Finding Personal Space – How I created my favourite corner at home

With the pandemic changing our lives in a way that was unimaginable to humans of this generation, it has been a struggle to unlearn everything we knew and did and relearn to do the same thing but in a totally different way. While we all adapted to the situation well and made it seem like the world was able to move on smoothly while we were all confined to our four walls, we did not realise the changes this brought in would probably change the course of our lives forever.

The flexibility of working from home has given people the opportunity to balance work and personal life situations with better ease. It has come as a well-deserved boon for a lot of people battling crises, as commuting to work is one less thing they need to worry about.

Personally, the biggest positive for me is that I am no longer falling asleep at 9 PM on the couch midway through my dinner because I am not drained out of my energy having commuted 1.5 hours to get home in a jam-packed train.

With all the benefits and flexibility working from home has provided, it has come at a cost. With work desks set up in the living rooms and bedrooms it has become easier to carry on with work outside of work hours. For parents who take care of little ones at home during the day, office work has now started to trickle into their late evenings. In cases where both partners work from home, this also means that a sense of personal space is lost.

And that is what I want to draw your focus to – personal space.

Like thousands of other working couples who have converted small corners of their home into office spaces, we did that too when the pandemic started. I started working in our master bedroom and my husband from the living room. We didn’t even have desks set up because who knew this would last as long as it has!

It was fun during the initial days with not having to commute or dress up in the morning or pack lunch the night before. I still enjoy all the perks that come with working from home. But what I slowly started to miss was a space where I could forget about work and focus on things that bring me great joy. As soon as I was done with work, I used to get out of our bedroom to feel like I am now back “home”, but my husband would still be on calls in the living room, and I wouldn’t know where to go. Our spaces were now overlapping and that made me feel very unsettled.

I felt the need to have a space in the house where I could think and feel differently. I guess it was just my inner self craving for a few square feet of space where I can enjoy being alone and sit down with nothing but my thoughts.

Luckily for me, it was time to move to Australia and I knew this was my chance to feel settled again. 😊

When we were browsing through apartments to move into, one of the elements I was interested in was the ability to create a space or a corner for myself. I was constantly looking at apartments with a good view or a good balcony space that I could add some creativity into and make my own.  

After some searching, we finally moved into an apartment with a decent view of a river (but unfortunately half the view is blocked by another building ☹). I instantly knew where exactly I was going to set up my corner and I could not be more excited 😀 I was 100% convinced that this personal space would do wonders for my meditation, yoga, reading and writing.

Next steps

I am going to now detail out some simple steps I took to create a space for myself and hope this inspires you all to do the same.

Personalise it

My one and only request would be to not blindly mimic somebody else’s set up that you may see online. Please use it as inspiration but bring your own flavour to it. If not, there will be nothing about the space that feels personal, and you will miss out on the most fun part of it all which are the numerous mood boards 😊

I am showing you some here that I created –

Buy one statement piece and style around it

I knew I wanted my space to be fun and colourful, so the first thing I bought was a multi-coloured rug just enough to cover the space I wanted. Once you have decided on a base you can go from there in a million different directions. There is no limit to how else you can style it.

Adding on the extras

Cushions – How can there ever be a cosy space without a few cushions thrown around?? Getting the right cushion covers to match the rug was the toughest design decision for me and after a couple of online purchases I finally got the look I was hoping for.

Plants – I cannot stress enough about the importance of having some plants around as an instant mood uplifter. They add so much life to any space and the vibrant colours go with any style you design. These are accessories that are definitely worth your money and time.

If you feel like you don’t want to commit to taking care of real plants, go for the fake ones.

Books – I knew I would be spending a lot of time here reading and wanted the space to reflect that energy. Having a few books stacked up was a very innovative way of bringing my interest into the space. Of course, I don’t have all my books here, but I keep moving them around when I feel like I want a change.

Diffusers/candles – This is for times when I am meditating, journaling or simply sitting with my thoughts. I find that it instantly puts me in a calm and relaxed state and the overall experience turns out to be extremely therapeutic.

Lamp – This is for my night reads and writing. Bring in a lamp with soft lighting that would enhance the ambience of the space. I went for something earthy and with natural tones because I was looking for a vibe that would tie in all the elements in a neutral manner and this lamp does exactly that.

Quotes – I love quotes! I feel like they are a beautiful way to convey so many messages in a short and concise format. Each of us would relate to different quotes, so find the ones that truly resonatenwith you and bring some into your space. Take a moment every time you sit down to read and acknowledge them.

And that is it. Some easy, fun steps and voila – you have a space that you will love and would want to spend every minute in. At least I do!! 🙂 and the icing on the cake for me is this breathtaking view with the sky changing its colours morning to evening!

Would love to know what you guys thought!