Ways To Make Your Living Room More Relaxing

After a long day, it’s essential to our wellbeing that our bodies and our minds have time to relax, unwind, and just be. This is one of the main motivations for creating a space in our homes to destress and rest. And since the living room should be used for actually living and not just looking pretty, here are a few of our favorite ways for making it a calm, relaxing place to recharge and spend time with the ones we love.

And while the hygge lifestyle is often associated with cold, winter months, there’s a variation that works for any season. Here are a few evergreen ways to cozy up and destress your space year long.

Candles and Calming Scents

Freshly baked chocolate chip cookies, clean ocean breezes, lavender blossoms, rain, etc etc are calming scents. Since we respond to smell, pleasant aromas help us to relax physically and mentally. You can use candles, diffusers with essential oils, incense sticks, and more to add these scents to your living room. Just make sure to stick to candles with a soy base so you’re not burning pollutants and other things that aren’t great for your lungs.

The key with scents is to make sure they are light and not strong or overpowering. If you want a quick spritz of something, non toxic natural scent fresheners with plant-based ingredients are a thousand times better for you than a typical air freshener, aren’t overpowering, and leave you feeling good about what you’re using.

Cozy Blankets and Pillows

Curling up with a cozy blanket and soft pillows is a must. It’s helpful to have plenty of pillows and blankets available in your living room on a couch or a chair. When your pillows and blankets aren’t in use, you can also store them in an ottoman, a large basket, or a nearby closet.

Organize and Create Space

A cluttered, messy, and unorganized space is not the best place for relaxing. For a calming atmosphere, the living room should be clean, organized, and inviting. Try doing a 5 minute sweep of the living room before you settle in, focusing on clear surfaces and big eyesores. Even better, set a timer and don’t allow yourself to go past the 5 minute mark. If you’re doing this a few times a day, your living room will become a source of calm and not stress. Plus, you’d be amazed at how much you can put away in 5 minutes. There are plenty of easy ways to maximize the space in your living room so you can create a pleasant and organized space.

Soft Lighting

Another one of the ways to make your living room more relaxing is to use warm tones of light. Bright, artificial light does not create a relaxing environment. In fact, bright, artificial light can mess with our circadian rhythms throughout the entire day as they signal our brains to be awake. To create soft, warm shades of light, you can use candles, lamps, and other light fixtures instead of your regular ceiling lights. Opt for a dimmer for ultimate control. Even better do a little research on LED lights that are designed to foster your natural circadian rhythm. They’re out there, and they’re wonderful…