasure to live in, with wool blankets, throws and cushions great investments for a happier home life. Contrary to popular belief, wool isn’t just for winter.
It’s a material that can be used all year round in every room to reduce toxins, bring a sense of nature, bestow charm and character, and add a unique beauty that just can’t be beaten.
Shop our wool homewares today and make your home the calming, comfortable and cosy place it should be.
Images: Alena Ozerova / Shutterstock.com, PV productions / Shutterstock.com