Home visit: simplify to create a relaxing space in your home

Streamline your space

Simplify your home to give you the head space to focus and relax. A consistent colour scheme flows through Eva’s whole apartment, centred around soothing blues. The main living area is decorated with soft textiles and natural materials that help her to maintain her inner calm, and the layout focuses around the centre of the room.

Open up your home

Embrace an open-plan layout for fluid living, where one activity flows into the next and you can be together when you’re doing different things. ‘Why should we build so many walls?’ asks Eva. ‘I like to close the door on my sleep space, but in the living area, the table where we eat and work is part of it, the place where Marla plays is part of it, the kitchen is part of it. We don’t need three separate rooms.’

Create a nourishing kitchen

Mixed storage and an accessible workstation make it easy for Eva’s kitchen to flex and stretch between daily use for her and Marla, and times when Eva’s gang of friends come round – ‘then there can be a whole lot of us in here cooking together. It seems like chaos, but I love it.’ Eva tries to eat as mindfully as possible. ‘I think it’s important to learn to prepare your own food. If you at least try, you can’t fail.’

Strip back your sleep space

Make your bedroom a calm, quiet place to retreat to, with colours and textures that soothe you. ‘When it comes to my bedroom, I love to close the door behind me,’ says Eva. She keeps her sleep space simple with layers of soft textiles in natural shades and plenty of house plants to help purify the air. The walls are mostly kept clear, to minimise distractions.

Find peace in order

Use storage and organisation to help you feel more relaxed and in control. Simply knowing where to find everything can contribute to your sense of wellbeing every day. Eva and Marla store their clothes on open rails to help mornings run more smoothly, as well as to personalise their space and show their identity. Being able to see everything they own means they don’t hang onto clutter.

Take time out

Try using your downtime for physical relaxation. Eva has practised yoga and meditation since she was a child. ‘When I couldn’t sleep at night, my father would always calm me down with yoga.’ She starts each day by meditating on the balcony, and makes the most of quiet moments during the day. ‘I need time for myself in the morning and have a few daily rituals to help sort things out in my head, get calm and start the day right.’

A corner of calm in the city

How do you find calm in an urban environment?
I’m someone who sees everything, every day. When I go through the city, I see every little detail and it’s all buzzing around my brain, so when I get home I need rituals to help me be myself again, and feel centred.

How does having an organised home support your wellbeing?
I didn’t use to be a tidy person, but that all changed when Marla came along. I’m not always organised, but now it drives me crazy if I can’t find something or if it’s not in the right place. Structure and order helps me keep a clear head.

Townhouse for two

Eva and Marla’s open-plan townhouse is in a terraced row, so it’s well insulated by the neighbouring homes. ‘We use solar panels on the roof to heat our water, and we’re planning on installing more so we can produce our own power for recharging our electric car. Nobody’s perfect, but I think the little things always help.’

We love to see our customers get creative with our products. Go for it! But please note that altering or modifying IKEA products so they can no longer be re-sold or used for their original purpose, means the IKEA commercial guarantees and your right to return the products will be lost.

Made by
Interior stylist: Ashlyn Gibson
Photographer: Kristin Perers
Follow Eva on Instagram: @evafedeveka
Mobile in first and second images: Woodchuck