10 Ways to Transform Your Home Into a Sanctuary
Rather than treating it as just a place to live, turn your home into a haven offering peace, comfort and shelter from morning to night-time
Jo Simmons
22 January 2020
Houzz UK Contributor. I have been an interiors journalist since 1995, writing several books on design and numerous features for glossy homes mags over the years. For Houzz, I cover decorating ideas and trends and interview designers and professionals for their insights. My favourite pieces to write, though, are Houzz Tours, as I love exploring and learning about real homes. Call me curious — or nosy!
Houzz UK Contributor. I have been an interiors journalist since 1995, writing several... More
A home should be more than just somewhere to live; it should also be a retreat – a place in which you feel relaxed and nurtured. All too often, though, homes slip into a more perfunctory role. Sometimes, they even cause stress, confronting us with a list of DIY jobs or household chores to do as soon as we step through the door.
So what can we do to steer our homes towards more cosy shores? Working in some mood-enhancing ideas and targeting key jobs will certainly help to keep that on-going to-do list tamed…
So what can we do to steer our homes towards more cosy shores? Working in some mood-enhancing ideas and targeting key jobs will certainly help to keep that on-going to-do list tamed…
Work with the seasons
Allow your home to reflect the seasons and it will feel more enjoyable and nourishing. In the winter, fit heavy curtains that can be closed to keep in the heat, then light candles and, if you have one, the fire to create a sense of cosiness and protection from the elements.
In the warmer months, throw windows open so you can hear birdsong, hang gauzy drapes to let lots of warm, soft light flood in and dot your rooms with flowers.
Allow your home to reflect the seasons and it will feel more enjoyable and nourishing. In the winter, fit heavy curtains that can be closed to keep in the heat, then light candles and, if you have one, the fire to create a sense of cosiness and protection from the elements.
In the warmer months, throw windows open so you can hear birdsong, hang gauzy drapes to let lots of warm, soft light flood in and dot your rooms with flowers.
Get the lighting right
Good lighting can bring up the mood of a room and help its functionality; get it right and any space can feel like a welcoming oasis. Weave in a mix of different light sources for a layered effect and be sure to add plenty of ambient light, too – candles and fairy lights are good for this.
Find a designer to design your home
Good lighting can bring up the mood of a room and help its functionality; get it right and any space can feel like a welcoming oasis. Weave in a mix of different light sources for a layered effect and be sure to add plenty of ambient light, too – candles and fairy lights are good for this.
Find a designer to design your home
Listen up
Whether it’s a podcast burbling away in the background or your favourite band drifting through the speakers, sound plays a role in making your home what it is, so tune in and chill out…
Whether it’s a podcast burbling away in the background or your favourite band drifting through the speakers, sound plays a role in making your home what it is, so tune in and chill out…
Make your bed each morning
Just the sight of a beautifully made bed when you return home from a busy day can help you relax. So even if you do nothing else before running out of the door each morning, make your bed!
Get expert tips on choosing the perfect bedding
Just the sight of a beautifully made bed when you return home from a busy day can help you relax. So even if you do nothing else before running out of the door each morning, make your bed!
Get expert tips on choosing the perfect bedding
Hide work
If you work from home but your desk is part of a larger, multi-purpose room, be careful to hide your work at the end of the day to give yourself a mental rest. The same goes for any paperwork you haven’t quite addressed yet: when it’s time to relax, hide it away, so your home switches to being a relaxing haven instead.
Check out ideas for carving out a workspace in a busy home
If you work from home but your desk is part of a larger, multi-purpose room, be careful to hide your work at the end of the day to give yourself a mental rest. The same goes for any paperwork you haven’t quite addressed yet: when it’s time to relax, hide it away, so your home switches to being a relaxing haven instead.
Check out ideas for carving out a workspace in a busy home
Introduce some scent
Turning your home into a space that soothes and nurtures you can be as much about how it smells as how it looks. Scent can help us to relax and may carry associations of places we love and bring back fond memories.
Try varying the scent with the seasons, choosing something musky or woody as the nights draw in, then swapping to something with more citrus or floral notes during the warmer months, for plenty of pleasing variety.
Turning your home into a space that soothes and nurtures you can be as much about how it smells as how it looks. Scent can help us to relax and may carry associations of places we love and bring back fond memories.
Try varying the scent with the seasons, choosing something musky or woody as the nights draw in, then swapping to something with more citrus or floral notes during the warmer months, for plenty of pleasing variety.
Choose cleanliness above styling
So your home might not be quite ready for a photoshoot, but that doesn’t matter. It’s your unique place and to help it feel like a haven, prioritise keeping it clean and tidy over styling it with the latest buys. An ordered home always feels relaxing, and even a space filled with the most on-trend pieces won’t feel like a haven if it’s cluttered and messy.
Discover how to love your home’s imperfections
So your home might not be quite ready for a photoshoot, but that doesn’t matter. It’s your unique place and to help it feel like a haven, prioritise keeping it clean and tidy over styling it with the latest buys. An ordered home always feels relaxing, and even a space filled with the most on-trend pieces won’t feel like a haven if it’s cluttered and messy.
Discover how to love your home’s imperfections
Invest in a throw
Throws and blankets can’t help but feel cosy and inviting. They transform a sofa, turning it from somewhere to sit into a wonderful place to snuggle up. Invite children, dogs or your partner under your blanket, too, and then forget about everything else as you cosy up together.
Throws and blankets can’t help but feel cosy and inviting. They transform a sofa, turning it from somewhere to sit into a wonderful place to snuggle up. Invite children, dogs or your partner under your blanket, too, and then forget about everything else as you cosy up together.
Add fresh flowers and plants
Bringing a little living greenery into your home can really transform it and give it a lush focal point. Caring for a houseplant and watching it grow can also be satisfying, and will contribute to your home feeling special, personal and home-grown.
Bringing a little living greenery into your home can really transform it and give it a lush focal point. Caring for a houseplant and watching it grow can also be satisfying, and will contribute to your home feeling special, personal and home-grown.
Make it personal
Displaying family photos and furnishing your home with pieces passed down through the generations or unearthed at a car-boot sale will give it unique personality and help it feel like your individual getaway. Add pieces picked up on holidays or upcycled lovingly by you, too. Items with a history or story behind them bring more soul to your space and feel good to come home to.
Read more:
5 Ways to Bring Good Luck Into Your HomeHow to Design a Home That Enhances Wellbeing
Tell us:
How do you make sure your home feels like a haven? Share your tips and ideas in the Comments below.
Displaying family photos and furnishing your home with pieces passed down through the generations or unearthed at a car-boot sale will give it unique personality and help it feel like your individual getaway. Add pieces picked up on holidays or upcycled lovingly by you, too. Items with a history or story behind them bring more soul to your space and feel good to come home to.
Read more:
5 Ways to Bring Good Luck Into Your HomeHow to Design a Home That Enhances Wellbeing
Tell us:
How do you make sure your home feels like a haven? Share your tips and ideas in the Comments below.
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enjoyed the back and forth about a made bed or not. Combining both I think is another welcoming idea by tidying up and rolling back the covers as a welcome into bed sort of invite. It can lure you in for a midday nap ~ so this comes with a word of caution!
Make one room your sanctuary and give yourself permission to refresh annually with a set budget to do so.
For example:
Bedroom- new sheets and live plants
Living room- weekly fresh cut flowers or seasonal pillow covers
Kitchen- upgrade of one appliance
Bathroom- floor mats & fresh white spa towels
These are great suggestions. Interesting to see how controversial the bed-making one was. I think the key is that it depends what's cozy for you. I love having the bed made. It feels wonderful to walk past a made bed throughout the day.
I'm also extremely partial to lighting. I will never outgrow fireplaces, candles and fairy lights. In my bedroom each evening I turn on a very specific combination of lights so that it's just the right level. I also care very greatly about the color of the light. Cold lighting makes me cringe even though I prefer winter outside.
Lastly, I love a space (my own or someone else's) that has character. When my artwork stirs my imagination and reflects what I love, rather than what "looks good" in the space or what's impressive to someone else (they probably aren't invited over anyways) and when the paint colors and textiles, etc. are reflections of my personality it feels like a haven to me.