How to Create Personal Retreat Spaces in Small Spaces to Practice Self-Care
Your personal retreat gives you a quiet or secluded spot to rest and rejuvenate. Kids instinctively favor tiny spaces that make the world more them-sized. Whether a cardboard moving box, the other side of the bed, a cuddly bean bag chair, or under the covers a bit longer, they know the importance of getting away from responsibilities to read a book, draw a picture, or play a game.
Including time and space for solitude lets us be more introspective. Time to review, practice self-care, create a new craft or decide on a new direction leaves us fresher, less frenzied, and clearer on what to do next.
A life-changing personal retreat taken by Laura Dern’s character in the quirky 2011 show, Enlightened, featured three months spent beachside in Hawaii. Memories of firepits near the water and positive affirmations played in her head through her transition back into (what was left of) her regular life. Since you may not have the money to cover the huge bill for this kind of experience (spoiler alert – neither did she!) you’ll need to think smaller.
Miniaturize your plans to fit your life and your small space. Do so with intention. Think of your retreat as a blank sheet of paper. It can prove overwhelming until you plan how to fill it. Consider where you’ll be, how you’ll make it your own, and what you’d like to accomplish in your personal retreat time and place.
An Intentional Small Space Retreat Starts With Inspiration
Intention for your space starts with inspiration. You may have spent time at a yoga retreat, a beautiful honeymoon beach getaway, or a friend’s cottage by the lake. Maybe you’ve always dreamed about seeing the Northern Lights in Iceland, exploring the Taj Mahal, or staying in a lighthouse on the coast of Vermont. Find a few pictures – from your own life or online – and look at the colors, the shapes, the textures, and the overall vibe.
You might even start by framing a few of them for the wall in your own retreat nook. It’s important to value your own sense of what’s comforting, invigorating, and calming.
Find a Spot You Can Personalize, Even If Only While Using It
A place to hold a personal retreat day looks different for everyone. But some things to look for include the following:
- It’s accessible to you most of the times that you’ll want to use it.
- It’s visually separated from foot traffic. Whether a corner, a room open on one side, a closet you took the doors off of, or your own nicely made bed, it should be clear to others that you are spending time revitalizing yourself.
- The people who share your home respect it.
- Though I’m no feng shui expert, I’ve found it’s important to watch your doors and walls. Look to orient yourself perpendicular to the flow of energy from a door, and have your back or side to a wall. Don’t position yourself where another might walk up behind you, if possible.
- Make it comfortable for you and your body. Decide whether you’re a floor and bolster person, a chair and desk person, a bed person, or a lounge chair person.
Once You’ve Found a Spot, Remove the Stressors
Before deciding what to add, consider what to remove first. Take out:
- Clutter – anything that begs to be tidied, worked on, or finished.
- Other people’s personal stuff. After all, this is your own retreat space.
- Anything that feels overly stimulating, boring, or simply annoying. Think about your inspiration pictures, and don’t get pulled into someone else’s version of calm.
- Spiritual objects with which you have no personal connection. Most religious practices include a type of time apart to pray and possibly meditate. But someone else’s spiritual icon might leave you feeling disoriented.
- Expectations. Much of the retreat aspect of your personal space will come from starting. When you repeatedly do calming actions in your nook, your brain will connect the experience of being in the space with feelings of serenity. Over time these will build, and the space itself will become associated with actions of self-care and kindness.
Customize Your Small Spot So It Inspires You
Now that you’ve removed the things in your space that keep it from being useful as a retreat, you can get started on what to add. Look at your photo inspiration and pick out a few aspects. If you chose a beach at sunset, you might find a small rug with similar gray blues, dark pinks, and fading yellows.
See yourself shopping at a market in New Delhi, surrounded by rich spices, and brightly colored embroidered dresses? Find a similar piece of cloth to cover your small table. If the most minimalist of spaces draws you, carve out a nook and remove as much visual clutter as possible. Consider pale colors, natural surfaces, and little to no decoration.
A guide to some places you might create in your own home – and don’t forget headphones:
Small Space | Furniture | Accessories | Use |
Small alcove or nook | Small chair Vertical bookshelf |
Floor plant Rug Light Tote bag & craft kit |
Reading Nook Craft Project |
On the floor near a window, behind a bed or on the side of the couch | Floor cushions Thick blanket to fold as seat Floor height table |
Yoga mat Small statue Storage box Meditation books Incense or candle |
Meditation Space Yoga Niche |
On your bed | Bed Side table |
Under bed storage Lap desk Extra pillows Throw blanket |
Cozy Reading Cushioned Writing Comfort Meditation |
Under a loft bed | Lofted bed platform Desk Chair |
Craft cart on wheels LED or string lights Desk lamp Vertical storage bins |
Crafting Table |
When living in a small space, include a portable aspect to your personal retreat day. Put together, or buy, a crafting project kit. Combine a journal, a few pens, a sketch book, and a novel. Tuck a meditation book in your backpack. Or grab your laptop and a notebook for a personal strategy summit.
You might take a full out-of-home retreat day or include some in-home and out-of-home elements. Consider the beach or park, under a nearby tree, at a friend’s house’s guest room, at a crafting meet-up, or at a cafe or diner. You can also use your portable materials in a part of your house not permanently your own, like the kitchen table.
How to Do a Personal Retreat Day: Store Up Calm
Plan your goal and a theme for your next personal retreat day. I’ll leave you with a few ideas – I’ve tried most of these. Have you held a personal retreat day? Share your tips on the space, what you did, and what you’re hoping to try!
Creative Crafting Retreat: Pick a new project and put together only the materials you’ll need. Consider something one-day-long, like a knit hat, crocheted booties, or a painted-message pillow. Pause for lunch – try a nearby lunch spot to get out of the house. Consider a break and watch a movie about someone passionate about their craft – think Tampopo, about from-scratch noodle making, or Phantom Thread, about an obsessive dressmaker.
Restorative Beauty Day: Keep short Netflix or YouTube videos nearby for the wait times, then assemble the materials and space for a home facial, mani-pedi, hair color touch up, hair style play time, and outfit experimentation. Take a few pictures to inspire yourself another day.
Carb Comfort Day: Bake something that smells and tastes amazing, whether from scratch or a cookie dough roll from the store, then add a mug of tea or coffee. Curl up in your reading nook with your favorite escape book, whether mystery, thriller, sci-fi, fantasy, or romcom. Sometimes our best thoughts come while focusing elsewhere.
Meditation and Yoga Day: Assemble the ingredients for your healthy salad and smoothie lunch, a meditation book, yoga practice video, and journal for writing. Over lunch, take a break from the inner peace and watch a ridiculous, funny movie. Think Dumb and Dumber or My Best Friend’s Wedding.
Enjoy your time and share your favorite ideas!
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