My 7 secret ingredients to creating a home you will love – with a little less aspiration, and a lot more intention
How I made a space in which I feel truly happy and satisfied
Amanda Jones is one of Ideal Home's new Open House contributors, sharing her thoughts on sustainable living and decorating a home in way that is good for the environment. See the rest of her articles here.
Does your home bring you joy, or are you constantly decorating and changing things, to feel happy and satisfied? So many of us look at glossy magazines, full of homes that are completely out of our price range, expensively decorated, then look around our own homes, and feel they are inadequate, and not ‘good enough’. We get so easily swayed by what others have, that we completely fail to see what is right in front of us. However, it doesn’t have to be that way.
For me swapping the word 'aspirational' for 'intentional', has been key to creating a home I love, and that brings me real joy. I no longer chase after the aspirational homes I see in glossy magazines or online, although I still enjoy seeing them. I’ve come up with my own ingredients to creating a comfortable, and contented home. An intentional home, full of the things I love, and that works efficiently and effectively, for my family.
Having an intentional home, means I have everything in place that my family needs. It’s a home that is safe and secure, like a warm hug. Creating a meaningful, intentional life is more important to me, than having an aspirational home.
Here are my ingredients, to creating a home where I feel truly happy and satisfied.
1. Stop chasing the next ‘Best Thing’
Ignore the interior design trends. Don’t continually compare your home with those you see in magazines or online. Comparison really is the thief of joy.
2. Work with what you already have
Assess each space in your home, for its positive and negative points, and be realistic in your assessment. If you feel you need more room, work out how to make the most of the space you already have.
Could you declutter some of your belongings, or get better storage solutions? Could you move furniture around, to make the room work better. Could you change the use of a room, like we did here in the article I wrote about living with our adult children.
Not everyone can afford large extensions, rethinking how you use your spaces, could offer you the solutions you need., and cost a fraction of the price.
3. Deal with any maintenance issues
I can’t stress enough, how a leaky roof, or draughty windows, can have a negative impact on how you feel about your home.
Get the basics right, deal with the fabric of your home, fix those issues. It might take a while, but making it safe and secure, will make you love your home a little bit more.
4. Always buy the best quality you can afford
Whilst I consider myself a frugal person, I always try and buy the best I can. In the long run, quality items usually last longer.
This of course might mean you have to wait, whilst you save up for your item, but that’s no bad thing, it gives you the time to find out the best deals available.
Take your time, spend your money wisely, and the decisions you make will be intentional ones.
5. Make those small changes
Look at those little changes that will improve how you live and how your home functions.
How many times have you said to yourself, if I just had a hook there, it would make the bathroom work so much better. Or if we could just organise our shoes more efficiently, getting out of the house in the morning would be easier. If I could just find this right piece of art to hang above the fireplace, the room would feel cosier.
Listen to what your instinct is telling you, about how you home functions, and the solutions your intuition tells you.
Recently I purchased a deep tray for our dining table. We don’t have much clutter, but we always needed to clear the table before mealtimes. Now items destined for the table, go straight into the tray, meaning we only need to lift that, before setting the table. It’s been a very simple, effective change.
6. Create small moments of joy
It might be the placement of a chair where you can sit and view the garden, or a small book nook, a place to snuggle down to read a book.
Make sure your bedroom is a calm space, and that your bedside cabinet is clutter free and calm. A book, maybe a photo of a loved one, a glass of water…no phone.
Small changes can make profound differences to how we use our homes, and the enjoyment we get from them.
7. Link your home to outside space
Even if it’s just a borrowed landscape or view.
If you have access to a garden, then create a seating area outside, our gardens really are an extension to our homes, and by being intentional in how we organise them, can bring real joy into our lives.
When we design or decorate our homes with intention, our focus shifts. We concentrate on what matters to our family, and how we use our space.
We design something that is individual to us, rather than copy and paste some aspirational (and often unachievable) home we’ve seen online, or in a magazine.
Design your home with intention, and you will create a home you love.
