The Tranquility Of The Beach...In Your Living Room

HomeDesign

Mar. 1

I recently re-read a favourite book, Gift From the Sea, by Anne Morrow Lindbergh, and it sparked a renewed yearning for the tranquility and inspiration we get from a warm, beach vacation.

Lindbergh observes that on the beach "we are free of thoughts, at least of their articulation; clean and bare as whitened driftwood; empty as shells, ready to be filled up again with the impersonal sea and sky and wind."

She goes on to say that "one never knows what the waves will toss up, on the white, smooth sand of the conscious mind" but that we must not dig for it, but instead be patient and see what we find.

"One should lie empty, open, choiceless as a beach - waiting for a gift from the sea."

The book is a reminder to live in the present and to simplify life so that we can be truly aware of it every moment and find joy and peace and opportunities we might be otherwise too busy to see.

Perhaps we can find some of that tranquility at home and access the joy of the now more often than just when we are on vacation? I believe that designing a simple and serene environment at home can help us do just that.

It begins with decluttering things that get in the way of simple living.
It continues with setting up your home for optimal functionality so that you can sleep better, rest and recharge, cook and clean more easily, and not have to waste precious time looking for things when you need them.
And finally, it leads to decorating by mimicking nature and the gifts she gives us.

To help with the natural-decorating part, I've created a new Essentials Design Board to make it easy to decorate your living room so that it feels like you're always at the beach. The colours are calm and the furnishings and décor are simple and few. Without a lot of 'stuff', it's much easier to clear the mind and let the gift from the sea present itself.

Enjoy the wait.