Designing for Comfort

As a visual person I put a lot of effort into creating an environment that is aesthetic and kind to my migraines and my Fibromyalgia. I strive to make things comfortable, natural and cozy with a romantic undertone. Thankfully, the colors, textures, furniture and such that I'm naturally drawn to generally fit right into this style.

Styling the house is an ongoing process and is certainly nowhere near done. But, here are some of the things I've done so far:

1. I found that brown and a deep cranberry red are two colors that not only look great together but never cause my eyes or my migraine any kind of strain or pain. By keeping our furniture neutral in color I can use these browns and reds, which are both easy to find, in things like throw blankets, curtains, pills and such.

2. Perhaps the most import change I made in an effort to create a migraine friendly home was putting room darkening curtains up. I frequently find the bright sun blasting into a room very painful. By simply pulling my curtains shut I'm able to block most of that.

3. Lighting design goes hand in hand with those room darkening curtains. I always use a very low wattage bulbs and whenever possible I like to use candle light - real or LED.

4. Smells are often a really big problem just as bright lights are but I have a long history of loving scents in my home space. It took several years of trial and error to find that there are a couple of smells that are migraine kind (or at least kind to most of my migraines). Those kind smells are mint, black cherry and some fresh linen scents.

5. More recently, I've started keeping a couple low maintenance plants. They are relaxing and aesthetic. Plants really add a great sense of life to any space and by extension give my soul a little boost. My plan is to add several more in the coming months.

6. Soft surfaces are also quite important to creating a comfortable space that could support me through my pain. I need soft seating supplemented with lots of pillows and blankets. Doing this provides a big gentle hug to my pain battered body. I always put a lot of pictures on the walls so wherever I am I can the people I love or images that inspire me.

What have you done to create a space that is kind to your pain conditions?