Mindfulness is a phrase that’s often described as a way of life. From mindful leadership to mindful dressing, there are many ways it is practised by people. But have you heard about mindful decor? If not, get ready to be enlightened.
What Is Mindful Decor?
Mindfulness is a way of life that implies that one must be very aware of their decisions. From the way you dress to your purchases and even what you eat are done mindfully – with careful attention – it can change the way you live and help you to live in the moment. Design is nothing but an extension of our personality and we often buy things that we like to surround ourselves with. Infusing beauty and thought into it, makes it purposeful, keeps us happy, and builds a space that supports our every intention. Instead of buying anything and everything that looks attractive at stores, the mindful decor is a practice that makes us really think about what we are buying and if we actually need it, either functionally or gives us happiness by owning it. Mindful decor can shape the direction our lives take, by making sure we buy things for the home in a well-intentioned and mindful manner. This means that we also think about how each item is made and what materials are being used.
An individual who loves lighting his home but waits and plans the layout and arrangement for light fixtures will get an ambience that is carefully cultivated with much thought. Similarly, jacquard and velvet fabrics look rich, but will they be suitable for your small home? Is a 6-seater dining table necessary for a family of 3, even if the intention is to be ready for emergencies?
How Do Interiors Affect Our Mind?
It’s not just people who give negative vibes, homes can also have a negative vibe. Homes that look too dark, congested, cluttered, have too many clashing colors, for example, may not be decorated well and thus give a negative vibe. This can affect us mentally, and could even cause stress. It isn’t happiness that we feel when we return home but claustrophobia. We collect things and never give them away, letting them occupy our space. We buy furniture and upholstery on impulse, never thinking that what may look great in a store can look horrendous at home.
How Can Mindful Decor Be Implemented?
The mindful decor is not a one-time affair but a lifetime of practice. However, it isn’t too late to start. Below are a few ways you can do it in your home:
Buy mindfully, putting enough thought
Rather than buying many things at random, and regretting them later, think carefully before you buy. Go around the store and pick things up only if you think it is absolutely necessary.
Throw away what you don’t need
Although difficult, downsizing is a big part of the mindful decor. Throw away or donate things that you don’t use regularly. Furniture, accessories, toys, clothes, photographs accumulate over a period of time- we often assign nostalgic memories to things that make it difficult to part with. Your first boyfriend’s sweatshirt, a flight ticket on your first trip abroad, various souvenirs – the list goes on. If you can be ruthless about the things you keep, you can easily downsize. If it helps, keep a small box for memorabilia. Only things that fit in the box should be kept, and the rest should be given away.
Choose Furniture Wisely
Go back twice or thrice to see whether you will really need it. Furniture buying is a big purchase decision and has to tick various boxes for it to become suitable for your home. In this case, choose practical furniture which helps you to save enough space and make your home clutter-free.
Paint it with Colours
Decorate your home with a bit of yourself – with memories that make you smile, reminisces that keep you happy, the colours you love, your tastes and photos of loved ones. Make sure that everything goes well together. Get the help of an expert if you are not sure how to make all the elements look coerceive.
Buy Only Essential Furniture
For small spaces, choose functional furniture – a couch that doubles up as a bed, kitchen counters that double up as breakfast spaces or curtains that can be wall partitions. There are plenty of ways you cant make maximum use of the space available. Here are some of our expert’s tips.
Choose Colours Minimally
Although tonnes of colours look very vibrant at first, you may not want to be surrounded by it as days ago. House once painted never gets re-painted for several years. 2 or 3 main colour palettes used intelligently and throughout the home, brings cohesiveness and keeps things connected. Its also easier on the eyes to look at light shades day in and day out, rather than bright hues that you will tire of quickly. Choose a colour paltette thats easy to decorate with.
Make Peace with Chaos
No home is perfect all the time. Living in a home means that it will get messy from time to time – especially if you have kids or pets at home. Being mindful is also accepting that such things can happen and not getting hassled by it.
Ready to give your home a zen makeover? Need help in creating a home that’s embracing mindful decor? Talk to our experts at HomeLane.
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