How to design a happy and healthy home and life
Designing a happy and healthy home is synonymous with designing a happy and healthy life. It’s about taking action to achieve your health and happiness. A happy and healthy life is about living blissfully, with passion and purpose, and it’s about designing a life you love. It’s about being happy where you are in your life. It’s about relishing your surroundings and feeling happy in your own home. It’s about harmony and balance. You can design a happy and healthy home and life.
You can design a healthy lifestyle no matter where we are in your own health journey, whether you’re dealing with an illness, or recovering from an injury. You can design your life to reflect a happy you, no matter the circumstances. Taking small steps can have a big impact.
You can design your own happy and healthy lifestyle blueprint based on discovering what brings you joy. Your healthy blueprint is unique, based on what you love, and on your own individual tastes, preferences, needs, interests and goals. Health design is about creating your home and life to reflect who you really want to be. The great news is that you don’t need a major overhaul; small steps can have a huge impact.
Design a Happy and Healthy Home and Life Image Christopher Burns Interiors for BarbaraFicarra.com
3 Design Tips for a Happy and Healthy Home and Life
1. What’s your living space vibe?
Is your home or apartment joyful? When you look around, does it make you happy? Is it stylish? Does it evoke joy and bliss? Does your living space reflect who you are as a person? Or does it stress you out? Is it dismal and cluttered? A constant unkempt cluttered living space can cause stress. Everyone feels stress from time to time. A little stress may not be bad, but when stress becomes chronic and your source of stress is constant, that’s when it can wreak havoc on your health. Research shows chronic stress is attributed to heart disease, obesity and depression. Small steps can have a big impact so choose what you love and surround yourself with beauty to help boost positive emotions.
Here are a few simple tips to refresh your home and give it a healthy and happy vibe. Design your healthy and happy home.
Design a Happy Home and Life BarbaraFicarra.com
- Frame your favorite photos. Update your frames to give your room a stylish look
- Use fresh flowers (studies show flowers elicit positive emotions)
- Rearrange furniture
- Create a gallery wall with your favorite photos (and if you have your kids drawings, frame them)
- Display some of your favorite mementos, don’t clutter with too many items
- Paint the walls
- Add pops of color. Choose colors you love and use them in the accents like pillows, vases, etc.
- Use blue in design. It can spark happiness, bring calmness or ignite boldness and energy
- Use stylish containers to organize mail, receipts etc.
- Use green cleaning products (more on this at another time)
- Decorate with plants
- Fill your pantry with healthy foods
- Surround yourself with things you love
- Style your coffee table. Don’t clutter it with a big mess. Keep it clean and simple.
- Find a little nook in your home to unwind and #take15minutes every day just for you!
2. What’s your lifestyle vibe?
Do you exude happiness and positivity? If it’s not looking so bright, amp it up and shine bright with this two simple design tips.
Don’t underestimate the power of positivity and don’t become your own worst enemy. Critical self-talk can be destructive. Positive thinking is important for happiness. Surround yourself with positive people and push your own positive thoughts. Positive thinking can be as important as getting enough sleep, eating right and exercising. According to the Mayo Clinic, “positive thinking just means that you approach the unpleasantness in a more positive and productive way. You think the best is going to happen, not the worst.” Cut out the negative self-talk and focus on positive thoughts. Positive thinking is great for your overall health and well-being. According the Mayo Clinic, health benefits of positive thinking may include:
- Increased life span
- Lower rates of depression
- Lower levels of distress
- Greater resistance to the common cold
- Better psychological and physical well-being
- Reduced risk of death from cardiovascular disease
- Better coping skills during hardships and times of stress
Everyday, pay yourself a compliment. Why not? You deserve it. Focus on the moment and focus on all of the great things you have accomplished in your life. Don’t get sucked into the “gossip” talk of others. Focus on positivity all the way around.
3. Master the moment with wonderment and enthusiasm. Be curious and keep wondering.
Design a Happy and Healthy Home and Life Barbara Ficarra Learning to Fly Fish in Montana BarbaraFicarra.com
“Wonder is the beginning of wisdom.” — Socrates
With mindfulness, relish and enjoy the simple things with wonderment and enthusiasm. Be open to new ideas, challenges, hobbies and adventures. Find the positive in life, and master the moment with wonderment and enthusiasm. It can be as simple as visiting a museum, reading a new book, trying a new hobby–try fly fishing, horseback riding or crocheting, laughing with your family and friends, feeling sand on your feet, listening to the rain, running a 5k or a marathon, walking in the park, cooking your favorite meal, playing with your puppy (or other favorite pet), hiking a new trail, organizing your photos, playing an instrument, dancing to your favorite music, singing your favorite song, playing a board game with your kids, appreciating the sunset, gazing at the stars, or sitting quietly by yourself to feel your breath (the list goes on and on); master and appreciate the moment with wonderment and enthusiasm. It’s the simple things in life that bring us pleasure, and keep curious to try new things.
[Healthy Lifestyle Design Tip: Living a healthy and happy life includes eating healthy, engaging in physical activity, sleeping, not smoking, etc. I’ll bring you more on this in future posts!]
Your turn
How do you design your health and happiness? I would love to hear your thoughts in the conversation section below. As always, thank you for your time.
Thanks for being part of the Healthy Design Community at BarbaraFicarra.com. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me here.
Healthy Design Element: Harmony and Balance
Healthy Design Action: Design ways to achieve health and happiness. It’s the simple things in life that can bring great joy.
______ Design a happy and healthy home. Refresh your home and give it a healthy and happy vibe with simple interior design elements and décor.
______ Stop the critical self-talk. Push positive thoughts. Focus on positivity.
______ Master the moment with awe and wonderment. Remain curious and keep wondering.
Design Your Healthy Life™
#DYHL
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I think it would be nice to choose a happy home design theme so it is easier to spread the positive elements in your house. Great blog by the way and thanks for sharing this information.