This is the time of year when everyone starts dragging and slowing down, despite the fact that everything in the world says speed up. One reason you are feeling this slowdown is because naturally our bodies are in tune with the environment. The animals are hibernating, the weather is cold, dry, and blah, and we all feel the winter blues. But did you know that your home has a direct connection to how you are feeling, operating and showing up daily?
One thing that's worth considering is how everything in life is interconnected and that includes your happiness, health, success, wealth and overall wellbeing. As wellness designers we look at life, your space and even your habits from a holistic perspective. It's hard to have one area in life that doesn't impact or effect another in some way. We have learned that you are a product of your environment and when your home or space is not serving you anymore it's time for a refresh.
Your home and work spaces are where you spend the majority of your time. These areas can either be restorative/healing, productive, or stressful and overwhelming. Everything from what you eat at home to how you function all play a role. Studies have linked things like clutter and excessive snacking to raised cortisol (stress) levels. Even inadequate or artificial light in spaces has been linked to slower healing and higher levels of stress and anxiety.
So if you want to feel better at home, it has a deeper health benefit too. Plus, this time of year is a great time to start preparing for the new year holistically! To get into a new year, new me mindset it's good to make a shift first in your home. When you look good, you feel good, you function better and this goes for your home too.
How have you been feeling at home? How has your space impacted your life or goals this year? Here's 10 signs our home is craving a holistic interior design refresh.
1. You're a different person now.
If you have elevated, and the things that used to float your boat, don't appeal to you anymore, it's time to upgrade your space to reflect who you are. The same is true for you if your goals, likes and desires have changed or if you have reached previous aspirations and set new goals. If you are different, it is time to make your space appeal to the new you.
2. You feel like your space is making you sick.
If you find yourself feeling worse at home than when you are away at work or out of town, a change needs to happen. Whether you have the sniffles, a cough, headache or just an overwhelming feeling of dis- ease when get home, it's time to consider what could be making you sick in your home. The culprits could be as small as dust mites, wall to wall carpet or as big as mold, radon leaks or inadequate air flow. Either way it's time for a change.
3. You have suffered a tramautic life event like the death of loved one, illness, or divorce.
The loss of a loved one can be hard to heal from but it's especially hard for you to continue living in a space that has the painful memories attached. Sometimes all you need is to change up a space physically to shift the energy from a place of illness or bad memories to a place of healing and new beginnings.
4. You feel like you have lost sight of who you are.
If you look in the mirror and don't recognize yourself anymore your space could be contributing to that sense of loss. When your space is drab, uninspiring, boring, even slouchy that affects you. Just like life, your space is all about balance. You don't have to live in a model home but you should feel inspired, energized, and motivated in your space, so that you want to aspire for more, do better, get up, get dressed, and show up as your best self in life. Your space can make you feel like not getting dressed or it can make you feel inspired to put on a cute fit and go tackle the world. If this resonates with you, it's time to change that frumpy sofa, stop walking around in PJ's and shift into this new season, starting with holistic interior design.
5. Your kids, pets, or spouse are driving you bananas.
If everyone seems to be losing their minds, acting out, or acting brand new, it's time for a change in your space. Holistic design is about improving the wellness and wellbeing of everyone who occupies the space. So, what works for you may not work for the whole team. You may need a space refresh to level set with the whole family and make sure your spaces are serving and functioning well for everyone. That bright orange color that you love so much in your living room just might be over stimulating to your child or spouse.
6. You feel stagnant in one or multiple areas of your life.
If your career, finances, health, and relationships are giving your the blues, start looking at your space to see how it is impacting success in those areas. Shifting the energy in a space is a great way to catapult you to the next level. We are an equivalent of the people, the spaces, and things we surround ourselves with.
7. You keep losing things in your home.
If you find yourself repurchasing small things over and over again because you just can't find them, it is a sign that your space needs a refresh, to either release clutter, find better organizational tools that work, pair down items, or discover the underlying behaviors and habits that are contributing to you losing things.
8. You have a feeling that something is missing in your home.
You constantly find yourself feeling off or uneasy, or just wanting more. Stop overlooking your emotions. You feel that way because something is making you feel that way. Maybe its the color on the wall or the damp cold basement, whatever it is its worth diving deeper into.
9. You feel bored, or default to lounging all the time.
Your space is what you see every day and it can be boring and effecting you mentally and emotionally. Maybe it's out of control and since you can't control it you pick easy targets (like picking fights with family members) so you can control them or the outcome. Idle hands can make you feel bored and act out of character. It's time to put those hands to work and refresh your space, starting with shifting the energy, look and feel of your space.
10. Your physical body is aging faster than you like.
Many consider sagging skin, wrinkles, or even dry, irritated skin as a part of getting older. That's true to a certain extent. Did you know that your home could be speeding up the aging process for you? Excessive exposure to toxins in your daily products, lack of humidity/proper air flow, and poor sleep quality from that cluttered dusty bedroom can contribute to dry skin, health ailments or constant sleep deprivation, that can ultimately lead to premature aging.
When you look at your home and life holistically, you can see how they are one in the same. If you find yourself, relating to three or more signs on this list, it's time for a holistic interior design refresh. We would love to help you get started with teh process of diving deeper into the look, feel, style or health of your home. Click here to learn more about our wellness interior design services.
Remember, to fully step into a new year, new me mindset, you need to shift your physical space too. This is not just about beauty and aesthetics alone, but how each of the pieces of your life and home intricately intertwines with the other.