Your Space Should Be Your Sanctuary - The Catwalk Rugs Journal

We've always found it necessary to create a space for ourselves where we can relax and unwind.
It's an important aspect of the human psyche, having a 'sanctuary'.

If you don't have a relaxing space all for yourself already, give it a go. It's really not too difficult to set one up!

Having a place of retreat has been shown to reduce stress, anxiety, and improve overall health. You can basically think of them as 'recharge zones' to bring your health bar back up to full.

The bedroom is a good place to start but if you're blessed enough to have a spare room to designate as a relaxation zone - you'll find that you'll be able to train your mind to recognize this space as such (rather than a sleeping zone) and unwind all the more faster.

Here's the best and easiest 4 ways to create your very own room of relaxation.

Lighting

Don't make light of the need to use light to create the right mood :)

Make it moody. Bright light shouldn't really ever be used in this space so either use a dimmer and set that to be consistently low or stop using ceiling lighting all together and use softer lamps instead!

We've been trained that low light = rest time and bright light = working time. So take advantage of this and create artificial lighting to bring about the effects in your mood that you want.

Soft Textures

The Platinum Shag range is our softest shaggy rug.

A soft rug and soft textures are a necessity for a comfortable room.
Surrounding yourself with soft textures is another easy way to increase the pleasurability of your room. We made a new word!
Shag rugs are pretty good for this, particularly the platinum shag range from Rug Culture.
Wherever possible, stick with circles and rounded corners in your furniture too and be sure not to skimp on the pillows! 

Candles

The easiest thing here, a no brainer!
These will compliment the mood lighting you hopefully have set up. If possible, get longer lasting candles so you don't have to even THINK about replacing them. You've had enough to think about today, it's time to relax.
Place them close to the ground if possible to enhance their effect. (Just be careful!)

Candles also lead into our next topic of...

Scent

Scent can and will affect our mood!

Soft scents are good. The general consensus is that Lavender, Chamomile, Cinnamon, Tangerine, Coconut, Chocolate (yes, chocolate) and Ylang Ylang are great stress relievers. If you need that in an easy to remember list form, see this article.

It's probably not a good idea to have more than one scent in a room, as we are trying to train your mind to remember a particular scent and associate that with relaxation. Stressed at work? Shuffle on over to the bathroom and bring out the lavender you have stashed in your purse and be transported to your sanctuary!

With time, this can actually be a powerful method of relaxation.