Interior Design Guide Trends

Transform your Space into a Tranquil Retreat

July 11

Clear Space, Clear Mind

In today’s hectic world, the ability to retreat to a place of quietude is essential. What better place than for your home to serve as the sanctuary into which you are able to escape and re-charge. Komal Sheth, Allied Member ASID, founder of Spaces Designed in Austin, suggests starting with a simple and minimal design approach. “A clear space means a clear mind.” Your home should serve as not only a place to eat, sleep and congregate, but just as importantly, a haven that creates a mood of tranquility that is comfortable and prepares you for the chaos outside, suggests Sheth.

So how does one begin this design transition you ask? Be gone with clutter and a better quality of life will follow. Sounds intriguing? Follow Sheth’s easy suggestions below and transform your abode into a well-organized and peaceful safe haven.

Minimalism serves as a solid foundation for this fashionably healthy approach to design. Begin the transformation process by eliminating items that do not serve a true purpose. The ‘less is more’ adage proves to be true as the design of your home directly affects your psyche. The minimalist approach will lend stress relief and serenity throughout other aspects of your daily life as well. When your home is well organized and clutter-free, serenity will begin to follow.

The 5,000-year-old principles of Feng Shui can be used in modern ways to achieve a home design that serves you, instead of disabling you. “For every design aspect that may not encourage a healthy state of mind, there is a remedy,” says Sheth. Two foundational aspects of Feng Shui are positive flow and balance. When planning the layout of your home, it is important to not force anything that does not belong; it will offset the balance and disrupt the harmony of yin and yang.

Sheth suggests using repetition as a way to encourage positive flow - this provides a fluid view from one focal point to another. Another method of Feng Shui that can create positive energy throughout your home is to incorporate water into the entrance of your house. Do this by using the color blue or by having a small water fountain nearby. Water invites positive energy into the house. Also, if you have a workstation at home, having your back facing a wall establishes a sense of a strong foundation that is excellent for a work area.

Combining opposites can create interest, as well as cohesiveness. Mixing straight lines with a touch of curve creates an excellent appeal for the mind. For instance, the combination of modern furniture pieces that tend to have more straight and hard lines with classical and more traditional elements, such as an intricate light fixture or chair, will provide more detail and soften the room with its curvature. “This combination provides a uniqueness like no other, and is unexpected,” says Sheth.

No matter how your personal design style evolves, it can be adjusted to create a clean layout to keep a flow of positive energy. Use organized space, simple lines with a touch of movement, focal points and repetition. The end result of your home should be “stunningly simple.”