Yoga Room

Today is the International Day of Yoga so I’m sharing my new yoga room!

A few months ago I finally decided what to do with one of the basement rooms that we never used.

When we purchased the home the sellers had a massive wall-to-wall TV in front of the window with a big leather couch in front of that and movie theater seats installed on the floor. Two surround sound speakers were in the back wall and more speakers were installed in the other basement rooms as well. The walls were literally diarrhea brown.

We have never used this room as we already had a TV upstairs in the den. So, for 11 1/2 years it has sat empty. I finally decided that I was tired of looking at it. I posted on NextDoor that I was giving away free movie seats and a nice man came and got them and even took the platform carpeted box they were screwed into on the floor for me too.

My goal was to create a room for meditation, relaxation, and yoga. I love yoga and I don’t do it nearly as often as my body craves it. My favorite type of yoga is restorative. I needed a place that when I’m stressed I can go to relax. What relaxes me?

Cozy colors, the beach, candles, soothing music, soft pillows, and art are what I want around me. But I’m landlocked in Atlanta.

The first thing I had done was have the walls painted. One of the most popular Sherwin-Williams colors is Sea Salt.

Sherwin Williams Color Strip with Sea Salt and Comfort Gray

But with my fluorescent lighting, it just looked too mint. So after a ton of sampling we just went one shade up on the Sea Salt card and picked Comfort Gray by Sherwin-Williams.

It took a lot of color samples to get to this color and it’s my new favorite wall color. If I had the money I’d paint the whole house this color. Don’t let the gray in the name fool you. Most of the time it looks nothing like gray. If the room is dark and no sun shining through the window it can look like a cool gray but it mostly looks like pale sea green. It doesn’t show up on the computer screen or even in photos as beautiful as it is.

I framed some photos I’ve taken at the beach in Seaside, FL, Rosemary Beach, FL, Cape San Blas, FL, and the Dominican Republic. Allposters.com is a great place to have your photos blown up and printed. I also purchased some beach prints from posterstore.com, some yoga blocks and yoga mats, a few art prints from one of my favorite artists, Emily Jeffords, based in Greenville, SC, and lastly, a few decor items from Holy Hobby (aka Hobby Lobby).

I worked with Matboard & More to get custom mats for almost all the frames. Their digital online tool is perfect to work with and so easy and all the mats were correct for my frame and the photos. My photos didn’t always fit the frames as they were unusual sizes I had printed so the photos wouldn’t be wonky-looking That I meant I had to get custom mats made for them. Plus, the beach prints I purchased from posterstore.com are European sizes since they are based in Sweden but my frames were US size. Custom mats helped make up the difference.

I had saved some pillows I purchased at Target many years ago that I no longer like the fabric. I bought new pillow covers for them in soothing colors and soft velvets and they work great for propping up my hips or neck in certain poses. I then set up a little table for my beeswax candles (in recycled Yoplait Oui jars – did you know can buy lids for them too?), a dim lamp, flowers and succulents, and my exercise and health books. At the opposite end, I set up a Roku TV so I can play my favorite, Yoga with Adriene, on YouTube and yoga DVDs.

The 2 little prints in the photo above are similar to the other one at the other end of the room and from Emily Jeffords. The framed poster above the black table is from posterstore.com and the words on it are below and from Rachel Bråthen, Yoga Girl:

Balance is key. In everything you do. Dance all night long and practice yoga the next day. Drink wine but don’t forget your green juice. Eat chocolate when your heart wants it and kale salad when your body needs it. Wear high heels on Saturday and walk barefoot on Sunday. Go shopping at the mall and then sit down and meditate in your bedroom. Live high and low. Move and stay still. Embrace all sides of who you are and live your authentic truth! Be brave and bold and spontaneous and loud and let that complement your abilities to find silence and patience and modesty and peace. Aim for balance. Make your own rules and don’t let anybody tell you how to live according to theirs.

I’m so happy with the room and everyone that comes in it says it is so comforting and relaxing. Won’t you come over and do yoga with me?