Where Design and Interiors Meets Happiness and Wellbeing
Take a look at your iPhone, the layout of the google home page, and the vast majority of design blogs. Or a selection of some of the most popular interiors on Pinterest right now. The one thing they all have in common is a simple, clean-lined design aesthetic.
Minimalism is back.
Because our lives have become so complicated and frenetic. And the world so uncertain. We want our homes to be simple and uncomplicated. And that is what minimalist design helps to give us.
Do you have objects around your home that you dislike?
Perhaps you keep them around because you feel you have to. Or maybe out of a sense of guilt because they were gifts?
How do they make you feel each time you look at them? Do they bring back bad memories or make you feel negative?
When used as positive anchors, home accessories really can make you feel happier. But conversely, if they have negative associations, the opposite is also true.
It’s almost a month since those New Year resolutions were made to get fit and loose some weight. But if, despite your best efforts, you are feeling like you have made little or no progress, there might be a good reason for this.
Strange as this is going to sound: your home could be the cause. Or rather, how it is designed and laid out.
Here are seven surprising reasons why your home could be making you overweight. And what you can do about it right now.
The new year is a great time to declutter. Have a fresh start, and get rid of all that junk that is slowly threatening to take over your home.
But easier said than done.
Sometimes the mere thought of decluttering can be quite overwhelming.
Have you ever felt that way? I know I have.
There’s a sense of it being such an enormous job that you don’t quite know where to begin.
So you don’t.
And everywhere you turn you are accosted by things. It can leave you feeling guilty, disorganised and drained – your energy literally sapped by all that clutter.
Yes, you know that once your home is organised there will be a great feeling of satisfaction. That there will be more space, order, and you’ll know where to find everything.
It’s just making that first start.
So here are seven easy steps to break down the task into small chunks. You’ll find it less daunting, and far more manageable.
A clear desk is like a blank piece of paper: a space for new potential, possibilities and ideas.
But standing between us and that ideal working environment is paperwork. Clutter creating and time consuming, it stifles creativity and productivity.
There’s an almost mysterious process as it gradually morphs on your desk, and you’re suddenly faced with a threatening mass invading your workspace. So daunting, that often the temptation is to try and ignore it, in the hope it will simply disappear (by trying to hide it with yet more paper on top).
Then one day, the inevitable happens. You need an essential document and are forced to spend ages rummaging through the chaos in order to locate it.
How can we prevent that overwhelming paper clutter and the stress it brings with it?
What is the secret to having a clear minimalist desk where we can work more efficiently and with a sense of calm?
Home accessories can make or break the decor of a room.
Used well, home decor can enhance your interior and transform your space. However, the opposite is also true. Here are a few of the pitfalls, and how to avoid them.
Your home feels chaotic and disorganised, but you just don’t know where to begin. You can’t even bear to look at the clutter, it’s so overwhelming. And yet you do … nothing. As if leaving it will make it go away. You’d rather do anything but clear the place up. Suddenly everything else seems more important:
‘I’ll start by clearing up the newspapers. Mmm that looks an interesting article from the Sunday supplement three weeks ago; don’t think I’ve read it yet. I’ll quickly skim through it before I throw it out …’
‘I’m really tired this evening, I just need to sit down and watch some TV. I have to be in the right frame of mind, I’ll start tomorrow.’
‘It’s going to take ages to get this place sorted out and I just don’t have the time. I’ve got so much on right now’
Yet, you know that you would be so much happier with a more organised and neat home. How do you overcome that hurdle?
