After a long day of work, there is no better feeling than walking through the front door of your home. It is your sanctuary: your place to relax and let go of all the stress built up throughout the day.
But a house is less relaxing when it doesn’t feel like a home. According to a study by Dr. Whitney Austin Gray, the average American spends about 70% of their time in their home, so why not make it your favorite place to be?
Here are some tips to create the most comfortable and beautiful home that you look forward to coming back to.
Make it more comfortable and inviting
One of the most important things that makes a house feel like a home is how inviting it is. When you walk through the front door, it should feel welcoming and relaxing.
There are many ways to create that feeling. First, try designating a spot to put coats and shoes. The first step to relaxation is taking off uncomfortable clothing items, and having a specific place to put them will help reduce clutter.
You can also try rearranging your furniture in a way that feels open and inviting. Creating a seating arrangement that feels inclusive and connecting is one of the most important factors for a house to feel home-y. This is especially important for smaller homes.
Keep it clean and smelling nice
Getting home after a long day only to discover piles of clutter that need to be put away is the opposite of relaxing. Needing to push aside a pile of clutter just to sit down is just a reminder that you have more things you need to do.
It’s also much harder to relax in a place that you feel is dirty. One of the most important steps in having a cozy home is to keep it clean. Your house can serve as an expression of how you feel, so a messy environment can cause you to feel like you don’t have things together.
Lastly, candles can do wonders. The flickering light a candle gives off immediately provides a sense of warmth and calm to the environment. Candles also fill your home with a nice aroma that can provide a sense of ease and content.
Decorate in a way that makes you happy
Design trends come and go so it is important that you choose items that you truly like and that look good to you.
If you are going for cozy and home-y, some of the best things to fill your house with are soft linens and pillows, plants, flowers, and art. Just the sight of soft blankets and pillows can give us a sense of relaxation and comfort, and plants and flowers have been proven to positively impact our mood and reduce stress. Studies have also shown that simply looking at art can reduce stress and give a boost of pleasure. Art can also be a great way to express your individual taste and interests.
Why does it matter?
We spend the vast majority of our time in our homes so it’s important that we like them and feel good in them.
Graham Rowles, a professor at the University of Kentucky, says that “we have a need for a place that is called home. Home provides security, control, belonging, identity, and privacy, among other things. But most of all, it’s a place that provides us with a centering—a place from which we leave each morning and to which we return each evening.” This is a perfect depiction of what a home means to us and why it is so important to have it be a space you really love.
Conclusion
Our houses are our home bases. We spend over two thirds of our live at home so it should be a place that makes us very happy and at ease. Just by changing up or adding a couple things in your house, you can easily make it a home that you don’t want to leave.
Perhaps the most important part of having a relaxing home is keeping it tidy. If cleaning isn’t really your thing, Dirtfree can help you. Try it for free today!
