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Interior Styling

Creating a Restful Retreat

A restful retreat starts by clearing out your space and removing all clutter. Try to keep your laundry or any other clutter out of your room so it doesn’t trigger stressors as you are trying to relax! Paint color can have a huge impact on how your body responds to a space. Painting your space in a neutral color will help your body relax, and is key to creating a peaceful relaxing space. Think of light neutral colors – such as whites, light greys, and taupes or moody colors such as deep blue or grey. Once you have a refreshing blank slate it is time to bring in the layers. To begin, add a cozy neutral rug to ground the space (mine is linked here). Layers of bedding including a linen duvet, quilt, and throw pillows are up next. Quilts and throw pillows add so much character to a bed, they can give the whole space a luxurious feel.

This will be the foundation to your space. Now it is time to add piece to reflect your personal style. I love having a beautiful table lamp or wall sconce on each side of the bed. Bring in a few neutral art pieces to make the space your own.

I love to keep a nice smelling candle or oil in a diffuser on my nightstand along with a white noise machine. Be sure to keep electronics out of your sleeping space to help fall asleep more promptly. In the morning, make your bed and open a window to cycle fresh air into the space. This will ensure your restful retreat will be ready for you once you are ready to turn in for the night, or a nap if you are so lucky 🙂

Here are a few neutral layers I am loving to help create a restful retreat –

Building a Cohesive Photo Ledge

A gallery wall or photo ledge can completely transform a space. They are a great way to fill large spaces on a blank wall. Gallery walls and photo ledges can be used to display your favorite art pieces and reflect your personality and style into the space.

In order to get started, determine the amount of space you have to fill and the length of your ledge. I started with three 42 inch shelves and planned for my center piece of art to be about one third of the total gallery width. Each piece following needs to me a significant height difference (4-8 inches). This allows variation and creates an intentional step as compared to all the prints being the same size and not allowing the eye to focus on each one individually. I like to mix landscape and portrait orientation to create movement.

Now it’s time to find what art you want to display. You can include Photography, Painting, Drawings, or any other art pieces you love. You will want to pick a theme or color palette to ensure the pieces all coordinate. I chose to stick to a neutral/natural color palette and incorporated pieces I loved from their.

I put all the prints into one of two frames. The black frames are all the same frame, just in different sizes and well as the oak frames. I love the way this has made each of the unique items come together. Overall the photos look unique and bold while also looking put together.

@simplymodernliving

Here are the sources for the photo ledge above Prints from left to right

  • Fields – Juniper Print Shop 16 x 20
  • Knots II – Juniper Print Shop 16 x 20
  • Sideways – Photography by Robin Ott available at Minted 30 x 40
  • Abstract Laural – Painting print by Melanie Severin available at Minted 24 x 18
  • Squiggles – Painting print by Camille Pietrow available at Minted 16 x 20
  • A Winter Walk – Painting print by Alison Jerry Designs available at Minted 11 x 11
  • Photo ledge – three ledges shown