4 Pro Tips for Turning Your Home Into a Calming, Restorative Space

Discover: "Start with where you are and consider where you feel stuck," says McFadden. Think about how your space makes you feel and look around at your things and what they do for you. "I think when you are taking charge of your space, it's giving you some sense of agency or control. I think it really can be the exercise of doing something different with your space, particularly if you are feeling either stir crazy or trapped or just frustrated that it's not working for you, just taking control over things you can take control of." That's where the healing can begin.

Dream: Start visualizing your ideal space. "What do you imagine the next chapter of your life could look like? What possibilities exist that maybe you never let yourself consider before?" asks McFadden. That means, imagine your future self, how you feel when you come home and how the space makes you feel.

Sift: "We hang on to things and they literally take up space and energy, so getting rid of the stuff we don't need anymore is really important." McFadden suggests looking at your belongings on two levels. One: "Do I functionally really need this object in my house or is it just collecting dust and taking up space?" And if you don't use it or you don't need it, let it go.

The second is looking at your belongings through an emotional lens: "Is this item important to me in some way? Does it connect me to a happier memory or to a person, a loved one, that really brings me joy when I look at it?" If the answers are yes, then you might keep it even if it's not functional. But then repurpose those items in ways that work better for you.

"I've got a tiny hutch that belonged to my great aunt that is clearly meant to store China, but it sits in my bedroom full of all my favorite books. And I love it because I look at it every morning and for one, I love being surrounded by my books. It feels like being surrounded by my best friends. And it makes me think of my great aunt."

Create: Pull it all together! You don't have to spend a ton of money as you're not completely remodeling your space anew. Instead, purge items that make you feel stuck and rearrange those that remain. "Ask a friend's opinion to help avoid functional fixedness," adds McFadden. "For example, can you take all those postcards or different art prints that you've collected on travels and make a gallery wall with them? Can you take little collectibles and display them in a series of collages or color code them and put them on a shelf together so they look curated instead of junkie?" It's about displaying those items that give you good vibes in a way that feels fresh and gives them visual purpose. "These are some really low cost ways that can just make you feel like you can breathe in your space again," adds McFadden.

How are you refreshing your space these days? Share with us @BritandCo!