5 Ways To Make Your Home A Sophisticated Oasis
Remember when you were a teenager and you'd get home from school, go straight to your room and close the door to your oasis? Your space; a room that represented everything about who you were. Even now, when you're all grown up, you still need an oasis, but your tastes are likely to be a little different. Instead of posters of dreamy crushes plastered to all four walls, you may now long for a dreamy Swiss cheese Monstera deliciosa to bring a touch of nature to your space. Instead of snuggly cartoon character pillows, it may be time for luxurious chunky knit throws.
Lifestyle blogger Simple Home Simple Life states there are several elements that go into turning your home into a sophisticated oasis, and a few small changes can yield big results. Start by looking at your home now. What about it stresses you out? Is there a cozy chair in your bedroom that, despite your best efforts, is always covered in a pile of laundry? Do you flip the switch in your living room and suddenly have to squint from the intensely bright lights? If so, it's time to update your home to make it the relaxing space you deserve.
Remove clutter
Although you may be exhausted and just want to sit down with a bowl of popcorn to spend some quality time with Netflix, it's hard to relax in a messy room. If you have to move stuff off your coffee table to prop your feet up, it's time to really declutter your home. This is the first step to creating your oasis.
Nearly every room in your house probably has a drop zone — the place you unload your mail, miscellaneous paperwork that seems to come out of nowhere, laundry (clean or dirty), and all the other random stuff that enters your home. Per My Domaine, your drop zones are your starting points. Get to work by throwing away what you do not need and putting away the things you do.
For useful items you no longer want, keep a designated basket or box in a closet. This gives you a place to put items that are destined for donation. Once you've decluttered, you'll feel a weight off your shoulders. To keep that weight off, spend a small amount of time each week maintaining those drop zones and keep your home from feeling stressful again.
Select the right colors
It may seem like a no-brainer, but the color of your room makes a big difference in the atmosphere of the space. It's tempting to choose your favorite color for your walls, but if your favorite color is a bright hue, it may not have the effect you're aiming for. Instead of painting your walls red or purple, use bold colors sparingly as an accent color and opt for something more calming for your sophisticated oasis.
A neutral monochromatic color scheme offers an atmosphere that is easy on the eyes, according to Magazin Ibiza. Although monochrome is simple, it does not have to be boring. Adding pillows, blankets, and rugs helps create textural and visual interest. Baskets, woven floor pillows, mirrors, and simple works of art make a space feel complete without being fussy or overcomplicated. If neutrals are not your style, consider painting your walls a calming color like soft blue, green, or even a warm buttery yellow to add color without sacrificing serenity.
Add plants
Houseplants are known reduce stress in a number of ways, and there are plenty to choose from that just about anyone can keep alive. First, simple acts of maintenance, including watering, misting, and even just touching your plants, calm anxiety, according to Forbes. Transplanting is particularly helpful for lowering stress levels because of natural soil microbes, called outdoorphins, that help your brain make more serotonin; in turn, this helps you feel happier.
In addition to the psychological benefits of having plants, there are physiological rewards. While it's general knowledge that plants turn carbon dioxide into oxygen, did you know they also remove harmful chemicals from the air? Fox 19 reports that new furniture often contains formaldehyde, one of the many chemicals that can be removed by plants along with mold and benzene (via Forbes).
On a more superficial level, plants bring the calming nature of the great outdoors inside. A few plants around the house are not only pretty, but they help create the atmosphere of an oasis. After all, there can be no true oasis without plants.
Indulge in soft elements
Add sophistication and comfort to your home by adding soft elements. Indulgent materials like faux fur, timeless linen, and chunky cotton bring visual and tactile texture to your space. If your home feels more like a doctor's office waiting room than a cozy space for snuggling, you can be sure it will benefit from some softness.
To decide what you really need, strip your room down to the basics — foundational pieces like furniture and built-ins — then, imagine how you want to feel based on how you use the space. Begin with the first thing your feet hit when you wake up each day: the floor. How do you want to experience those first few steps? Daily Dream Decor suggests adding a rug to help start your day with a touch of luxurious softness rather than a cold, hard floor. You can apply the same concept to the places you often land when you are ready to relax, like the sofa or your favorite chair. As you shop, place priority on soft textures for throw pillows and blankets so that when you rest, there's always an element of comfort waiting for you.
Bring in soft lighting
Lighting is an often overlooked yet absolutely vital aspect of design when it comes to creating a home oasis. The type of light fixtures you use, as well as the wattage and hue of your bulbs, can be the difference in creating an atmosphere that feels like you're in a big box store or one that feels like you're in your own private spa.
Sivana East suggests natural lighting is best for daytime hours, and you can diffuse bright sunlight by adding sheer curtains. As the sun goes down, you need different lighting options for different purposes. Task lighting, like an overhead fixture, is good for when you need to do a bit of cleaning (or decluttering!), but when the job is over and it's time to rest, soft lighting is best.
A few lamps or sconces with bulbs no higher than 40 watts in soft, natural hues are perfect for a bit of mood lighting. Stay away from daylight bulbs or anything with a blue tint. You can add even more calming light to your sophisticated oasis with real or battery-operated candles or a curtain of string lights, which are the perfect complement to that truly relaxing evening with popcorn and Netflix.