How Do You Want Your Home to Feel?

Have you ever thought about how you want your home to feel? It’s an important question, and one that most people don’t give much attention to. Here’s why I believe it’s important to clearly define how you want all of your living and working spaces to feel.

1. It will help you clarify your values.
2. It will provide you with information which can help anchor design and layout decisions.
3. It will make it exponentially easier to strip away clutter.
4. It will help you create a home you love and feel good in.

Let me give you an example. We recently decided to invest in a new couch. I looked at magazines and design blogs for inspiration but felt stuck. The couches I admired made no sense for our lifestyle. They were made of high maintenance fabrics or overly formal for our family life. So, I sat down and thought about how I wanted our living room to feel. I quickly realized that while I loved the designer couches I had been eyeing, I really wanted our space to feel inviting and comfortable. We entertain and host a lot, so we also needed a couch which could seat as many as possible and which would be resilient in terms of wear and tear. Once I had clarified how I wanted my space to feel, and what functions it needed to provide, it was easy to pick a couch that met that criteria. We settled on this sturdy grey sectional, which can seat up to six people and hides stains well.

Here’s another example: When I was in college, I decided I wanted my bedroom to feel like a boutique hotel. I drew inspiration from the chic, minimal interiors I admired and noted the themes I saw – minimal furniture, lots of white and neutral colors, good lighting, nice throw blankets and accent pillows. While I had a very limited budget to invest in new furniture and decor, I knew I could easily strip away clutter, rearrange the furniture and treat myself to a few accessories. Because I knew exactly how I wanted my room to feel, I could make decisions easily and had a clear roadmap for how to  move towards my ultimate goal as time and money allowed.

Fast forward to a few years ago when we bought our first home. I still wanted my bedroom to feel like a boutique hotel, and this time I was able to splurge on a an upholstered bed from Room and Board. The rest was easy since I had already stripped away the clutter and invested in simple white bedding years ago. The point is, no matter what your timeframe or budget you can take simple steps to achieve your ideal space by taking the time to think about how you want it to feel.

So, what about you? Think about one room in your home that you’re not satisfied with. How do you want that room to feel? What functions does that room need to provide? What are you doing (or not doing) to get the results you want? Make a list of three small actions you can take towards your goal. If you want your bedroom to feel like a sanctuary, start by clearing the surfaces and adding a candle or fresh flowers by your bed. Little things can make a big difference in how you feel in your space. Your home is a force that shapes your life. Even if your time or budget are limited, taking small steps towards creating your ideal home will feel deeply satisfying and well worth the investment.

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