How to Create a Holistic Space in Your Home
Unwind and sit with your thoughts or just revel in the peaceful ambience of your own personal healing place
Holistic living is being embraced more and more as complementary therapies, mindfulness meditation, clean eating, and the like are sought out by those who feel they need to make time for themselves, slow down and, literally, stop to smell the roses. Where do you start? It can be as simple as adding potted greenery to a sideboard, a lick of paint in a colour that encourages unwinding or bonding, a chunk of raw crystal if its beauty is what calms and centres you, natural room fragrancing or even gently coaxing a Tibetan bowl to ‘sing’.
PLANTS & FLOWERS
Instant calm
Create a rock or Zen garden; a meditative spot that exudes calm and serenity. You don’t need a lot of space for this; just decide where you’d like to position it and adjust the size of it accordingly.
Instant calm
Create a rock or Zen garden; a meditative spot that exudes calm and serenity. You don’t need a lot of space for this; just decide where you’d like to position it and adjust the size of it accordingly.
Green with envy
Think you haven’t got green fingers? Adding greenery to your home doesn’t entail an elaborate set up. Just line up a few potted plants in a row and voila! Real, living plants help set the mood for a more relaxed and healthier (choose plants that aid in detoxing the air in your home) space.
Here are more ways to ‘green’ those home spaces
Think you haven’t got green fingers? Adding greenery to your home doesn’t entail an elaborate set up. Just line up a few potted plants in a row and voila! Real, living plants help set the mood for a more relaxed and healthier (choose plants that aid in detoxing the air in your home) space.
Here are more ways to ‘green’ those home spaces
Pretty as a picture
Fresh cut flowers do wonders in lifting the spirits.
Fresh cut flowers do wonders in lifting the spirits.
Peaceful slumber
Light and cool shades appear to recede, and give the visual effect of a larger and more spacious room, while darker shades appear to advance towards us, making a space look cosier, but also smaller, adds Rowe.
He recommends cool and calming colours such as Denim Drift (AkzoNobel’s Colour of the Year 2017) for the bedroom (above) as it’s where “you’d retreat to after a long day”.
Photo credit: AkzoNobel, manufacturer of Dulux paints
See what else Denim Drift can do for your other rooms
Light and cool shades appear to recede, and give the visual effect of a larger and more spacious room, while darker shades appear to advance towards us, making a space look cosier, but also smaller, adds Rowe.
He recommends cool and calming colours such as Denim Drift (AkzoNobel’s Colour of the Year 2017) for the bedroom (above) as it’s where “you’d retreat to after a long day”.
Photo credit: AkzoNobel, manufacturer of Dulux paints
See what else Denim Drift can do for your other rooms
Softly does it
Rowe also recommends other cool blue or light purple shades, which create a serene atmosphere for relaxing and resting.
Rowe also recommends other cool blue or light purple shades, which create a serene atmosphere for relaxing and resting.
CRYSTALS
A different kind of bling
Aside from plants and flowers, crystals offer an alternative form of healing from Mother Nature. This quartz (amethyst or citrine) geode makes a cool statement of its own.
A room-by-room guide for crystals
A different kind of bling
Aside from plants and flowers, crystals offer an alternative form of healing from Mother Nature. This quartz (amethyst or citrine) geode makes a cool statement of its own.
A room-by-room guide for crystals
Pretty functional
Have a few smaller chunks of amethyst on hand? Place them on a serving tray (if it has a mirrored base, you get double the prettiness!) and pair them with other faceted crystal bottles or stemware. Amethyst is believed to bring about a calm atmosphere. Pretty, and awesome!
Have a few smaller chunks of amethyst on hand? Place them on a serving tray (if it has a mirrored base, you get double the prettiness!) and pair them with other faceted crystal bottles or stemware. Amethyst is believed to bring about a calm atmosphere. Pretty, and awesome!
Mix ‘em up
Take advantage of the different shapes and colours of quartz crystals. Simple and eye-catching, they offer tactile interest to a room or space too.
TIP: Pick pieces that you feel drawn to and are happy holding in your hands.
How to style a coffee table
Take advantage of the different shapes and colours of quartz crystals. Simple and eye-catching, they offer tactile interest to a room or space too.
TIP: Pick pieces that you feel drawn to and are happy holding in your hands.
How to style a coffee table
SCENT
Smell that!
A study carried out by International Flavors and Fragrances Inc. (IFF) found that certain scents or aromas are able to affect moods.
Smell that!
A study carried out by International Flavors and Fragrances Inc. (IFF) found that certain scents or aromas are able to affect moods.
Straight from nature
Need a pick-me-up? Bergamot essential oil (think: Earl Grey tea) offers a fresh and invigorating scent that easily lifts the spirit in an instant, as would most of the citrus (lemon, sweet orange) scents, while chamomile essential oil helps flight stress and promotes calmness.
Need a pick-me-up? Bergamot essential oil (think: Earl Grey tea) offers a fresh and invigorating scent that easily lifts the spirit in an instant, as would most of the citrus (lemon, sweet orange) scents, while chamomile essential oil helps flight stress and promotes calmness.
Take your pick
Choose the type and method of scent dispersion you prefer. Here’s how to choose one that best suits your needs.
Choose the type and method of scent dispersion you prefer. Here’s how to choose one that best suits your needs.
SOUND
What’s that I hear?
The soothing resonance from striking a Tibetan bowl or…
What’s that I hear?
The soothing resonance from striking a Tibetan bowl or…
Drumming circle
… a bash-the-lights-out-of-them-drums session, which can be as relaxing as meditation music to some. The important thing to remember is what works for you.
… a bash-the-lights-out-of-them-drums session, which can be as relaxing as meditation music to some. The important thing to remember is what works for you.
KEEP IT SIMPLE
Drink up
Perhaps a cup of tea is all it takes to help you peel away the stresses of the day? The shape of the tea pot and tea cups are just as important as the tea it cradles within its ‘belly’ and the space where you choose to drink the tea; it must be pleasing to the senses. And that is holistic.
TELL US
Do share your tips on how you’ve turned your home into a holistic sanctuary for you and your family. Or give us a peek into your sanctuary. A pic or two would be great!
MORE
Here’s how to get yourself some ‘me’ time
Your home can mend a bad day: these are the cures
More ideas for a healing home
Drink up
Perhaps a cup of tea is all it takes to help you peel away the stresses of the day? The shape of the tea pot and tea cups are just as important as the tea it cradles within its ‘belly’ and the space where you choose to drink the tea; it must be pleasing to the senses. And that is holistic.
TELL US
Do share your tips on how you’ve turned your home into a holistic sanctuary for you and your family. Or give us a peek into your sanctuary. A pic or two would be great!
MORE
Here’s how to get yourself some ‘me’ time
Your home can mend a bad day: these are the cures
More ideas for a healing home
Sponsored
Mention holistic and more often than not, feng shui pops to mind. And the core of feng shui is about the free movement of chi (life force, energy flow) in the home or building.
Thus, just as it’s important to be comfortable in your own skin, your home is the second physical entity or space you’re probably most intimate with. Creating a holistic space for yourself will encourage you to spend more time in that space for “me time” – which is crucial for a your overall wellbeing, including your mind, body and spirit.
How to put feng shui into practice