Your home is your sanctuary and is the place where you should feel most relaxed. Use soft earthy colours and natural materials. Bring the outside in with house plants and hide your home office. Your home should spark joy!
Use natural materials
Natural materials are amazing neutrals and give an instant feeling of calm and style to any space. They’re durable, environmentally friendly, and look stylish. Whatever your interior design style, there is a natural material that will look amazing.
Wood is the most common natural material used in interior design. Different woods create completely different looks but are always beautiful, warm, flexible and easy to work with. Wood ages beautifully and matches every style, providing interiors with a sense of warmth.
Baked from clay, brick is a universal and timeless material which always looks stylish. With a myriad of soft natural shades, it works in many kinds of different settings. Brick walls are great to look at and will look beautiful as they age.
Bamboo is a sustainable natural material that can be used for many different things. Bamboo flooring, lighting, window treatments and accessories will bring an Asian influence to your space and always looks beautiful.
Rattan and wicker used to be a material you would only see in baskets, but nowadays there are stylish rattan and wicker pieces everywhere. Popular for the laid back Scandi vibe, mix rattan and wicker with white walls and bright accessories for a modern contemporary look.
Bring the outside in
Nature is calming so bring the outside in. Fill your home with large leafy house plants – they are good for the soul and can benefit your mental health and emotional wellbeing.
House plants make your home feel more lived-in and calmer. A big fiddle leaf or Monstera plant can be a real focal point, while a collection of succulents can look great on a floating shelf. Plants have also a range of well-being benefits including improved mood, reduced anxiety, air purification for cleaner air, and boosted healing.
I am a huge advocate for having fresh flowers in your home. Seasonal flowers displayed in a big vase on your kitchen table will add colour, texture and scent to your home – and make you feel happy every time you see them.
Turn your home into a boutique hotel
There is nothing better than a weekend away in a chic little boutique hotel. Copy some of their clever ideas to make your home a restful space.
Give your bathroom a spa-like feel by investing in candles, gorgeous smelling soaps and a pile of immaculate white towels resting on a wooden stool. A fluffy bathmat and a heated towel rail – so you can enjoy the luxury of heated towels – are also essential.
In your bedroom fresh new bed linen, a colourful throw and pretty cushions will create a welcome retreat from a busy life. I love a beautifully upholstered chair in the bedroom. Even if you chuck your clothes on it every night, you know it’s stunning underneath
Hide your home office
With a huge percentage of the population still working from home some of the time, it is vital to separate work and home life. It can be very stressful to see your computer and office files on display all the time so hide the tech away and dedicate an area to working. If you kit it out with a stylish desk, comfortable office chair and neat office storage you can relax when you are not working and enjoy your home office when you are.
Create little sparks of joy
What makes you happy? Whatever it is, your home should be full of things that spark joy. A beautiful piece of pottery, a gorgeous smelling candle, a cushion in the most scrumptious colour – these are the things that will help you relax and love your home.
In 2024, I think the best thing you could do is try to create a sanctuary at home so you can relax and recharge our batteries. Use calm earthy colours, natural materials, plenty of greenery and add things you love, and you’ll create an oasis of calm you’ll never want to leave.
