According to the Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh, putting purpose and intention in personal space can create love and care in that space. You can then communicate with that same love and care. That is especially true for a meditation room.
If you are planning to design a meditation room in your home, there are many aspects you must take into account. Whether you plan to bring in a specialist designer or wish to DIY the whole project, it should be a fun and creative process.
Today, we are covering some of the best color schemes and will also highlight the steps involved in creating your meditation space.
Start With a Theme
Always select a theme first. A theme will automatically give you all the ideas you need for your meditation room supplies, its colors, and architecture ideas. If you are not planning a major renovation, you can simply go for changing the wall colors and furnishings of that room. Here are some popular themes:
Resort Style
A resort-style room can evoke memories of your latest spa vacation on a remote island. The best colors for this theme include sea colors like blue, aquamarine, green, and white.
Minimalist
One of the most popular themes for creating a zen-like space is the minimalist theme, which is devoid of clutter and contains bare minimum furniture. White, faint blue, and pale yellow are all great colors for this room style. As far as furniture goes, just keep a few mats or a mattress you can meditate on. A chair and a table can also be included, along with a small bookshelf to store books by your favorite spiritual authors.
Rainbow
A rainbow room is a fantastic idea for people who like to meditate in all the colors of the rainbow. It can make use of all kinds of vibrant colors, and you can go all out in selecting the furnishings. Decorate the walls with brightly colored paintings and choose different colors for each wall.
Temple
This theme is designed based on temples inspired by Asian countries. A temple theme will need accessories like incense sticks, candles, exotic wall art, wood carvings, and statues.
Feel free to use your own ideas to create a personal theme that is meaningful to you.
Choose a Color Scheme
Once you have decided upon a theme for the room, it is time to choose a color scheme. As with any interior design, there are no strict rules when choosing colors for a meditation room. There are certain guidelines, but you can also use your personal taste to guide you and simply select colors that make you feel better. Along with that, note the following factors:
1. Colors Impact You
All colors around us impact our moods and feelings differently. You can experience physical, mental, and emotional changes because of specific colors. For example, some colors can increase your blood pressure, hunger levels, and body temperature. So, it makes sense to select colors that positively impact your well-being.
2. Meditate Before Selecting Colors
Meditation awakens your sixth sense, which can be a powerful guide to help you in selecting the colors for your meditation room. Many people “see colors” while meditating, and your mind may provide the answer as to which color is best suited for this personal space.
3. Make a List of Colors and Consider How They Make You Feel
Close your eyes and see a color in your mind’s eye. Assess how that color makes you feel. List down your feelings for every color visualized in this manner. For example, the words serene, tranquil, and peaceful may be associated with the colors blue or white. Pink may make you feel gentle, indigo may make you feel awakened, and yellow may make you feel refreshed. Likewise, note down the colors and choose the ones that make you feel calm and serene.
4. Use the 60:30:10 Rule
You do not need to focus on a single color. For example, you can choose one color as the dominant color (60%) and two different colors as its complementary colors (30% and 10% each). The dominant color could cover most walls, while the other colors could be accent furniture, accessories, etc.
5. Paints May Smell
The paints you use in your meditation room may give off fumes that can affect the room’s air quality for days. The smell alone could come in the way of your meditation. So allow a few days to air out the room after you paint it. You can also choose low emission, quick drying paints to avoid this.
6. Lights
Lights can impact the colors used in your meditation room, and low lighting is best suited for this purpose. You can use low-intensity bulbs or candles to light the area, but having as much natural light as possible is recommended.
Popular Colors
Some colors work better than others. Here are some possible choices:
White
White is a neutral and peaceful color, making it ideal for meditation. Accessories can include colored mattresses, mats, and pillows. You can also add statues, incense sticks, plants, wooden artifacts, and heirloom pieces to add pops of colors.
Pale Yellow
You do not need to color all the walls yellow. Instead, use light yellow drapes and add accent colors in the form of throws, rugs, and cushions in complementary shades.
Besides these two colors, blue, indigo, and green are also great colors for creating a relaxing room.
Design Inspiration
Check out the design examples below to get some ideas on how to create your meditation space.