24
Mar

5 Things That Take a Room from Good to Great

Your home doesn’t have to be perfect, just meaningful. I believe a home should be your personal sanctuary and enable meaningful living.

By this I mean simplifying life to be able to enjoy the experiences and people that make it wonderful, and become so fulfilled that you overflow and give that joy to others around you as well.

That way of living is hard to do if you come home to a house that’s full of clutter and chaos or that’s uninspired or stressful!

1. Choose calm colours. 

Colours that are soothing will help your whole home feel calm, and therefore give YOU an immediate sense of calm when you walk into your space. Light, calm colours on the walls also act as a backdrop to display the beautiful and meaningful things you display in your home. You want your eye to go to that jar of sea glass from your vacation or the books you absolutely love – not the dramatic colour on the wall! I highly recommend painting your whole home in a light and soothing soft white or off-white shade. And I have a download to make it easy for you to choose the right colour.

2. Purge, purge and purge some more.

Donate anything that you do not use regularly or that is not absolutely beautiful and/or meaningful in your eyes. Then put simple systems in place to keep the things you keep organized and functional so that your life at home is never frustrating. Everything should have its place!

3. Bring in natural elements. 

Every home should have something natural in it like living plants, flowers, natural wood or stone, or even branches or driftwood. When these things delight our senses on a daily basis it helps to ground us and renew our energy. Even if you’ve got a black thumb, here are indoor plants you can keep alive.

4. Bring special items out in the open.

Don’t make your space a slave to design rules – a room should contain personal items that make you happy and are meaningful to you!

  • Hang your favourite piece of art, whether it’s the kids’ drawings, a family heirloom or a crazy abstract piece sculpture that makes you smile.

  • Have photos out of those you love.

  • Use items bought on trips or special occasions as functional items – ex. a bowl in the entryway for keys.

  • Stack up your favourite books at the couch, or display some on the coffee table.

  • Bring your pretty antique chest or bench out from the storage room. If it elicits warm memories of Grandpa you should have it out to remind you of him often!

  • 5. Let the light shine in.

    Open up your windows, and give them a good cleaning as well. Make sure that any drapes or curtains are hung outside of the window frames so that they can be opened up fully during the day. Open them up and receive the uplifting energy that comes from the sun. Consider painting your walls white so that your spaces feel lighter and the sun bounces around more. And make sure to layer in enough ambient and task lighting for dark days and evenings.