How to Create a Mindful Home and Why It Matters
- Brainz Magazine
- 6 days ago
- 8 min read
Updated: 5 days ago
Sara has a unique ability to quickly shift energy into presence and joy through her work as a mindfulness coach, speaker, and yoga instructor. She is also the author of the book One With Nature (published in 2025) and a popular speaker in the field.
Did you know that the environment you live in can affect your nervous system, your mood, and even your overall health? Our homes are not merely places where we live. They are spaces that can either support recovery, presence, and creativity, or generate stress, restlessness, and imbalance. A mindful home is about consciously shaping an environment that reflects who you are, how you want to live, and how you want to feel.
If there is one thing I have learned throughout my many years in interior design and as an awareness guide, it is that creativity awakens something deep within us. It reminds us of who we truly are at our core, creative beings. I have also learned that we are all unique, and that our homes, just like us, thrive when they are allowed to express their own soul.
Your unique home
In addition to my professions as an author, speaker, and awareness guide, I have had the honor of being part of the creative world of interior design. After visiting numerous interior design fairs across Europe and meeting clients from many different countries, I am still fascinated by the same thing, how one and the same object can take on entirely different expressions depending on where it is placed, and by whom. A green ceramic pot may feel calm and grounding in one home, playful and energizing in another, and in a third serve as a more artistic focal point. This is the quiet power of context and intention, which means that the object itself does not carry all the meaning, it is the relationship we create with it, the story it becomes part of, and the atmosphere it helps shape.
From an early age, I was constantly rearranging my room, sometimes several times a month. At times, the changes were small, at other times, I moved around larger pieces of furniture.
Part of it came from a longing for renewal, but another part was something deeper, it was meditative. Creating with the space awakened a sense of calm, a creative flow, and a feeling of harmony. This is something I still do to this day. Over the years, there have, of course, been moments when a partner has been slightly confused by the fact that “nothing ever seemed to stay in its usual place.”
I am here to inspire you to create your unique home, your own sense of atmosphere, and through that, to listen inward. How do you want to live? What does harmony mean to you? What awakens creativity, or perhaps joy? This does not mean that you need to do as I do and constantly rearrange your home, but rather that you begin to see interior design as more than furniture and objects, something that can support harmony, presence, and how you feel in your everyday life.
As the author of One With Nature, I also want you to understand how nature can awaken creativity and inspire you. And as an awareness guide, I invite you to sense, reflect, and give yourself permission to create harmony, within yourself, in your heart, and in the physical home you live in.
This is where a mindful home begins. Not in trends or perfect images, but in awareness, presence, and a deeper understanding of how our spaces affect us, and how we can use them to feel better.
Why it matters?
Our physical environment doesn’t just frame our daily life, it constantly interacts with our nervous system, shaping our emotional and physiological health. Environments rich in natural features, light, and harmonious design can activate the parasympathetic nervous system, the part of our autonomic nervous system associated with relaxation, recovery, and calm. Because our bodies are constantly registering cues from our surroundings, a mindful home is about intentionally shaping spaces that support your nervous system, promote psychological restoration, and help you feel grounded, calm, and balanced.
This means choosing light, texture, plant life, air quality, and layout in ways that enhance presence rather than drain it. In doing so, you’re not just decorating, you’re creating a foundation for better mood regulation, reduced stress, and better health.
Peaceful mind, peaceful home
Your home often reflects your inner state, and at the same time, it actively shapes it. Rather than copying images or following external rules, allow your home to grow from your own inner sense. When you create from presence instead of pressure, your home becomes a place where your mind can truly rest. A stressless home supports clarity and calm. It gently signals to your nervous system that it is safe to relax.
Pay attention to:
Colors and how they affect your mood. Some colors feel calming or grounding, while others can evoke joy, energy, or clarity. What matters is not whether a color is “strong” or “soft,” but how it makes you feel. Choose tones that support the emotional quality you want to experience in each space.
Different textures create different sensory experiences. Soft and natural materials often bring a sense of comfort and grounding, while smoother, firmer, or more refined surfaces can add clarity or structure. Notice what feels right to you, and choose textures that support balance and ease in your daily life.
Words, artwork, and symbols you surround yourself with. The words we read, consciously or unconsciously, have a powerful mental and emotional impact. What messages are you taking in every day? Are they supportive, calming, and uplifting, or do they create pressure or stress? A mindful home invites you to be intentional about the information and energy you allow into your space.
And finally, making space. I am not saying that this approach resonates with everyone, but for the majority of us, there is often more around us than we truly need. Take a moment to look around, are there many things competing for your attention? Perhaps it even feels a little cluttered. Do you really need everything you see? Removing what creates visual noise or emotional tension, and keeping what supports ease, softness, and presence, can be deeply liberating.
Create a feeling of harmony
When a space feels balanced, the body can begin to relax. And when the body softens, it often becomes easier for the mind to slow down and find ease. Think about small moments of comfort, soft lighting in the evening, or that cozy cup of a warm drink in a mug you love to hold. That cup is never just a cup, it often carries a feeling of calm, warmth, harmony, or quiet time with yourself.
Do you have more elements like that in your home? Perhaps a reading chair, a favorite artwork, a corner that invites stillness. At the same time, gently notice if there are pieces of furniture or objects that create discomfort, stress, or unease. Can they be moved, replaced, or reimagined?
Nature as a foundation
We are deeply connected to nature, even when we live modern, urban lives. Natural materials such as wood, stone, linen, wool, and clay can create a sense of grounding. They carry warmth, texture, and a natural quality that our bodies respond to.
Being mindful of what you consume, where it comes from, is also part of creating a conscious home. A mindful home is not about having more, but about choosing with care and intention.
Green plants play an important role here as well. They bring life, freshness, and a subtle sense of vitality into a space. And beyond bringing nature indoors, allow yourself to spend more time outdoors. Nature awakens creativity and gently anchors you in the present moment. From this grounded presence, it becomes easier to access inner awareness, and that awareness makes it easier to connect with yourself.
Nature can also inspire your home, colors, patterns, lines, materials, and organic forms. It reminds us of what “home” feels like on a deeper level, our natural state of balance and belonging. Remember, nature is truly your home, return to it often, and let it restore and inspire you.
I’d like to share a passage from my book One With Nature.
Try stepping into nature and see if your creativity increases. Don’t set any expectations for how your creative energy should flow, just let it be free and allow a path to unfold. Bring along a pen and paper, draw. Let your hands connect with the earth as you plant something. Listen to the music of nature’s sounds. Be inspired by the movements of the wind and water. Look up, inspiration is all around you. Find the way that works best for you. Being creative helps you get things moving. If you look closely with an open mind, you’ll notice that we are part of nature. We share the same shapes and patterns. Look at a tree stump, and you’ll see the same patterns in your own fingers. Study a leaf, and you’ll see veins that mirror the veins in your own hands.
Open up creativity
So how do we invite more creativity into the process of shaping our home? Allow yourself to be inspired, by magazines, interior design accounts, or simply by being curious when visiting other people’s homes, or exploring different places and buildings. You can also awaken your creativity by making something with your own hands, painting or crafting. And, as mentioned before, return to nature again and again. Receive its inspiration and quiet wisdom, it gently reminds you of your own creative rhythm.
When your home feels safe, calm, and personal, creativity flows naturally. Rearranging furniture, adjusting small details, or creating spaces for self-expression can be deeply meditative. Your home becomes a living canvas, evolving alongside you.
Enjoy and have fun
There’s one more thing I’ve truly learned over all my years in the world of interior design, working with Nordal, and that is joy, to have fun, to create with joy, and, above all, to share it with others. That’s exactly what we at Nordal aim to do, spread joy and inspiration. And the beautiful part is that this is precisely what I, as an awareness guide, also want to share with you, presence awakens joy and creativity, the ultimate state of flow, energy, and harmony.
Ensure that both your inner world and your outer environment are shaped with joy and harmony.
Explore, create, connect
If you are ready to create a home that nurtures harmony and creativity, I invite you to explore our world and find inspiration at Nordal. And as you may now understand, nature is a vital piece of the puzzle when it comes to cultivating mindfulness, both within yourself and within your home. I also warmly invite you to explore this further in my book, One With Nature, and I warmly invite you to connect with me along the way.
Read more from Sara Brinell
Sara Brinell, Author, Speaker & Awareness Guide
Sara is an expert in inner harmony and the healing power of nature. She carries a profoundly healing story, having experienced depression in her teenage years and, later in life, the early loss of both her parents. These experiences became part of a deeper journey that eventually led her to guide others back to their hearts through her work as a yoga instructor, mindfulness coach, and speaker. She also shares her insights through her book One With Nature. Her mission is to show that loneliness can become a path to deeper connection, and that nature can heal where words are not enough.
