Sanctuary: 7 ways to make your home a stress-free haven

Natural Health, Oct, 2003 by Nancy Stedman

At day's end you walk through a door that sticks, turn on an overhead light that makes you look jaundiced, and stretch out on a scratchy "antique" sofa--just as the neighbor's kids start to shriek like twin air-raid sirens. Instead of resting, you decide to pay bills, but you use up all your spare time hunting for them. During your search, you twist your ankle tripping over a stack of old TV Guides.

It dawns on you that your home is not quite the restful spot you once envisioned.

Why are some homes tranquil and welcoming, while others are as jarring as a fender bender? Design principles say that the most peaceful environments look harmonious and contain elements of nature. But generalities can't provide all the solutions for making your home a stress-free zone.

"Part of people's response to environments stems from their personal history" says Lynne Bryan Phipps, principal of the interior architecture firm Design One Consortium in Providence, R.I. For instance, the ocean-blue walls that remind one person of idyllic summers spent on Cape Cod may bring back unpleasant childhood memories to another.

Before you embark on any redecorating or reorganization projects, devote some thought to what puts you at ease. "The process of transforming your home--not just the labor, but the reflection--is what makes the place yours. And that's the way to find peace," Phipps says. Fortunately, there are many ways to add serenity builders and delete serenity beaters.

1. assign personal space

"There's less stress in a home if each person in the family has a spot that's just theirs: the workshop in the garage, a chair in the corner, a closet for a child" says Jackie Craven, a house restorer in Schenectady, N.Y., and author of The Stress-Free Home. "Delineate the space with a curtain, screen, shelving, tall plant, different color paint, or just lighting. Each person puts in their space what's important to them" To maintain privacy, make a family rule prohibiting others from entering this space. Then stick to it.

2. let there be sunlight

Natural light, especially in the morning, sets your internal clock in motion. If you spend all day in artificial light, then you may feel out of sorts, similar to having jet lag, says Andrew Bierman, a systems specialist at the Lighting Research Center of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y.

Humans apparently need both the colors and the intensity of sunlight to stay synchronous with their own body rhythm. Natural illumination provides a continuous spectrum of light with a high content of blue (which stimulates the circadian system) compared to the greenish yellow of electrical light.

Skylights dramatically increase the amount of natural light in a room. A less expensive solution is to leave windows uncovered, or only minimally blocked with roll-up shades or sheer fabric panels. Blinds in wood, bamboo and other natural materials are available from Smith Noble (800-560-0027; smithandnoble.com). Good sources for scrims include West Elm (866-428-6468; westelm.com) and Spiegel (800-345-4500; spiegel, corn). For maintaining your body clock, you only need sunlight in the room where you linger during the mornings, says Bierman. But many designers feel that natural light--or its much weaker substitute, full-spectrum light bulbs--is important throughout the home to keep your spirits up.

3. color it calm

Want to change the mood of a room fast? Grab a brush. "Painting is an inexpensive way to remodel, and everyone can do it," says Gwendolyn Lewis Huddleston, academic director of interior design at the Art Institute of California in San Francisco. Your best options: "The classic advice for stress-free rooms encourages monochromatic, earth-toned or blue-green color plans," Craven says.

Single-color schemes, often associated with minimalist designs, usually consist of neutrals such as off-white or gray. "Neutrality has a calming effect because there is nothing to draw the eye," says Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute in Carlstadt, N.J., and author of The Color Answer Book. Neutral walls don't tire you out by attracting attention--one reason they're so common in offices. But steer clear of pure white wails. Their brightness does register, and the color can feel sterile.

The tans, browns, brown-reds and terra cotta common in southwestern designs are calming for a different reason. "Earth tones provide a rootedness," says Eiseman. "You know you can count on the earth beneath your feet."

But the cool notes familiar from Monet's paintings of water lilies--blue, blue-green, green, some lavenders--are often considered the most restful. "The blues are associated with the sky and water. They're always there, That's calming," says Eiseman, who also believes that green is underrated as a wall color. "Green is Mother Nature's background color. You can use a lot of colors to bounce off green. Think of how great yellow roses or blue-lavender periwinkle flowers look against green leaves."

The blue-greens are compatible with earth tones because they lie next to one another on the color spectrum and share some of the same tints. But they're not your only choices. "You can use several dissimilar colors so long as they have the same value, which means an equal amount of black, or darkness," says Huddleston.