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Boomers are all about downsizing lately, but not necessarily in the ways you'd expect.

The latest craze in home design is all about creating space to meditate – your peace retreat, a serenity sanctuary. While your mind is the most important tool when it comes to meditation, a few props and thoughtfully designed surroundings can speed up the process of slowing down the mind.

Modern Cavemen and Cavewomen?
"Many boomers had their own bedroom when growing up. Now as adults, their need for a similar personal dedicated space is morphing into caves," says Mark Nash, Chicago-based real estate broker and author of "1001 Tips for Buying and Selling a Home."

These caves, as Nash calls them, can be for meditation, but as one of his top home trends for 2007, he sees them in broader terms — a "personal dedicated space (where) one person in a household can go and work on projects or ‘chill' without being disturbed and, if so, only in an emergency." What they are not, Nash adds, are home offices or crafting rooms.

Beyond a sound financial investment when it comes to your home's value, Nash also sees the cave as an emotional investment. "Many people think the cave is a negative — this is where one partner goes to get away from the other partner. But, once this need for private space is fulfilled, the relationship almost always improves. Word is getting out, and I think we're going to see personal spaces become a much bigger trend."

Shutting Out the World
To create your own cave, Lea Goode-Harris, Ph.D., a labyrinth designer from Santa Rosa, California, says the most important thing is to identify a consistent space. With consistency, she promises, you can teach your mind to cross the threshold into this room or small corner and instinctively drop to a place within your heart where you feel connected to life.

Next, empty the area and prepare to paint. "The right color is different for different people," Goode-Harris says. "But cool muted purples and blues or soft warm yellows and greens are generally better than stimulating reds and oranges. Close your eyes and imagine a happy memory. In your mind's eye, what color dominates? This is probably the color you want in your quiet space."

When it's time to put things back into your area, Goode-Harris recommends what's probably an unfamiliar mindset. "What you don't want is everything you do want in your living room — lots of color, designer chairs, eye catching objects and the latest home entertainment electronics. In fact, the more you have of these things everyplace else in your house, the less you want [them] in your quiet room."

With time, this space will rise to your personal comfort level, but Goode-Harris suggests a Zen-like simplicity at first. You'll probably need only a soft rug, cushion, futon or comfortable chair for reclining, along with a reading lamp, music source (either an MP3 player or CD player), one candle and one green, living plant.

The goal, Goode-Harris says, is a quiet space with no clutter, clatter, or distraction — someplace where you can drop down into a meditative state, whether this means prayer, active meditation or reclining and closing your eyes. "You can accomplish this in a room, one small corner of a room, or with one shelf in one bookcase. It's about focus, developing a routine, and letting everything go."

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