Tag: home design

Making a Home

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This week I am honoring my family and our home by investing my time and energy into making this space more sacred and beautiful. I am doing this by taking the time to strategize and plan, I am shopping online and not aimlessly for items we could never afford or might never use. I am searching intentionally for those pieces that will better serve our story and make our home more comfortable and lovely. I am happy with myself and my family for making comfort and connection our priorities.

We are creating space in the children’s playroom for slumber parties and a comfortable seating nook where they may read and relax in their own space. We are hanging artwork where our family gathers, these pieces may be small but they make our home feel more cozy, lived in and loved. These small steps, adding layers of fabrics, textures, and colors to our rooms make this home more hygge and make us all feel more at ease and able to unwind and relax.

Yesterday I felt my tether getting a little short. I felt overwhelmed by a weekend of events and not enough time to be alone and at peace. I was go-go-going and by dinner time on Sunday I could feel my patience slipping. I took a break, I went and meditated and instead of writing, I took my fresh self to my family. I invited my daughter to make dinner together – an idea she had suggested earlier in the day. I collaborated with her and she helped immensely by planning the meal, putting away dishes, and setting the table. She made our little life so lovely and I felt so pleased and proud of her. I also felt gratitude to myself. Instead of pushing through my boundary in order to be a martyr and “please,” others, I took a break. I left to recharge. And we had the most wonderful conversation over dinner. We all ate and were happy and it was so good. It could not have been such a joyful night if I had pushed myself beyond my breaking point. I needed to take care of myself before I could healthfully take care of anyone else. I am so glad I walked away and came back refreshed, rather than pushing myself beyond my limits.

My small and intentional act of choosing comfort is what I hope to create for my family in this house. As I search online and via Pinterest for my, “personal design style,” I am seeking images that feel comfortable and easy. I don’t want my home to look like a museum or a funeral home. I want people to feel at ease and safe. I want this home to hold our family and our guests in a cocoon of health and warmth. I want this space to feel welcoming and happy. I want there to be room for growth and beauty but more than these auspicious grecian ideals, I want a home where people come to feel both held and free. 

I have no interest in acquiring furniture that cannot be sat upon or pieces that may only be observed, never touched. I want to be proud of my home but I also want others to feel welcomed, like they are walking into a hug. I want this space to be where my children and their friends gather to play and rest. I want this to be the home where confidences are shared and everyone is their best selves, including me.

How do you make space for comfort in your home? What pieces in your collection bring you the most joy? How do you create hygge? 

Home

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Things that make a home to me. I am reflecting on what makes a home and the first thought that comes to mind is the people in it. Home is family and friends, it is late night conversations held in the dark, it is the tears of joy that come with good news, the laughter of surprise when a child shares their humor in a new way. Home is soft pillows, deep couches – so we all fit – and silly faces. Home is comfortable and simplicity. It is pieces that tell a story and spaces ready for memory making. Home is ease of access, where we are not climbing over obstacles to get what we want and need. Home is organized chaos and at least one junk drawer. Home is the luxurious bath we take alone and family dinners at a table surrounded by friends. It is sunsets and birdwatching, it is feeling comfortable but also feeling proud of the space in which we live.

Home is sharing the stories of ourselves and our relationships. Home is portraits and artifacts, it is ornaments we gather on our travels or art pieces that tell the stories of those we love. Home is a constantly evolving environment that serves the functions of life flawlessly and serves the imagination like a diving board, always ready for inhabitants and visitors to take the plunge. 

Home is where we gather, it is the one place where we share what is most important and valuable to us. Our home welcomes cousins, aunts, uncles, and neighbors. It is a safe haven for our extended family and a space where our children learn to be gracious hosts. It brings me so much joy to share a homemade meal at my table with those I love. It fills me on a deeper primal level to have enough food to share, enough seats at the table, and the joy and laughter to create a truly beautiful memory for myself, my family, and my guests. 

To me home is sacred because it implies security, stability, and whimsy. It suggests, garden walks, and low stone walls, porch sitting, sun tea, and laundry on the line. Home is where traditions are shared and started. It is how we come to be exactly who we are. Home fills us, nurtures, nourishes, and refreshes. It fills and fulfills, refreshes and releases. Home gives us a safe place to house our treasures and our most sacred dreams. It inspires the reading of good books, and the study of information. It gives us tables to plan our adventures and a safe landing place when we return. Home welcomes the stranger and the old friend alike. It tenderly embraces our animals and and our animal hearts. How lucky are we who have a home to return to at the end of the day. A place where we not only reside but live.