How to Design a Meditation Room

Creating a zen space within your home is alluring. Noise levels outside keep growing as do “to do” lists. The world seems to keep getting busier and louder. Everyone wants their own little oasis at home.

“A zen space” can mean different things to different people, but there are certain meditation room essentials. Quiet, peaceful, relaxing all come to mind. We looked to experts and people we’ve worked with personally for these how to design a meditation room tips.

zen space for meditation

Meditation Room Essentials:

The important aspects of a meditation room or zen space are to remove distractions and alter the atmosphere. You do this by bringing in:

  • Quiet
  • Comfort
  • Concentration Tools
  • Fragrance
  • Plants
  • Natural Light

How to Make a Room Quieter

Creating a quiet space may be the most important of the meditation room essentials. None of the other zen room ideas are going to matter if your peaceful space is interrupted by outside noise every few minutes.

Indow window inserts block outside noise by up to 70% so you can concentrate on relaxing or meditating. They press into your existing window frames without hardware. You can add rugs and pillows to help absorb noise in the room, but blocking noise from entering in the first place makes for a more peaceful space overall.

woman inside house with noise symbols showing two types of soundproofing

Bringing in Comfort

When creating your personal oasis, find the furniture you actually want to sit on, not what looks best in the room. Ideally, it will be both, but after a few hours (or just minutes) your body will tell you the mistake you’ve made. Floor pillow or chair, go for comfort over aesthetics.

Also, ensure the space has a comfortable temperature. You don’t want to interrupt your meditation time or relaxing time by adjusting the thermostat every few minutes. Window inserts insulate drafty windows and regulate the room temperature so you’re comfortable year-round.

cat relaxing on comfortable pillow

Concentration As Interior Design

Find what brings you focus and design toward that. Some people use Tibetan singing bowls. Some people use sand gardens and bonsai trees. Some people swear by calming color schemes. It could be a small altar of interactive objects, or just a spot you can stare at.

Calming Scents

Smells can take us places—our grandmother’s kitchen, our first trip to the beach, our favorite spot as a kid. Scent, memories, and emotions are all closely linked. Find one that takes you somewhere peaceful and add it to your zen space. You can use a diffuser or incense, just make sure you have fresh air. Add memorabilia with that special smell. Anything to get in your zone.

Purifying Plants

Adding plants might be an every room essential, not just meditation room essentials. They make every room instantly look nicer and they clean the air. It can be meditative to care for them (see bonsai tree in concentration as interior design). There’s no reason to not have a plant in your room, unless you don’t have light.

plants next to the window are a meditation room essential

Let the Light In, Naturally

There are two camps on zen spaces and natural light. Some find it distracting and some find it enlightening (sorry, I had to).

Natural light can help keep the room comfortable and bring in much needed vitamin D. Warm sun hitting your skin tends to make you feel calm and happy – a great thing for a zen space. It does introduce distractions because of flashing lights (if your light source is near traffic and people) and noise (for the same reason).

Indow inserts can block a lot of the noise and still let the light in. We also have a window blackout panel for those in camp two.

Some prefer to block out all light and the distractions it brings. The blackout panels block 100% of the light and 50% of the noise so you are in a distraction free zone. They are removable, so you can still let your plant get light when you aren’t actively using your zen space.

meditation room essentials: natural light coming through window

Ideas for a meditation room:

  • Create a quiet space using window inserts
  • Make the room comfortable by controlling the temperature and choosing cozy furniture over aesthetics
  • Add calming color schemes and interactive concentration tools
  • Introduce a calming fragrance
  • Bring in plants to liven up the space
  • Control the natural light: block it to remove distractions, only allow some for a calming feeling

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