Design A Home For Relaxed Living
One favourable outcome of the global pandemic is that we have taken cognizance of our lifestyle to incorporate a style that is more relaxed and comfortable.
05/08/2021
Designing a home for relaxed living is
all about being comfortable
in your own living
spaces
The global pandemic has made everyone take a closer look at how we live, our lifestyle and how we socialise both in our homes and outside. Being forced to spend a lot of time at home due to lockdown restrictions and social distances has made us more aware of the importance of being comfortable in our skin and our homes and has challenged us to re-thick out lifestyle to one that focuses on comfort at home and a more relaxed style of living.
Decorating the home plays a huge part in how we live our lives, especially now that we are spending so much time at home. Do our living spaces provide a sanctuary? Can we live out our lifestyle comfortably? These are all questions we are now asking ourselves.
Slow Down and Relax
With lives busier than ever with trying to get back into the flow of work/life, whether it's at the office or home, there has never been a better time to take a step back, slow down and relax. Technology might have made our lives easier in one way, but it has also made it hard work in others. We no longer have the amount of free time that we enjoyed before technology came into our lives. We are ruled by social media, chatting, searching and browsing. Now there is a greater need to find your escape and create a home that helps you unwind at the end of every day.
My favourite go-to for relaxed, comfortable living ideas is Serena & Lily. This American retailer of design and lifestyle furniture and accessories evokes a timeless desire for relaxed, comfortable with their range that encompasses natural and organic materials.
Blue and white together evoke feelings of calm and serenity. Blue alone signifies stability and these two colour combined create a soothing mood, a mood that lets you reflect on clear blue skies and slow waves in the ocean.
In The Living Room
If there is one design ethos that covers a relaxed lifestyle and comfortable living spaces it is a combination of coastal style with a dash of sophisticated elegance. We're not talking about kitschy-style beach homes decorated in red, white and blue but a more sophisticated outlook, one that beings together casual-relaxed and sets the scene for a comfortable and stress-free home.
Everything you see at Serena & Lily encompasses what relaxed living is all about and is the perfect place to garner information for decorating the home. From larger details like upholstered furniture to small details for accessories and accents. Everything is brought together to create a harmonious interior that is calming to the senses and soothing to the soul. And while it's not always about everything white and blue it is about staying true to nature with muted background colours and bold accents.
In The Dining Room
Like the living room, a dining room is where the family should gather together. It has also before a place where you can entertain family and friends in your own home without having to worry about social distancing. Setting a comfortable dining room includes chairs in which you can lounge the hours away while partaking of casual or formal dining.
If you prefer to keep the dining room for formal dining, look at how you can set up a casual or relaxed dining area adjacent to an open plan kitchen or out on a patio or entertainment area. Keeping it casual incorporates plenty of natural materials and a blue-themed colour palette on a crisp, white background.
Even a formal dining room can be decorated to reflect elegance and comfort with emphasis on an ethos of relaxed living.
In The Bedroom
The bedroom in particular is a room in the home where decorating in a relaxed style will benefit body, mind and soul. Colour psychologists agree that hues of blue are beneficial in the bedroom as they help to calm and soothe for better sleep.
Keeping a bedroom clutter-free is tantamount for a bedroom that offers relaxed living. The less clutter the more expansive any room feels and this is what you want when spending so much downtime in a bedroom.
Muted blues and natural accessories are teamed up with a dash of sophistication with an elegant crystal chandelier and designer wallpaper. Not your average casually-styled bedroom.
In The Bathroom
I love the way that wood and organic materials can add personality and charm to an otherwise sterile bathroom. Yes, which is a colour that expresses hygiene and cleanliness but it does little to warm up a bathroom, and we know that in many homes the bathroom can be a cold room.
Building up layers of texture in a bathroom goes a long way towards softening all the harsh edges and upping the level of comfort. Think plush towels, fabric blinds or drapes, luxurious rugs or mats underfoot and organic baskets for storage.
The bathroom is your true sanctuary at the end of the day whether your preference is for a shower or a relaxing bathe. Decorate this room for comfort with fittings and fixtures that will enhance the experience and then add soothing scents with candles or diffusers.
Relaxed Accents and Accessories
Accessories for relaxed living are organic and manufactured using natural materials such as wood, bamboo, rattan or cane. While rattan and cane have been around for many years they did go out of favour for many years. Now they are back on trend and are a natural alternative to melamine, plastic or other synthetic materials.
Sisal or coir baskets can be trimmed with tassels or embellishments that elevate them to the perfect accessories for a bathroom.
all images serene & lily