Decorating Zen

Zen.. means meditation. And it's more than just a word.. It’s a practice where people seek harmony, calmness and balance..

And the home is the best place to create an area of peace and quiet, allowing none of the world's chaos to enter. 

The golden principle when decorating in Zen = 3 words: Less is More.

Zen is a way of arranging your home and creating an atmosphere that offsets the stresses and hassles of our daily routines. 

SPACE. Make sure that each room has a lot of open spaces. Furniture in clean lines with no ornamentation or busy patterns. This may mean pairing down on the amount of furniture, accents and decors you normally have in a room.

CLUTTER. Examine each item and determine if it’s a necessity. The goal is to remove all clutter.

PALETTE. Neutral, non-dramatic earth tones and muted colors that can be seen in nature are preferred for Zen color schemes.

MINIMALISM is one of the most important principles of Zen decorating.

DECORATE with the five elements of nature: water, earth, fire, wood and metal.

Buy an indoor fountain or a nice, framed poster of a waterfall.

Decorate your room with a plant or two (Remember, less is more).

Create a cozy fireplace, or if your room doesn't have one, get yourself an interesting collection of candles.

Use Japanese styled lamps for lighting.

And add some Zen-inspired wall art.

Shoji screens will add to the Zen ambiance.

Pebbles and flat, round, oval-shaped stones can be used to accent floor and candles.

Finally, light up some candles or oil diffusers, put on some zen inspired music and relax... :)