Who doesn't want a happy home? A heavenly home? I often come home after being out in the crowded mass of society, walk through the front door and whisper gratefully to myself, "I am in heaven." Currently our home is an imperfect heaven, to be sure. But heaven nonetheless.
I have dreams and many of them revolve around my home. This is where I spend the majority of my time and it's the foundation that my family is built upon. A cozy home filled with a loving family where memories are spread about like icing atop a cake. Where candlelight and laughter create the perfect ambiance to set the mood for the soundtrack of our lives. I'm a self-proclaimed professional home-body.
I'm setting out on a journey to see if I can make some of these dreams come true. My project(s) for 2012 are targeted specifically on the makings of a happy home, where my expertise lies. I will start with an ambitious wish list of home improvements, which I aim to take on in my own home over the course of a year.
In the process, I plan to explore a wide range of cross-cultural design ideas, take them for a test drive in my own domain and report on the results. I want to step outside of my element and really think outside the "box" to recapture a sense none like my own currently, but something my taste for design thrives for when I am set before such a masterpiece I could not have dreamed up on my own.
I am certain during the course of the year with so much daily commotion-multiple deliveries, endless appointments, mountains of tools and plaster and floor tiles and cabinet boxes and door handles and curtains and paint cans and debris-filled garbage bags and Lord knows what else- this will also be the time when mistakes are sometimes made, budgets overran, tempers occasionally flared, and-in the quiet moments after the day has settled but before my husband returns home-tears will stroll down my face. I stress and I don't feel this to be any different.
I want this change to not only be about creating a happy home aesthetically; one that is pleasing to the eye; but also be about the change in my life in general-and much of that has seemed to be just beyond the grasp of my control. My home really is a reflection of me and updating and changing it shall reflect the change that I wish to happen within me as well. I want calm, collected, balance, and bright. The same attributes I wish to get more in-depth with in my personal being.
No one ever said life is always serene. Chicken soup is one thing, but a healthy challenge can be good for the soul, too. So frayed nerves and depleted bank accounts aside, I'm looking forward to the opportunity-and receiving the support I need-to take on this project. I wish for the process to enrich my home -and my life- substantially.
And by sharing some of the lessons to be learned, I hope the ideas contained in the blog may brighten the way for your own happy home endeavors.
Now, let's get started!
Ingredients for a happy home:
Surely there is no one-size-fits-all recipe to a happy home. But after doing lots of research, finding what pleases me and after lots of trials and errors, I've come up with a list of ingredients that I'm convinced contribute to the joy in mine and can equally be implemented to fit the tastes and desires of each of you. I hope you'll try mixing a dash of one here with a dollop of another there, combining them with your personal alchemy to see what effect they have on the happiness of your own home.
*Access to Nature- Nothing brightens a home like a touch from Mother Nature herself, whether it's a burst of fresh air, a ray of sunshine (I'm not referring to my daughter this time), a view of the lake, or a tiny potted plant. A connection with nature reminds us that we are a part of larger order that has rhythms and energy and laws that reflect and nourish the core within you.
*Just-right space- More than not-too-big and not-to-small, just-right spaces contain just enough stuff to make them comfortable, functional and visually appealing to you. Just-right rooms are well edited and include only things that have meaning or a purpose. They usually don't happen overnight, but rather evolve slowly over time as to eliminate and add just-the-right details as you go along.
*Something for everyone- When a home accommodates more than one person, it needs to feel like a home to everyone who lives in it. Allocating nooks and crannies to different forms of personal expression can allow disparate tastes to happily coexist in a patchwork that provides room for all.
*Personality- If there's one thing that puts a damper on happiness in a home, it's cookie-cutter rooms. Happy rooms show something of the personality of their owners, whether it's a collection of corks (*cough), a gutsy work of art (which I intend to take on), or a handmade throw or a favorite color as an accent.
*Elements of comfort- To many of us, the word comfort- as it relates to the home-connotes overstuffed chairs, fluffy pillows, and fuzzy throws. But in this context, elements of comfort have more to do with an individual's sense of beauty and the objects and colors and shapes that put him or her at ease in their happy home.
*Order- An ordered, organized home isn't just about having a place for everything with everything in it's place. It's about all of the elements- and the rituals they support- that ease the flow from dusk to dawn, spring to fall, work to play. It's also eliminating the inconsequential and celebrating the essential. "More of less is always a good thing."
*Private Zones- In his class work "The Poetics of Space", the philosopher Gaston Bachelard argued that the chief role of a home is to serve as a place for daydreaming. Private spaces, whether a room of one's own, a window seat or a corner in a garden, let intimate dreams unfold and imaginations run wild.
*The element of Surprise- A surprising element in a home can take on all kinds of guises. It might be a whimsical pop of color, a mysterious garden path or a witty work of art- anything that shifts the energy of a space and engages the imagination.
*Carbon-footprint consciousness- An eco-friendly home will not only make you happier because your're being a good global citizen, it'll make you, your family, and the planet healthier. And it can save you money over the long haul, too.
*A sense of spirit- Spirit in the home is about a connection to something beyond the material things that define and fill it. It might be a feeling of community that occurs in a home that's shared with friends and family. It might be a sacred sensibility symbolized by a fountain, a statue, the children's artwork or other emblem that represents your view of the divine.
In my next blog, I will share the compiled list of happy home projects I wish to dive into right away at the start of 2012. I've thought long and hard about the things that need more attention in my home and I truly believe and feel deeply that while taking on these tasks, I will be able to get more in tuned with my home, with my heart, and with happiness harmonized all around.
Happy New Year to you and yours :)
Stay tuned for more Happy Home...
I have dreams and many of them revolve around my home. This is where I spend the majority of my time and it's the foundation that my family is built upon. A cozy home filled with a loving family where memories are spread about like icing atop a cake. Where candlelight and laughter create the perfect ambiance to set the mood for the soundtrack of our lives. I'm a self-proclaimed professional home-body.
I'm setting out on a journey to see if I can make some of these dreams come true. My project(s) for 2012 are targeted specifically on the makings of a happy home, where my expertise lies. I will start with an ambitious wish list of home improvements, which I aim to take on in my own home over the course of a year.
In the process, I plan to explore a wide range of cross-cultural design ideas, take them for a test drive in my own domain and report on the results. I want to step outside of my element and really think outside the "box" to recapture a sense none like my own currently, but something my taste for design thrives for when I am set before such a masterpiece I could not have dreamed up on my own.
I am certain during the course of the year with so much daily commotion-multiple deliveries, endless appointments, mountains of tools and plaster and floor tiles and cabinet boxes and door handles and curtains and paint cans and debris-filled garbage bags and Lord knows what else- this will also be the time when mistakes are sometimes made, budgets overran, tempers occasionally flared, and-in the quiet moments after the day has settled but before my husband returns home-tears will stroll down my face. I stress and I don't feel this to be any different.
I want this change to not only be about creating a happy home aesthetically; one that is pleasing to the eye; but also be about the change in my life in general-and much of that has seemed to be just beyond the grasp of my control. My home really is a reflection of me and updating and changing it shall reflect the change that I wish to happen within me as well. I want calm, collected, balance, and bright. The same attributes I wish to get more in-depth with in my personal being.
No one ever said life is always serene. Chicken soup is one thing, but a healthy challenge can be good for the soul, too. So frayed nerves and depleted bank accounts aside, I'm looking forward to the opportunity-and receiving the support I need-to take on this project. I wish for the process to enrich my home -and my life- substantially.
And by sharing some of the lessons to be learned, I hope the ideas contained in the blog may brighten the way for your own happy home endeavors.
Now, let's get started!
Ingredients for a happy home:
Surely there is no one-size-fits-all recipe to a happy home. But after doing lots of research, finding what pleases me and after lots of trials and errors, I've come up with a list of ingredients that I'm convinced contribute to the joy in mine and can equally be implemented to fit the tastes and desires of each of you. I hope you'll try mixing a dash of one here with a dollop of another there, combining them with your personal alchemy to see what effect they have on the happiness of your own home.
*Access to Nature- Nothing brightens a home like a touch from Mother Nature herself, whether it's a burst of fresh air, a ray of sunshine (I'm not referring to my daughter this time), a view of the lake, or a tiny potted plant. A connection with nature reminds us that we are a part of larger order that has rhythms and energy and laws that reflect and nourish the core within you.
*Just-right space- More than not-too-big and not-to-small, just-right spaces contain just enough stuff to make them comfortable, functional and visually appealing to you. Just-right rooms are well edited and include only things that have meaning or a purpose. They usually don't happen overnight, but rather evolve slowly over time as to eliminate and add just-the-right details as you go along.
*Something for everyone- When a home accommodates more than one person, it needs to feel like a home to everyone who lives in it. Allocating nooks and crannies to different forms of personal expression can allow disparate tastes to happily coexist in a patchwork that provides room for all.
*Personality- If there's one thing that puts a damper on happiness in a home, it's cookie-cutter rooms. Happy rooms show something of the personality of their owners, whether it's a collection of corks (*cough), a gutsy work of art (which I intend to take on), or a handmade throw or a favorite color as an accent.
*Elements of comfort- To many of us, the word comfort- as it relates to the home-connotes overstuffed chairs, fluffy pillows, and fuzzy throws. But in this context, elements of comfort have more to do with an individual's sense of beauty and the objects and colors and shapes that put him or her at ease in their happy home.
*Order- An ordered, organized home isn't just about having a place for everything with everything in it's place. It's about all of the elements- and the rituals they support- that ease the flow from dusk to dawn, spring to fall, work to play. It's also eliminating the inconsequential and celebrating the essential. "More of less is always a good thing."
*Private Zones- In his class work "The Poetics of Space", the philosopher Gaston Bachelard argued that the chief role of a home is to serve as a place for daydreaming. Private spaces, whether a room of one's own, a window seat or a corner in a garden, let intimate dreams unfold and imaginations run wild.
*The element of Surprise- A surprising element in a home can take on all kinds of guises. It might be a whimsical pop of color, a mysterious garden path or a witty work of art- anything that shifts the energy of a space and engages the imagination.
*Carbon-footprint consciousness- An eco-friendly home will not only make you happier because your're being a good global citizen, it'll make you, your family, and the planet healthier. And it can save you money over the long haul, too.
*A sense of spirit- Spirit in the home is about a connection to something beyond the material things that define and fill it. It might be a feeling of community that occurs in a home that's shared with friends and family. It might be a sacred sensibility symbolized by a fountain, a statue, the children's artwork or other emblem that represents your view of the divine.
In my next blog, I will share the compiled list of happy home projects I wish to dive into right away at the start of 2012. I've thought long and hard about the things that need more attention in my home and I truly believe and feel deeply that while taking on these tasks, I will be able to get more in tuned with my home, with my heart, and with happiness harmonized all around.
Happy New Year to you and yours :)
Stay tuned for more Happy Home...
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