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your exercise gear for online workouts? Or if you’ re more artistic, consider setting up a creative desk or area to encourage joyful expression.”
Clear the way for self-care
Once you’ ve identified the type of space that induces self-care in your particular home, turn your attention towards creating a clutter-free environment. Mel’ s first step for most houses is creating a‘ drop zone’ near the front door.“ I think an organised and calm home starts in the entry to the house,” she says.“ Quite often kids will come home from school and drop their bags or sports gear in the hallway. Then when they’ re in a rush to leave, they’ re like,‘ Where’ s my football boots? Where’ s my ballet tights?’”
But a carefully thought-out drop zone that suits a particular home’ s design can do wonders for the flow of a home.“ You might start by simply putting in some hooks that are at the right height for kids to pack their bags away,” Mel suggests.“ You could also add some little baskets for them to put their shoes or schoolwork in. If you have a cupboard near the front door, consider how you could use that as a drop zone. You don’ t have to spend thousands on new cabinetry – try and work with what you’ ve already got.”
Keeping clutter at bay can be a boon for our brains.“ We want to keep things simple [ and ] not have too many things going on in the house to overstimulate your brain,” Mel says.“ This is particularly important in our bedrooms, which we want to be calming zones where we go to sleep. I always recommend having a charging station for everyone in the house to put their phones at night that’ s outside of the bedroom.”
Stoke your senses
Consider your senses when creating a self-care space, including what you can see, smell and hear. A spritz of an essential oil spray or a serene print on the wall can help set the scene.“ Burn
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a candle or put some music on,” Mel says.“ Lighting is also really important – can you switch off bright lights and use dim lamps at night instead?”
When it comes to choosing light fittings or lamps, Trish Khoury, interior designer and writer from The Design Basics( thedesignbasics. com. au), says you want to match them with the space’ s intended use.“ What are you doing in the space? Are you reading, listening to music, napping, doing yoga or crafting?” she asks.“ Whatever the retreat activity is, the light needs to support it … and a simple change in lighting can easily change your mood.”
Consider the colour palette in your home and how it makes you feel as well.“ Most people understand that colour can have an effect on their mental health,” Trish says.“ It’ s normal to consider colours such as blue as calming and green as serene. But colour is so personal, so add
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colour in your room that you like [ and ] makes you feel good.”
Ultimately, creating a self-care retreat in your own home comes down to what makes you tick.“ Everyone’ s retreat is different,” Trish says.“ You might need music and texture and hate scented candles. You might need art or inspirational quotes, while others might like the calmness of an all-white space. I think the key thing to creating an idyllic home retreat is to simply have a space that you can fill with all the things you love and make you happy.”
TANIA GOMEZ is a Sydney freelance health, lifestyle and beauty journalist.
COSTCO CONNECTION SEP / OCT 2025 | 19