Wednesday, February 25, 2009

What does your home say about you?

Did you know that your home speaks? Well it does, and it speaks volumes, about you. Your personality, attitudes, opinions and dreams are manifested in the way you decorate your home. Consequently, the sum total of who you are is broadcast to all who walk through your door.

However, your home can also tell lies about you. Let us say for instance, you are most at-home and at your best and true self in a space that reeks of a very casual and homey style. Yet your home says to visitors that they must take off their shoes at the front door, walk carefully, sit up straight, see, but don’t touch.

Likewise, a disorganized and cluttered home could be giving the wrong impression about you when in fact, you are a person who is very methodical, controlled and thrives best in a clean, structured and well-ordered environment.

Never one to follow the crowd, my home shouts that loud and clear. I can appreciate all the new and trendy design ideas I see on HGTV, in magazines and at the mall, but my heart belongs to a country/cottage style.

Nothing makes my heart sing like the look of a country cottage complete with wood, wrought iron, rattan, beautiful natural fabrics and lots of baskets.

My growing collection of teapots is evident as they sit on top of my kitchen cabinets. My fascination with aprons amuses my friends. They hang from picture hooks attached to a door. Baskets, another staple, serve decorative and functional purposes in every room.

My favourite colours, green, terracotta, mustard, orange, red and rust, punctuate rather than dominate my home’s décor. My home is certainly not dressed to impress, but to provide a soothing, tranquil and relaxed atmosphere for my lifestyle, to encourage quiet time, reflection, and intimate conversation, and to inspire creativity.

In her book, The Not So Big House, Sarah Susanka says: “Homes should be beautiful and cozy with rooms to scale in proportion to the human form. With the growth of so-called trophy homes that look more like museums than places of comfort and retreat, we have lost some of the nurturing value of our homes. They should be spaces that provide a sheltering feeling of comfort and protection. Unfortunately, we gravitate to larger, more grandiose homes with each passing decade.”

If your home is sending the wrong messages about you, it is time to set the record straight. In order to set up your home to reflect your lifestyle, you may need to formulate a new direction for your life based on who you are. Re-work your décor to complement your personality, lifestyle and even your dreams.

Your home should radiate with the kind of mood you’re most comfortable with and showcase, not the latest, trendiest accessories, but the ones that make you smile. Make sure that visitors see you when they walk through your door.

Begin from the standpoint of how you live in your home and what furnishings will enhance your lifestyle and nurture you. Stamp your personality on your home as you build its décor carefully over time because we never really finish decorating our homes. They change and evolve right along with us.

Make it your mission to create a décor that caters to and portrays the real you, your interests and your passions.

Whatever your home says about you, make sure it speaks the unbridled truth.

2 comments:

Serena Lewis said...

I loved this post....thank you ~ :)

Cheryl Wright said...

Welcome Serena,

I popped over to your blog for a visit and I love, love, love your art. And the self-portraits are stunning.

I saw the photo of your stockpile. It reeks of treasures and inspiration.