Transform Your Home: Design Tips for a Happier Space

Your home is where you spend a lot of your free time. When you wake up, you’re in your home. When you get back from work and eat dinner, you’re in your home. When you have time off and are relaxing or even hanging out with your friends and family, a lot of that time you’re in your home. With all that time spent there, it is clear to see why how it looks and feels to you is important– much more important than you might realize.

Why

Have you ever entered a space and immediately your thought is, “Man, this place drags…”? Your entire mood changes when you enter this space, and you instantly feel more uneasy, tired, unhappy, and unmotivated. Inversely, have you ever entered a space and thought, “Wow, this place is so beautiful!”? You instantly feel happier, more enthusiastic, more creative, and more peaceful. The way the area around you looks and feels deeply affects your internal mood without you even realizing it, most of the time. Unbeknownst to you, stores you shop in think about this fact, doctors’ offices and therapists’ rooms, and even the homes of those trying to impress you all take into account how their space is going to affect those in it. If a room is all white and grey with little-to-no furniture and lacks any warmth, you actually feel colder and more sterile in that space. It isn’t inviting or comfortable, and this affects people dramatically. On the flip side, if a room is full of textures and browns and leather and wood, you instantly feel more relaxed and welcome to be yourself. This happens in your own home as well, and if you neglect it, you inevitably reap the consequences.

Ever heard the phrase “a cluttered home is a cluttered mind”? It’s true! If your home is in disarray, styleless, or neglected, you are going to feel the same way. While interior design may not be everyone’s cup of tea as a hobby or occupation, investing some time and energy in making your home more curated can make all the difference and can quite literally lead to a more fulfilling and enjoyable life.

Everyone has different tastes. Everyone is different, so that obviously means that everyone’s needs, preferences, and styles are also different. Some people want to feel clean and simple in their home, so they want a style that reflects that. However, someone who wants to feel loose and fun wouldn’t be happy in that same space and would want a style that better fits their lifestyle. These two people would be happier in homes that reflect what they want out of their time, which is why styling is so important.

How

The “how” of everything is usually what stops people from doing anything with their homes. Yes, they might know that they are unhappy with their current home, but they might not know what is wrong, how to fix it, or where to start. This, in fact, might lead to even more unhappiness simply due to the frustration of not knowing what to do. But fear not! It is a lot more simple than you think… especially with the wonderful world of the internet at all of our fingertips. Here is an easy sample step-by-step to help you do it yourself or prepare to work with a designer:

1. Figure out how you want to feel in your space. Do you want to relax and create an oasis, feel clean and in control, or feel fun and creative? Think about your habits and what you want to do!
2. Find designs that already exist that you like. Whether it’s through Pinterest or online shopping, or a simple Google search, pick out some overall vibes, styles, or pieces that you like and would want to incorporate into your own life. Don’t think too hard! It is easy to stress out about finding the perfect picture, but it’s really more about curating and creating a unique design based on everything you enjoy. Have fun with it!
3. Begin honing your choices and figuring out what is practical for your space. Whether this is finding one style you like, figuring out how to combine a couple, or making some rough selections of what you want to focus on most, see what speaks to you.
4. Pick some colors and start to pick materials like textiles, framing, and flooring. By picking all the big stuff first, this makes selecting your furniture and art easier later, since you already have all the big stuff to go off of.
5. Pick your furniture and art to include throughout the home. Don’t sweat this and don’t rush it! It’s okay to take time to find what you really love and have some empty spots in the process. You’ll be a lot happier than you waited than if you just buy whatever you can and see something perfect for you in the future, but have no room.

Obviously, everyone’s process will be a little different, but that is a great way to start out and keep yourself on track so you don’t get too stressed out or frustrated.

Interior design is so crucial to the world we live in. It is often what we remember about our favorite spots– that cute coffee spot you love, the beautiful chapel you went to on vacation, your friend’s house that everyone always wants to hang out at– these are all memories of the design of the space. It is clear to see how impactful it truly is to even those who don’t identify as a creative or who are not interested in the topic of design as a whole. Whether you plan to design your home yourself or work with a designer, it is great to start with an idea nd a plan of how to do your project, and whether you just moved in somewhere or have lived there for years, it is never too late or too early to make your space yours!