How to Make Your Home a Sanctuary
As much as I talk about traveling in this little corner of the internet, I also think it’s important to think of our homes as a destination. It should be a place where we feel safe, where we can adequately rest, and where we can indulge in the activities that we love with people we love even more.
Fall is around the corner. And while summer showed that people are eager to get back to traveling, I think it’s important to not lose sight of the place where we spend the most time - our homes - and making them places of joy, peace and restoration. Here are a few tips to make your home your sanctuary.
AIM FOR A FEELING, NOT FOR A LOOK
In my opinion, it’s much better to aim for a feeling, rather than a look. A look can often result in your space feeling like a showroom. But aiming for a feeling will result in something that is unique to your desires. So instead, ask yourself how you want your home to feel and how you want to feel as you move through it.
USE ALL OF YOUR SENSES
How do you want your home to smell? To feel? You can even create a “taste” by having signature snacks or drinks on hand for yourself or to offer guests. Just as the advice above to aim for a feeling, appealing to the senses requires you to go beyond the look of your home to give it a sense of place and make it your own.
BRING NATURE INDOORS
Plants are obviously a wonderful way to achieve this, but you can also think about bringing in other elements of nature like leaves, interesting rocks, shells…anything that makes you feel more connected to the world around you. Open the windows when you can to get fresh air into your home, and you can even experiment with following the sun’s natural cycle by lighting candles after the sun goes down instead of relying on electric lights.
REDUCE CLUTTER
Most of us are guilty of holding on to items we either don’t need or want anymore. But visual clutter can create mental restlessness and fatigue. Getting rid of unwanted items and organizing the things you want to keep is a worthwhile project that will pay dividends.
STEP AWAY FROM THE ELECTRONICS
Taking at least one day a week away from electronics in the evening is incredibly refreshing. Put down the phone, step away from the computer, turn off the TV and make something by hand. Or write. Or take photos. When was the last time you listened to an album all the way through? Find ways to delight in the analog and slow. Your brain will thank you!
If you’re not quite sure how to get started on making your home more serene, Pinterest is a great resource to get inspiration and start building your own mood board. Have fun!
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hi there, I’m angi the founder of roam & gather. My mission is to curate joy-centered, small group journeys that are relaxed, intimate, and rooted in culture, community and slowness.
Roam & Gather is a small travel company offering soul-nourishing, curated travel experiences that help connect people with global communities, like-minded travelers and themselves.
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