Three ways I create my ideal feeling of home

As today is such a gorgeous, all-windows-open, Spring-is-coming day in Pennsylvania, I can't help but think that I am in love with my home and the way it makes me feel. I feel comforted, rested, and pleased by the look and feel of my home... and this is the feeling of home that I work for!

My husband and I bought our house almost three years ago and we've done many, many house projects so far. But one of the best things I've done with this house is making it a home by creating the feeling of home that we both love. Both my husband and I want to feel like we can unwind and rest in our home. We enjoy nostalgic memorabilia around the house like pictures and antler mounts from his hunts. We, my husband especially, want to be comfortable in our home so we have a fabulously comfortable sectional that you could stretch out and fall asleep on. Anyways, here are some of the ways I achieved this in my home.

No. 1

I decluttered. Massively. I can't believe how much stuff we accumulate, and we don't even have children running around the house yet (but soon!). I've slowly become better at this as sometimes it's hard to sort through and give up your stuff. Decluttering should always be the first step in achieving the feeling of home that you'd like.

No. 2

Next, I imagined the specific areas of my home for the exact feeling I'd like when I enter that area. I addressed my desired feeling room by room. For instance, I wanted my kitchen to feel clean and free of excessive appliances on the countertops and to look beautiful for all of the hours I spend preparing food and cleaning up in the kitchen. Kitchens go through a lot of mess, so I wanted to really declutter it so it looked even more mess-free normally. I wanted fresh, white cabinets and board and batten walls to give the dine-in kitchen some character. I decluttered, rearranged, and made those minor kitchen updates happen so I could really enjoy that space, even when it wasn't spotlessly clean. Now I just LOVE walking into my kitchen. It feels so clean, minimal, and stress-free. It's exactly what I wanted.

In our bedroom, I knew I wanted it to be free of excessive things. I can't sleep well if beside the bed is a pile of junk or something that needs addressed or cleaned up. So I keep in my nightstand only what I might use before bedtime or first thing in the morning. Also, knowing my husband doesn't like to fold his clothes, I got a set of hooks that he installed on each side of the bed so that we can easily hang up things we'll wear the next day like sweatshirts, PJs, and other clothes. I also hang my purse (I use only one at a time) on those hooks so it has a place to stay that's out of my way.

I wanted my closets to feel calm and not overwhelming, so I kept only what I was currently using and put the extras of that product on our back stock shelves in our basement. I even store kitchen items I don't commonly use on our back stock shelves so that my kitchen cabinets aren't so full that things fall out when I open the doors, or so that I don't have to resort to storing those items on my countertops.

Basically, going room by room and imagining what top characteristics you're looking for helps to create the feeling of home you desire. I don't want my entire home to feel super minimalistic and empty; but, I want my bathroom to feel like that because my bathroom is so small that it takes only a little bit of stuff on my bathroom countertops to look like the whole thing exploded.

No. 3

I made my home fulfill the feeling of what I might go out of the house for. For example, I might want to go out window shopping or to a spa or somewhere beautiful to achieve a feeling of luxury and escape. But I want my own home to achieve its own sense of luxury. And yes, I still have days where I treat myself and leave my home for it, but I want a sense of luxury to be fulfilled by own home for the majority of the time. What's the point of owning a house if you're not enjoying the feeling of living in it?

First, an example of how I achieve luxury in my house is taking a bath at night. I turn on my diffuser and turn off all the lights except for the glowing diffuser light. I don't look at my phone during this time either. This just feels like an escape, like a little slice of peace and luxury.

Also: fresh cut flowers. I attribute my desire of having fresh cut flowers in my home to my sister-in-law who is a florist. She spoils me every now and then with a gorgeous arrangement. I realized that I absolutely love the touch of fresh flowers in my house, so I started my own simple cut flower bed so I could see those beauties in a vase all summer long without going out of my home and paying through the nose for cut flowers. Also, I can't keep house plants alive, but the cut flower bed I can do!

Another example: reusing Starbucks cups. Drinking a Starbucks drink makes me feel so luxurious and extra. But I love it! So after I enjoyed a drink from Starbucks, I kept that plastic cup and lid so I had just a few to keep in my cabinets to reuse. I make my own iced coffee beverages and pour it into a Starbucks cup and voilà! I have achieved a sense of luxury from something within my own home, which makes me even more content and satisfied to be in my own home, rather than needing to go out to fulfill my desired feeling of luxury. Also, who can afford to go to the spa every week, go to Starbucks daily, and buy a bunch of fresh cut flowers to have all throughout your house all summer long? Maybe you can, but I'm not making room in my budget to spend my money this way. Besides, I want to love my home. So these are a few creative (and less expensive) ways I make my home feel the way I desire it to!

Basically...

You can create your ideal feeling of home through visual aspects like the style and setup of your home by first removing the unnecessary, deciding room by room what kind of feeling you are after, and lastly, fulfilling your home with the feeling that you leave your house to get. A key mindset to this whole process is being grateful for what you have, while at the same time, optimizing your space to meet your desires. But, if you are working out of a spirit of ungratefulness, you won’t go far with your goals. Be thankful for what you have while you implement changes in your home to enjoy your space even more. So go ahead and start with these three ways to create your ideal feeling of home!

Until next time...