Exploring what makes a home a place of peace

Eleanor Cripps spent the newborn weeks after her fourth baby was born anchored in a small spare bedroom. Pillows and blankets filled the bed as she kept long, quiet hours there with the infant, and what moved her was how held she felt—not by beauty in a design sense, but by a room that was soft, safe, and hers. That awareness stayed with her. The lounge in her home now carries the same ease: warm-toned walls, ambient lighting instead of harsh overhead glare, layers of cushions and throws, rattan baskets, and vintage art pieces gathered over many years. The room does not look like a showroom. It looks lived in, and that is why shoulders drop when someone sits down. Jazmyne Boozer learned a related lesson by watching her mother. Growing up, she saw the house change with each season. Tinsel and holly dressed the banisters at Christmas beside a green tree. Spring brought flower centerpieces and a spring-themed door sign in place of the Christmas wreath. In fall, autumn leaves, flowers, and craft-store trinkets appeared throughout. Yet visitors rarely led with compliments about the décor or the food. Friends and family came specifically to nap and rest their souls. Ministry and prayer were done routinely in the living room. Boozer is still learning the practical crafts of homemaking. She sometimes forgets to take her Christmas tree down and jokes about Christmas in July. She is not a decorator by trade. Even so, friends and family now remark on the peace they find inside her own small apartment. The calm she recognized in her mother’s house had less to do with perfect styling than with the home functioning as a sanctuary. When writer Mariette Williams looked for habits that restore that same quiet in ordinary days, she turned to cleaning founder Lauren Taylor and therapist Jennifer Kelman. Taylor begins before the workday. "Each morning, I prioritize light exposure," she says. "This simple ritual of letting in sunlight invites in the energy of the natural world before the work day begins." Her evenings are just as deliberate. "Before bed, I spray down the high-traffic spots in the kitchen, specifically the refrigerator handle, the sink basin, and the faucet," Taylor says. Counters get a light reset too. "Before going to bed, I'll lightly organize the kitchen counter, so when I wake up, there's space to prep my breakfast," she says. Kelman focuses on what the mind has to process. "One of the best ways to feel peaceful in your home is to declutter," she says. "You don't have to wait to get rid of the things you no longer need." Technology stays in check. "At the end of the day, designate certain areas within your home that remain tech-free; the more tech and noise that exists, the less peaceful things can feel," Kelman says. Green life helps the mood. "To make your home feel more peaceful, I recommend getting some house plants, as they can provide a calming and peaceful feeling, especially as you care for them," she says. Shared low-key time seals it. "Do things by yourself or with your family members that represent peaceful feelings, whether that be reading, cooking, or playing board games," Kelman says. "This connection can help your home feel peaceful." Physical comfort still counts. A study cited by Counseling Now found that 40 percent of 90,000 surveyed Americans are unhappy with the temperature in their residences. Some households now link smartwatches to home systems that adjust to skin-temperature preferences, and add HEPA filter air purifiers, noise-canceling curtains, and Wi-Fi-enabled locks and video doorbells. Those tools can steady the body. For Cripps, the deeper shift came earlier, in a spare bedroom full of pillows where a new mother of four simply felt held. For Boozer, it was a living room where people rested their souls and prayer was ordinary. Peace, in both houses, started there.