A retreat offers you a private space where you can withdraw and unwind. In many cases, your private retreat might be a much-needed place to disconnect and recharge. Different people will have different uses for their retreat spaces. Some might prefer their private retreat to be a quiet place to read while others might prefer a personal spa experience.
The good thing is, no matter how you prefer to use your retreat space, these sorts of spaces can easily be created in your own home with just a few design considerations, and you won’t even have to worry about a full renovation.
Invest in Versatile Lighting
Using a dimmer switch on your lighting fixtures adds versatility to your lighting. With a dimmer, you can easily transition between styles and moods, from your normal daytime lighting to soft and comforting home retreat lighting.
Even without dimmers, you can do a lot to set a fresh mood for your living spaces with the right lampshades. Shaded lighting fixtures can give you a variety of light layers and light textures to suit any mood. Create calming warm-toned lighting, add a bit of exoticism to your living room, or brighten the space with a new color.
Introduce Relaxing Color Palettes
Find out what colors most soothe you and don’t be afraid to use them in your home. Experiment with different color palettes, using textiles, wall paint, furniture, artwork, canvases, and accessories.
Many people find breezy blues and aquatic tones to be very relaxing. Others prefer more muted colors such as soft grays, purples, or earth tones, including beige and green.
Bring the Flowers Inside
Photo by Maria Gloss
Indoor plants and flowers help to make your living space more attractive and therapeutic. Many people opt for full houseplants to brighten up their indoor spaces, which also offer the added benefit of naturally purifying the air. Consider using smaller plants as decorations, such as easier varieties of succulents, which add a restful element of green to your private retreat.
However, if caring for houseplants isn’t for you, consider picking or purchasing flowers for a vase to add a cheery element to your living room. Fresh flowers can help to refresh a space and promote relaxation.
Normalize Device-Free Spaces
For those who need their private retreat to offer a meditative break from the modern world, device-free spaces can really help promote mental health in the home. To get started, set up areas of your home where you won’t take your devices. This will allow you to relax without worrying about work, emails, the news, or any of your other obligations.
Make this a comfortable place to rest and unplug, and make sure to keep it that way by restricting the ability to use devices in that space.
Make Sure the Space Stays Tidy
One of the best things about a retreat is how clean and tidy it feels. This is what allows you to truly relax into that space. Creating a retreat space in your own home most likely means that you will be the one doing to the tidying.
To make it easy to tidy up, keep the design and amount of objects in the space relatively uncluttered. Additionally, make sure that all objects have proper spots to make it easy to put everything away. This will make cleaning up a breeze so that your retreat is always ready for you to enjoy it.
Decorate It with Inspiration
Your retreat should be decorated in a way that inspires you with its purpose. A calming retreat space should use soothing colors and relaxing and soft objects. At the same time, a creative retreat could include objects of creative inspiration.
Stock Your Retreat with Amenities
Whether during travel or during a retreat, amenities can go a long way to making you feel good in a space. They help us to feel secure, provided for, and even pampered. The good thing is, you don’t need to leave your house to enjoy the amenities.
Stock your home retreat with all the things that relax you to most, whether it’s tea or wine, a good book, some relaxing music, or your favorite healthy snacks and dark chocolate.
Make It a Spa
For many people, spa treatment is the heart of what it means to relax and retreat. While we often associate spa treatment as something that happens outside the house, there’s no reason you can’t enjoy a home spa.
Set up some candles, play some soft music, and give yourself a home facial, using face masks and moisturizers. With the help of a few gadgets, such as a handheld massager and a foot bath, you don’t have to miss out on the massage part of your spa visit either. And, the best part is, you can enjoy this kind of treatment as frequently as you want in your own home.
Loving your home means enjoying all its spaces. There’s no better way to do this than personalizing those spaces so that they are exactly what you need. Creating a personal retreat in your living room is a great way to do that.
