For a stress-free home space, meet the wellness room

Our homes have been multitasking for a while now. They may be where we work, where we are newly willing to play, but in today’s stress-filled world, they’re often the place where we feel most at peace. Spurred by the pandemic, dens became offices, extra bedrooms morphed into functional rooms, dining rooms transformed into multi-functional creative spaces. Often, we’re seeing rooms transformed into sanctuaries of self-care: welcome to the “wellness room.”

- Kim Cook

“Small sophisticated home gyms, music rooms, meditation rooms and Zen gardens are some of the home spaces we’ve redesigned recently,” says designer Graciela Bueno, who owns the firm Ten Plus Three in Dallas. “Spaces for wellness, retreat and recharging are all really popular right now.” Bueno and his team remodel for several at-home dwellers in Austin, Texas. There is an outdoor Zen garden, flanked indoors by a meditation room on one side and the soaking tub of the primary bath on the other, with both facing a serene green space. “Soundbathing,” where you immerse yourself in soothing, instrumental or natural sounds, has become popular at many professional spas. Now, companies are making versions for the home, or you can set one up yourself.