fbpx

Love yourself? Love your home!

3 min read Our homes – where we spend the majority of our hours – profoundly shape our lives. That should inform the way we plan a remodel!

If planning a remodel seems like a superficial thing to be discussing right now, I want to tell you that I believe it is ANYTHING BUT.  The space we live in defines our experience of life.  Why not help that space be its best so that it can help us in turn.  If you love yourself, you should love your home too.

It will love you back!

I listened to this interview with architecture critic Sarah Williams Godlhagen this weekend, while walking my pup, and it literally stopped me in my tracks. It was such a powerful reminder of the many ways that the places where we spend time influence our mood, our focus, and our very happiness.

One potential upside to the international shutdown that has been COVID-19 is that we may experience a little wake up call about the power of place. And that new interest might inform choices made by homeowners, designers, planners and voters regarding what kind of places we create for ourselves in the future.

Studies have shown that natural light affects the length and quality of our lives, and that being in the presence of (real) wood can measurably reduce stress. Subtle and not-so-subtle changes we make to the space around us … MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

Right now we are all at home. And home is the place over which we have the most control. So I encourage you to use that control to love your home and improve it in ways that are specific to your own life and family!

Love your home a little more with these Design tips

Add Variety

Make the spaces in your home different from each other and avoid a uniform appearance from one room to another. Change up the ceiling height, varry the wall color and texture, modify the proportions of your rooms and the amount of natural light to create a variety of spaces in your home

Walk towards light

Always try to align a window and door so that you can entice yourself (or others) to go down a hallway or enter a room with the light and view at then end of the path. If you can’t fit a window, spoof a similar effect with a mirror and artificial light (or a skylight).

Highlight Asymmetry

We hate to be bored by our homes, so keep your eye moving around each space with asymmetrical layouts of furniture, placement of windows and built-ins or arrangements around your fireplace. This is a classic MCM design move: don’t be afraid to live life off center!

Keep Storage Handy

Always make space to put away the things you’ll be using close to the place you use them. Remember that you want to have obvious places to display beautiful objects and subtle places to conceal useful but unlovely ones.

Build with wood

Humans gravitate to natural materials. Play up your home’s MCM style with wood: floors, walls, ceiling, built-ins, and furniture. (Just don’t do all of those things in the same room. Mix it up: see Add Variety, above.)

Check your own priorities

Above all, before you finalize a design, make sure it is is answering your own and your families needs. This isn’t the time to keep up with the Jones .. do what works for your lifestyle and your home!

In today’s episode you’ll hear …

  • Some Grade A snarkiness about Mr. Frank Lloyd Wright [2:05]
  • How in more normal times, we “vote with our feet” to choose public spaces that are designed to our liking. Now that we are all stuck at home, we can’t leave … but we CAN make changes for the better [5:10]
  • Why (in my opinion) people strive for the corner office [5:49]
  • A call to arms: you get to design your home for yourself! DO SO! [6:05]
  • The science of how the built-environment (our homes, especially) affects human beings psychologically and physiologically. For real! [9:10]
  • Six design concepts to consider before “finalizing” your remodeling plans. [12:05]
  • That the Ready To Remodel course is coming back, again! Sign up on the waitlist to make sure you get first notice when I open enrollment! [16:05]

Listen now on

Apple | Google |  Spotify | Stitcher

Leave a Review

Podcast 5 star review from J3ssIc!B123.  Love, Love Love!  We're hoping to buy an MCM home next year and wanted to research before jumping in.  I've listened to the first two episodes and this is just what I need to get started!

Resources to help you love your home Mentioned in this Episode