How to Practice Mindfulness Through Home Design

Our home is a safe space where we can relax and let go of the stressors of the day. But with endless to-do lists and busy schedules, finding time to let go can become increasingly difficult - even at home.

That’s why practicing mindfulness is incredibly important for bringing awareness to the needs of our mind and body. The practice isn’t just about meditation, but can be incorporated simply into even the smallest moments in our lives. To help you focus more on you, we’re going to show you how to practice mindfulness through home design, as well as recommending the best mindfulness apps to help you adopt a more conscious lifestyle.

We’ve also taken advice from interior architect Alice De Mey - who contributes to VICTORIA-MARIA’s design house - and Lena-Marie about the importance of colour in interior design and how it can affect the overall design of a space.

Why Mindfulness?
How to Practice Mindfulness Through Home Design
Decluttering Tips to Start a Journey Towards Mindfulness
The Colour Psychology Behind a Mindful Home
Spaces That Engage The Senses
How to Create a Meditation Space at Home
The Best Mindfulness Apps to Try Out at Home

Why Mindfulness?

Mindfulness is when we’re fully present and in the moment without any distractions. When we’re aware of what we’re experiencing physically through our senses and mentally via our emotions, we’re being mindful. And whenever we start to feel overwhelmed, this practice of consciousness helps us to slow down and acknowledge the causes of our stress.

So why mindfulness? It can help us to relieve tension and anxiety, boost our own well-being and make us more aware of the well-being of others, improve mental performance, and encourage feelings of calm.

While it’s a mood that we can reach, it’s also a practice that we can cultivate. The more we hone it, the more easily we can achieve a state of mindfulness.

There are many ways that we can exercise this practice. The most popular is through meditation and relaxation techniques, but it can also be achieved through little mindful moments throughout the day. Like collecting ourselves before answering a phone call, or reminding ourselves why we’re doing something before we do it.

It’s also something that we can foster by creating a mindful environment to be in. Reflecting mindfulness at home means being conscious of design principles that encourage a calming and harmonious atmosphere. Dressing our space for this purpose has become increasingly popular, with a Pinterest Trend Report showing that Pins saved for “mindfulness” have increased by 248% within the home décor category.

But what are the principles of mindful décor and how can we bring them to life at home? Keep reading as we talk you through four different ways to take a thoughtful approach to your interior design to inspire purpose, happiness and calm.

How to Practice Mindfulness Through Home Design

Decluttering tips to start a journey towards mindfulness

As the saying goes, a tidy home leads to a tidy mind. Excessive clutter can take its toll on your mental health, causing stress and anxiety that could otherwise be avoided. It can also hinder focus and cause distractions, which are not helpful for mindful practice.

Pruning back on the clutter in your life keeps you focused on the things you really need and makes you think about why you need them. Every object should have a purpose or encourage a positive emotion, and if it doesn’t, you may want to think twice about whether you really need it.

We’re not saying to get rid of everything that you don’t use, but consider whether it brings you joy or is just taking up space. This is one of the reasons why Marie Kondo’s KonMari Method™ is so successful. It follows a simple set of rules that really work to help you clear your home and mind. If you’re new to the KonMari Method™ of tidying your space, we’ve outlined it below.

Marie Kondo’s six rules of tidying

Rule 1 - Dedicate yourself to tidying up

Rule 2- Think about your ideal home

Rule 3 - Start by decluttering

Rule 4 - Tidy by category, not room

Rule 5 - Follow the categories in order

Rule 6 - Ask yourself, “does it spark joy?”

Many tidying techniques tackle one room at a time, but Marie Kondo encourages people to work by category instead. She outlines these as clothes, books, papers, komono (miscellaneous items) and then sentimental pieces. As you work your way through each category, she teaches you to only keep the things that “spark joy”. If they don’t, you should thank them for their service and then let them go.

We know that the one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t always truly fit all, which is why we’ve also included some extra decluttering tips below to help you on your journey to a more mindful home.

#1. Get in a habit of planning your shopping so that you use everything you can within its expiry date, cutting down the need to throw items away. Don't forget, personal care items and makeup have expiry dates too, so keep track of what should be used first before opening new products.

#2. Gather all the things that you’ve borrowed and keep them in a dedicated space to remind you to return them to their rightful owners.

#3. Set aside an hour each month to conduct some life admin and shred, file or recycle letters, papers and documents.

#4. Be strict on spares. One is enough.

#5. It’s okay to let go of any unwanted gifts - and the guilt that comes with them.

#6. When organising your wardrobe, organising your wardrobe, keep an empty box in there. Whenever you try something on that you don’t feel comfortable or happy wearing, place it in your box. It’s a gradual, but in-the-moment, way of decluttering unwanted clothing.

#7. Use the 90/90 rule. Think about whether you’ve used an item in the last 90 days and if you’ll use it in the next 90 to come. If the answer is no, consider donating it to a new home.

#8. Try the 10% method. For those who are prone to hoarding a collection of one type of item, try to reduce your collection by 10%.

#9. Ask yourself, ‘would you buy it now?’. If you wouldn’t, then you know it no longer sparks joy.

#10. For busy lifestyles, set yourself the goal of spending just five minutes a day tidying for an achievable target.

Don’t forget that decluttering is only half of the battle. Keeping your space spotless will also change the way your home feels and how you feel living in it. A spring clean is a great way of getting your things in order, but don’t wait til next spring to take action. Start being mindful of the mess that you create and consciously taking steps to clear it up today.

The Colour Psychology Behind a Mindful Home

Have you ever thought about how different coloured rooms can make us feel? Colour psychology is the study of different hues to see how they can affect our behaviour. It’s something that’s been widely researched and there’s plenty of evidence to suggest that certain colours have qualities that can influence our emotions. That’s why it’s a powerful technique used by brands, marketers and interior designers.

As the colour of walls is one of the most visually striking aspects of a room, we’re going to show you which shades have the biggest emotive influence on us and which ones are best suited for inspiring feelings of mindfulness. To help us, we’ve enlisted the aid of some top colour experts for their thoughts on how to channel emotion through colour.

Alice De Mey is the design manager at VICTORIA-MARIA, a Brussels-based design studio. They create daring furniture for clients across the globe and colour is a big part of their process. “Colour helps us to create layers of depth and strength through our visual approach and helps our clients to feel home thanks to the ambience it brings.” She says, “Colours are the most playful tools in a project. Using them efficiently will enhance the design and underline the creativity of a room.”

Alice doesn’t believe that colours make up the entire emotion of a room, but that they form a blend of its makeup. “The colours you use have to be built around the light, a beautiful design line and some personal objects to reflect an ambience and position how you feel.”

Lena-Marie runs an interior design Instagram account, she believes that colours should be as subtle as possible when thinking about the design of your room. “A good starting point is grey and beige tones together with wood accents for warmth. Then you can build more accents with coloured cushions, blankets and accessories.” She says, “When doing this, you should stay in one colour family as much as possible.”

When she thinks about the tones she wants to use to design a room, Lena-Marie’s neutral preferences define the shades of suitable room colours that help with a room’s ambience:

Pink- “A warm tone - I love using old rose in my designs.”

Blue- “Cool and dominant but in a very dark tone a great contrast to make a wall stand out.”

Purple- “My favourite shade of purple is aubergine. It brings warmth into the room and draws attention to certain details.”

Yellow- “Gives a brightening and illuminating effect. In winter I’ll use mustard yellow to enhance the season, then in summer I love using a lemon yellow.”

Green- “Refreshing. It should be present in a room primarily in the form of plants.”

Grey- “A great base colour. You can then build on it and add colourful accents.”

Red- “I often use earthy tones for Boho style. Red perfectly complements natural materials and objects.”

If you rent or you’re not able to select which colours your rooms are painted, you can still use colour psychology in your interior design. Instead of your walls, focus on keeping a consistent colour scheme throughout your furniture, soft furnishings and accessories as this will have a similar effect.

To give you some ideas, we’ve created some harmonious colour palettes to give you inspiration. Choose your favourite and recreate a mindful colour scheme at home by using the shades in your home décor.

Spaces That Engage The Senses

Sensory triggers play a big role in sparking mindfulness. When curating your mindful home, here are some ways that you can achieve it through many senses.

Sight

Colour psychology can play a big role in the energy of your space, but lighting design is just as important. Soft lighting is known to be more calming than harsh, artificial fluorescence, but nothing beats the power of natural light.

It can have a significant positive impact on our mood and provide energising effects, which is why Seasonal Affective Disorder is more common in the winter months when there’s less natural light. As well as supporting our mental wellbeing, maximising our exposure to sunlight increases our Vitamin D intake. This is an essential nutrient for keeping our bones, teeth and muscles healthy.

Let the sunshine in with sheer blinds or curtains that allow for a bright and airy feel. When the natural light fills your home in the mornings, it lets you practice a simple mindful exercise of waking up with the dawn. This enables you to maintain a healthy sleep rhythm, which can also improve your sleep quality.

In the evening, opt for the warm glow of a candle rather than your home’s overhead lighting. Bright light in the night can interfere with your body’s natural process of unwinding for bed, so choose something softer instead.

Scent

Did you know that smell is the most powerful sense? It’s incredibly sensitive and can easily trigger emotional responses, like memory or focus. This is why fine tuning the scents around our home can hugely influence feelings of mindfulness.

Introducing natural essential oil fragrances, like those in our BeBalanced collection, into your space is an excellent way of boosting your mood and wellbeing.

Inspired by aromatherapy and made with the purest plant-derived ingredients that are sourced from trusted global grower partners, our essential oil fragrances allow you to harness the power of nature to create an ambience that’s tailored to you.

Discover our full list of essential oil blends here.

Lavender is one of the most popular essential oil fragrances and is known for its relaxing scent that can help to destress. We’d recommend diffusing it in your bedroom or bathroom to help you unwind at the end of the day.

The invigorating sensation of peppermint essential oil makes it ideal for studies or home offices where you may want to feel invigorated and energised, while the zing of lemon essential oil is often associated with cleanliness and freshness that can be found in kitchens or bathrooms.

Sound

Part of being mindful is removing any potential distractions that can take away from focusing on the moment. That’s why when it comes to sound, the usual music that we listen to isn’t the best choice. Lyrics can cause our mind to wander and songs often have memories attached to them that keep us from being present.

Instead, noise colours are wordless sounds distributed over different frequencies. These frequencies define what colour of noise these sounds fall into, and audiology research has found that they can help to promote better sleep and relaxation.

There are three specific noise colours that we believe are useful for fostering a mindful setting - pink, white and brown.

Pink noise

Pink noise is made up of frequencies where the energy isn’t distributed evenly. It’s easy for humans to hear and is more obvious at lower frequencies, which causes it to create a deep sound. There are lots of pink noises in nature, like the sound of rustling leaves, rain, wind and also the heartbeat. It’s been found to reduce brain waves to aid deep sleep.

White noise

Unlike pink noise, energy is equally distributed across frequencies in white noise. It results in a steady humming sound that’s often created by electronic devices. The whir of a fan and radio or television static is classed as white noise. These repetitive sounds are popularly thought of as background noise, which can help some people to concentrate.

Brown noise

Brown noise occurs at lower frequencies, making it deeper than white, and even pink, noise. Despite its structural differences, it can sound similar to white noise. Brown noise can also be found in nature, from the sound of waterfalls, crashing waves and thunder.

To get the most out of the noise colours, why not play them from your computer, mobile or smart speaker whenever you’re in the mood to feel mindful? We’ve included some suggestions above, so you can play them whenever you need an audio trigger for your mindfulness practice. They’re also great to have on for some soothing background noise.

Touch

One of the ways that we can be more mindful is by interacting with the natural objects around us to feel more connected with the earth. This is a concept called “earthing” or “grounding”.

It is believed that grounding may have positive effects on the body, letting electrical charges from the earth support and restore our natural defenses. Earthing is also thought to help us be more mentally present and centred, creating an ideal headspace for practicing mindfulness.

To experience the cognitive benefits of earthing from the comfort of your home, try incorporating a range of natural textures into your interiors to help you anchor your mind. The goal is to create contrasting tactile sensations. This is similar to the practice of feng shui at home, where having a balance of the five elements helps to create a harmonious space. Here are a few ideas to try:

• Layer chunky rugs in natural fibres into your living room and bedroom
• Invest in house plants for visual intrigue and texture
• Dried flowers and and plants add a unique feel to windowsills and coffee tables
• Opt for patterns on your sofa cushion covers and throws
• Swap your glazed pots for stone or ceramic vases
• Pop a woven or weave basket into your bathroom for extra storage space
• Dress your dining table with marble coasters and bamboo placemats

How to Create a Meditation Space at Home

So far we’ve shown you how to achieve mindfulness through home design, but one of the most effective ways to practice it is through meditation. Even though you can absolutely meditate wherever is most convenient for you, having a dedicated meditation space can help you to be more committed to living a more mindful life. Keep reading as we break down the steps for how to create a meditation space at home.

1. Eliminate indoor allergens

Poor air quality can not only lead to respiratory issues, but it may also hinder your practice of mindfulness. Breathing technique is a core component of successful meditation, so try to remove any dust, pollen and other airborne allergens from your meditation space. Consider investing in an air purifier to eliminate potential allergens.

2. Naturally purify with plants

If you don’t want to introduce an air purifier or essential oils to your home, some species of indoor houseplant are highly effective at improving the quality of your air. While they won’t eliminate dust and pollen, they can filter out indoor pollutants.

NASA conducted a clean air study and found that plant species like the Spider plant, Devil’s Ivy, Peace Lily, Snake plant, Aloe Vera and Chinese Evergreen are among some of the best for their air-purifying powers. Pop one of these into your meditation space to help achieve purer air for peace of mind while you practice.

3. Remove possible distractions

Mindfulness meditation requires us to let go of any negativity or distractions and instead, concentrate on our current state so we can acknowledge and accept our thoughts and emotions without judgement. Having a meditation space that’s free from visual clutter can help to keep the mind from wandering, so try to keep your décor or accessories to a minimum.

For example, having a clock in sight during practice may trigger thoughts about the future, diverting your attention away from the present moment.

4. Put away blue light devices

When we meditate, it’s important to take the opportunity to actively step away from any electronic devices and the blue light that they emit.

Mobile phones, in particular, can be a big disturbance during meditation and blue light has been found to contribute to eye strain and disrupt our body’s natural circadian rhythm. This can disrupt our sleep cycle and lead to a poorer quality of sleep, which has the potential to affect our productivity in the day.

5. Keep comfort in mind

Meditation can inspire the stereotype of sitting cross-legged on a hardwood floor, but in reality you should feel completely comfortable in your meditation zone. Prioritise your comfort by dressing your space in soft cushions, rugs and blankets to make it cosy for your mindful practice.

You might want to use your favourite armchair for meditation so that your mind can associate the feeling of comfort with mindfulness. For those who don’t have a dedicated space, create a set up of soft furnishings that you use for practice and store them away when they’re not in use. This means that you can take your meditation space with you if you travel, or if you want to switch up the room in your home that you practice in.

6. Add a personal touch

Accessories that don’t serve a purpose can create distractions, but you may want to include some items that aid you in your practice.

Crystals have been used in meditation for hundreds of years as they are believed to channel different types of energy. This energy is thought to encourage healing and protection, aid focus, deepen meditative states and raise your own awareness.

Some people also use hourglasses to help ground them as they meditate. A more mindful alternative to a clock or electronic timer, sand timers are perfect for tracking how long you want to exercise mindfulness for.

7. Find your meditation fragrance

Fragrances are another popular meditation aid. As well as setting a peaceful ambience, they can promote a mental association with practice, meaning you can get into the right headspace when you smell them. This is especially effective for those who find it difficult to turn their attention inward.

Find a special fragrance to enjoy only when you meditate. Burning sage or other herbs is a favourite for many as it scents and helps to cleanse your space. Using essential oils in a diffuser is a great fragrance addition for those with a dedicated meditation space or set up, just choose your essential oil blend from our guide.

The Best Mindfulness Apps to Try Out at Home

Having a mindful space is the perfect environment to nurture our practice of mindfulness, but sometimes we may need a hand in focusing on the present. Whether you’re trying it out for the first time or you’re looking for a new technique, we’ve listed the best mindfulness apps to try out at home.

We’ve found that mindfulness can be exercised and strengthened through three activities - meditation, yoga and sleep - so we’ve separated our favourite apps for mindfulness into these categories.

Meditation Apps

Headspace

Available on: iOS (App Store) and Android (Google Play)

Price: £49.99

Headspace was one of the first meditation apps and it’s become a firm favourite among over 30 million users across 190 countries. With a super friendly design and easy-to-use format, this app is perfect for anyone looking to start their meditation journey.

Access it on your computer, or smartphone when you’re away from home, and enjoy a huge library of over 500 meditations to relieve a wide range of ailments. From reducing stress to building confidence, Headspace is full of sleep sounds, music and exercises for meditation to help you easily incorporate mindfulness into your daily routine.

Simple Habit

Available on: iOS (App Store) and Android (Google Play)

Price: Free

Described as, “a meditation app designed to help busy people stress less, achieve more, and live better,” Simple Habit offers a more basic approach to mindfulness. With fewer features than Headspace, Simple Habit focuses instead on building a specialist library of five minute guided meditations to target everyday situations or goals.

Users have access to dozens of leading meditation teachers from across the world in one place. Similar to how Spotify collates artists into a single app for easy access, Simple Habit does the same with guided meditations.

Yoga Apps

Nike Training Club

Available on: iOS (App Store) and Android (Google Play)

Price: Free

Nike Training Club hosts an extensive list of exercise programs to help users reach their fitness goals at home. Find over 190 free workouts in cardio, HIT, strength training, mobility and yoga to strengthen your body and mind. Powered by the global sports and fitness brand, Nike, the app workouts are led by world-class Nike Master Trainers, and range from 15-45 minutes to suit your schedule.

The app’s yoga sessions mean that you can find your flow on-the-go, and there are routines to suit beginners or yogis after something more advanced.

Daily Yoga

Available on: iOS (App Store) and Android (Google Play)

Price: Free

If you’re looking for a yoga-specific app, Daily Yoga is a comprehensive but user-friendly yoga training app for workouts that you can do anywhere. Offering programs and sessions for users at any stage of their yoga journey, Daily Yoga’s variety of poses and excellent video tutorial quality make it incredibly easy to follow along.

Sleep Apps

Calm

Available on: iOS (App Store) and Android (Google Play)

Price: $69.99

Calm is an award-winning mindfulness app with the goal of helping users to find their own calm. Similarly to Headspace, Calm also offers a suite of different meditations and breathing techniques to help manage stress, find inner peace, increase focus and more.

What sets Calm apart from other apps is its famed Sleep Stories function, where calming bedtime stories for adults are narrated by famous voices like Cillian Murphy and Harry Styles. If you prefer to drift off to relaxing music instead, Calm also has a Sleep Music feature of specially curated soundtracks to help you fall asleep.

Noisli

Available on: iOS (App Store) and Android (Google Play)

Price: Free

Noisli is a background noise generator that’s made to drown out distractions to help you focus on a task at hand. Available as an app and also as a browser extension, Noisli features 16 soothing sounds that you can choose from to set as background noise.

With sounds like steady rainfall, blowing wind, rustling leaves and running water, Noisli is also an excellent choice for those who want to try using the noise colours to help them drift off to sleep. Pick multiple sounds to play at once and adjust the intensity of each sound to suit you. It also has a built-in timer so you don’t have to worry about Noisli playing while you sleep.

Want to see more from us? Take a look at our latest collection here or discover our BeBalanced collection of essential oil fragrances to help you feel mindful at home today.