Coming home should offer a relaxing feeling, and the way you create your space can help with that. A well designed home can make you feel safe, comfortable, and relaxed.

Use these tips to make your home feel more personal, relaxed, and inviting.

• Turn on music. Music can set the mood for your home, and these days, it’s easy to have it on when you walk through the door. You can leave a radio on as you’re leaving home so it will be on to greet you when you return, or you can use a smart device to schedule when it should be on.

• Use dimmer switches. Lighting can set a mood, too, and at night, bright lights aren’t relaxing. Use dimmer switches to turn down bright lights and let lighting take a more subtle tone.

• Add organization. Functional spaces need to do work, and that’s not always easy without organization. Make your bathroom, kitchen, entryway, and more organized so it’s easy to do the things you need to do, like grinding coffee in the morning, finding the right utensil, or grabbing your bag on the way out the door.

• Choose natural materials. Bringing nature indoors can make your home feel more relaxed. Look for materials such as real wood and cotton sheets.

• Allow natural light. Just as natural materials can help, natural light can add airiness and nature to you home, while helping to energize you in the daytime and support a healthy circadian rhythm. Cut back trees and other vegetation from windows and use window coverings that can easily be pulled back during the day.

• Clear piles. Whether you’re collecting letters or laundry, piles can add feelings of stress, knowing you have things left undone. While a few things stacked up here and there might not bother you, don’t let them get out of control.

• Paint your walls relaxing colours. You might prefer bold, bright looks with lots of energy and interest, but be careful where you put exciting wall colours. A playroom, office, even dining room might be a good place for bold wall colours, but bedrooms and other relaxing spaces like your living room should be more relaxing. Look for pastels, muted tones, and earth tones, especially soft blues, which tend to be the most relaxing.

• Add fresh flowers. Fresh flowers and plants can make your home feel more alive and can even help clean the air or add fragrance.

• Bring in soft pieces. Throw pillows, extra blankets, extra soft towels, and rugs can make your space feel softer and more cosy.

• Hang wall art. Art can draw you in and feel soothing. Find a landscape you can lose yourself in, or hang photos of family memories that make you feel happy and loved.

• Cut back on technology. While technology can help your home run more efficiently, it can be a distraction from relaxation, too. Create zones for technology, like a place to charge your cell phone overnight away from your bedroom, or a media room where you watch most of your tv and movies.

Making your home more relaxing can help put you at ease as soon as you walk in the door.

Think about how you can design and maintain your home in a way that makes you feel more comfortable and relaxed.

Written Exclusively for: Simply Soulful Yoga 

Written Exclusively by: Erin Keong

Erin Keong is a lifestyle expert with FamilyLivingToday.com. With a passion for interior design and for budgeting, Erin cares deeply about making beautiful spaces on very little money.