CREATING A HOME YOU LOVE

5 Ways to make a house a home

Home is where the heart is. It is where we create memories, relax and can truly be ourselves. So how do we create a home that we love, that reflects us and allows us to rest deeply? I’ll let you in on a little secret…. It’s not the how much you spend on your interiors, the style you choose or the actual home itself. Here is 5 ways to make your house, your dream home

RETREAT

Your home is a place that becomes your retreat from the world, where you can kick off your shoes and breathe. It’s where you can be yourself and spend time with the ones you love, creating memories from each season that you will cherish. What is are the pleasure activities in your life? Do you love reading – why not create a reading nook by the window, so on warm Sunday afternoons you retreat there to curl up in the sun? Do you love painting? Why not rearrange a drawer in the living room with your art supplies, so you can easily set up and pack away your watercolours? Do you love having friends over – why not dedicate a drawer to your essential entertaining ware, so it inspires you to invite people to pop over for a visit? Everything about you is unique, so create your home to be a personal retreat for the unique aspects of you and yours.

RELEASE MENTAL LOAD

One of the biggest culprits to a home that isn’t restful, is seeing a whole lot of “To do lists” in every room. Mental load is one of the biggest stressors in life today. It simply is all the lists of things you have to remember to do or manage in your life. Walk into each room of your home and take note of the things that are on your “to-do list” or things that cause you anxiety. Do you have a pile of bills, letters and newsletters on your kitchen table? Or are they stuffed into a junk drawer that you think is out of sight, out of mind? Does the clutter overflow into the living room cause anxiety? One of the best things you can do to create a home you love to walk into at the end of the day is to look at all the things in your home that are on your mental to do list and tackle them one at a time.

ORGANISE

The easiest way to free your mind of stress and treasure your most loved items, is to let go of the things that clutter those spaces up. A document filing folder will organise your “life admin” storing your car rego files, bank statements and bills in one compact space. A small toolbox will organise the junk drawer, collecting all the screwdrivers and light globes for those odd house jobs. Throw away the old pile of magazines and clothes that don’t fit. Anything old, stained or never used – recycle, upcycle or let them go! Hot tip: If it’s been on your ‘to-do list’ for too long, either prioritise it for this month or cross it off and consider it “Done”.

REFLECT YOU

Your home should be a reflection of you and the people who live there. What are the pieces you have collected through your life? An vase from Italy, an artwork from a friend or old vinyls? My mum has a grandfather clock that her Dad hand crafted for her, so we designed their home around the tones and materiality of that treasured piece. Look around your home and highlight the things you absolutely love. Treasure these, make room for these items to be enjoyed!

VISION

Our dream home is an architectural A-frame home, framing snow capped mountains, wild forest or the coast. We don’t have much towards this dream, but a few loving staples we have collected so far… a gorgeous coffee table as a wedding present, and a chevron dining table my husband and I made together. Our dream home is more about a clean, minimalist space with a few favourite items that allows for creativity and the story of our life to unfold. What does your dream home look like? Feel like?

Creating a clear vision for the interior style of your dream home that you are inspired towards is a great place to start, as it will keep you focused and wise. Invest into quality items one piece at a time. Over time your home will develop a design style, ever evolving, collecting memories and treasures we love along the way. You can begin this process in this present season of life, without spending a dime, by treasuring the things you love, and taking time to value how you rest and create space to retreat within your home.

A house has the essentials, but a home is a place filled with meaning created by and reflecting a life well lived.

Each season of life will bring new parameters, opportunities and needs. Whether you are young and filling your home with odd, mixed furniture until you can afford one new furniture piece at a time, or if you are starting to build your ideal home and are recreating your interior design from all the pieces you’ve collected over time. Each season of life has value, fond memories and leads to the next season of life.

There’s comfort in knowing that creating your “home” is more about living in the moment and embracing the season of life you are in right now. Still, if we can live more intentionally on the way, then perhaps every season can start to feel meaningful. If we can begin to see creating our dream home not as being reserved for a someday, one day life, but where there is purpose to be found in today.

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