After checking out the first 10 ways of creating a stress-free living space here, see what else you can do with these 17 remaining tips.
11. Get the fresh breezy feel with light pastels. Stronger, darker hues bring sophistication, but it also provides warmth to a large space, making it more intimate and cozy.
12. Open up a room with curtains. Those that hang from the ceiling and drops all the way to the floor adds height to a room.
13. Bring nature in. Have potted plants in the living room; flowers on your bedroom nightstand and fruits or vegetables displayed on the kitchen table.
14. Get soft and luxurious bedroom linens. Not only is it visually appealing, but it also gives you a feeling of warmth and comfort at first touch.
15. What’s on your home office desk? Add little aspirations such as pictures from your recent trips with your family or a coffee mug that reminds you of your happy memory.
16. Choose textures that relax the senses. A tiled floor feels cold to the feet but rugs or wooden floors have the opposite effect. Expensive bedspreads are worth it because it makes you want to curl up and escape the stress of the day.
17. A bedroom retreat doesn’t mean no colors or patterns. Introduce them through pillows and bolsters and sheets that pick up the colors in your bedroom.
18. Add area rugs to your floor. Along with floor pillows, they breathe new life into any room, and they can also define spaces.
19. Perk up your furniture. Add washable slip covers or throw blankets on a sofa’s backrest. Put cushions on wooden chairs to give it a move comfy look.
20 Toss or donate everything that you don’t need. Find a place for everything that’s left so it’ll be easier to clean up. And don’t buy new things unless you absolutely need them. Check out the The Three Box Strategy.
21. Clear your house of clutter. Start with surfaces – from the coffee table to the nightstand to that bedroom chair. Clean surfaces act as balm on the brain. It’s soothing, especially when you’re stressed.
22. Go for furnishings with clean lines. There’s no visual clutter so the eyes aren’t distracted. Plus slender furniture makes the room feel spacious.
23. Scent your room with essential oils. Relaxing scents like bergamot, chamomile and lavender. Buy potpourri or make your own air freshener. Ina spray bottle with 50ml water put a drop or two of your favorite oils and spray.
24. Install under cabinet lights. It brightens dark counter top spaces, making puttering in the kitchen a pleasant exercise and forces you to keep your kitchen tops clean and clutter-free.
25. Go for blue. Color therapy experts say it has a calming and relaxing effect. It affects the autonomic nervous system, the part that operates without your conscious control to lower the heart rate and blood pressure, and slows the breathing.
26. Display wall art in a grid. The center arrangement and the even spacing create an orderly look. If you feel it’s too formal, mix it up with different sizes or style.
27. Finally, mix and match colors with restraint.
Back in he days my late father is fond of growing fruit bearing trees including several variety of banana trees but we lost most of them when Ma and Pa decided to move to another place– our current home. When he died in 2003 my little brother assumed his fascination and was able to grow different fruit trees in our yard. We have two durian trees that are set to bear fruits next year, rambutan ( a pinoy version of Lychee), the solo variety of papaya, guava, kalamansi and of course the two varieties of banana – the sweet silk (tundan as they locally call it) and cardava banana.
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