A House or A Home?
The last blog I wrote about making a house a home focused on artifacts that express our inner spirit, color that resonates for our personal peace and joy and how loving our home makes for a life inside of it that is one where we want to spend time in our home. Today I would like to direct your attention to some of the other important aspects of making our house (the structure) a home (a sacred space where we live in harmony with what surrounds us).
Here are some additional thoughts around how a house becomes a home and provides us with enjoyment and envelopes us with serenity:
Beauty:
Beauty in a home is of importance and you don't have to be rich to live in a beautiful environment as some of you may believe. There are many ways to create beauty that are inexpensive and at the same time lift your spirit when you are inside your sacred space. Many stores now have discounted furniture and accessories and there are many ways to cut corners and still create something of beauty. As an example one can simple have a bed frame without any head or base board with the box spring and mattress only. One can even have the bed be close to the floor on a series of crates and create an Asian feel with a futon and tall lamps on each side placed directly on the floor. It will be the bedding you select that will make it happen and white is my go to color for bedding. It can be found anywhere and at a great price. If not a solid duvet accented with a fabric used like a runner at the top or bottom of the bed. Beauty does not have to cost an arm and a leg and beauty is important when you are decorating your home. Some of the stores that have great stuff are:
IKEA, Marshall's, TJ Max, Home Goods, Ashley and Ross. There are others but these stores could create a home that is inexpensive and beautiful without overspending or being in debt.
Clean and organized:
Every home can be clean and organized if everyone that lives in it honors and appreciates what they live in. Having every person in the home assigned chores weekly and a day of cleaning every week will keep your home clean and organized. Containers for storing things are a great way to seperate items of the same venue in the bathrooms and kitchen where may of us are challenged to keep it all neat and nicely organized. It can be done with ease and having a housekeeper once a month to do the deep cleaning can save everyone some stress around housework. When a home is clean and organized everyone that lives in it will be happier and want to spend some time inside of it. On the converse when a home is dirty and disorganized everyone inside of it feels that energy and often times want to run from the home rather than be in the home. Keeping a home clean and organized is a daily practice and is about not allowing things to accumulate.
Lighting:
A home needs to have the proper lighting for the activities that go on inside of it but also to accent the beauty of the home. The right lighting is everything and should be practical and beautiful all at once. Floor lamps or table lamps at the ends of sofas provide lighting for reading while pendant lamps can create a romantic mood when equipped with low wattage bulbs. Dimmers are wonderful inventions and allow us to dim the lights or turn them up when needed. A floor light behind a sofa can create a great visual in a room as do can lights directed at a large floor plant which reflects that shadows of the plant onto a wall or ceiling area.
Candles:
I love love love candles anytime and especially in the living area, dining area and bedrooms. Tea lights are my preference because they are contained and normally don't make a mess or compromise wood surfaces. There are dripless candles but I use them when I have parties only and want to pull out the candelabras. Hurricanes are my favorite kind of container for tea lights and they create a grander feel because they come in larger sizes, some for the floor. Candles are romantic and can create a feel of decadence and richness in a room. I use them during the night when I just want to feel special and be enveloped in that peaceful feeling. Candles make a house a home for sure.
An outdoor space:
Some of us forget about creating that serene and lovely outdoor space in our yard/deck. A daybed outside is one of the prettiest things one can create for a party with lanterns around it. White is once again one of my favorite colors to use outside. White pillows on a swing chair looks beautiful and clean lined. Nothing says relax more than a space outside that is equipped with things like a hammock . Now we are seeing a lot of decks with outdoors rugs and seating that look more like indoor furniture.
To be continued...
Here are some additional thoughts around how a house becomes a home and provides us with enjoyment and envelopes us with serenity:
Beauty:
Beauty in a home is of importance and you don't have to be rich to live in a beautiful environment as some of you may believe. There are many ways to create beauty that are inexpensive and at the same time lift your spirit when you are inside your sacred space. Many stores now have discounted furniture and accessories and there are many ways to cut corners and still create something of beauty. As an example one can simple have a bed frame without any head or base board with the box spring and mattress only. One can even have the bed be close to the floor on a series of crates and create an Asian feel with a futon and tall lamps on each side placed directly on the floor. It will be the bedding you select that will make it happen and white is my go to color for bedding. It can be found anywhere and at a great price. If not a solid duvet accented with a fabric used like a runner at the top or bottom of the bed. Beauty does not have to cost an arm and a leg and beauty is important when you are decorating your home. Some of the stores that have great stuff are:
IKEA, Marshall's, TJ Max, Home Goods, Ashley and Ross. There are others but these stores could create a home that is inexpensive and beautiful without overspending or being in debt.
Clean and organized:
Every home can be clean and organized if everyone that lives in it honors and appreciates what they live in. Having every person in the home assigned chores weekly and a day of cleaning every week will keep your home clean and organized. Containers for storing things are a great way to seperate items of the same venue in the bathrooms and kitchen where may of us are challenged to keep it all neat and nicely organized. It can be done with ease and having a housekeeper once a month to do the deep cleaning can save everyone some stress around housework. When a home is clean and organized everyone that lives in it will be happier and want to spend some time inside of it. On the converse when a home is dirty and disorganized everyone inside of it feels that energy and often times want to run from the home rather than be in the home. Keeping a home clean and organized is a daily practice and is about not allowing things to accumulate.
Lighting:
A home needs to have the proper lighting for the activities that go on inside of it but also to accent the beauty of the home. The right lighting is everything and should be practical and beautiful all at once. Floor lamps or table lamps at the ends of sofas provide lighting for reading while pendant lamps can create a romantic mood when equipped with low wattage bulbs. Dimmers are wonderful inventions and allow us to dim the lights or turn them up when needed. A floor light behind a sofa can create a great visual in a room as do can lights directed at a large floor plant which reflects that shadows of the plant onto a wall or ceiling area.
Candles:
I love love love candles anytime and especially in the living area, dining area and bedrooms. Tea lights are my preference because they are contained and normally don't make a mess or compromise wood surfaces. There are dripless candles but I use them when I have parties only and want to pull out the candelabras. Hurricanes are my favorite kind of container for tea lights and they create a grander feel because they come in larger sizes, some for the floor. Candles are romantic and can create a feel of decadence and richness in a room. I use them during the night when I just want to feel special and be enveloped in that peaceful feeling. Candles make a house a home for sure.
An outdoor space:
Some of us forget about creating that serene and lovely outdoor space in our yard/deck. A daybed outside is one of the prettiest things one can create for a party with lanterns around it. White is once again one of my favorite colors to use outside. White pillows on a swing chair looks beautiful and clean lined. Nothing says relax more than a space outside that is equipped with things like a hammock . Now we are seeing a lot of decks with outdoors rugs and seating that look more like indoor furniture.
To be continued...
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