The "Feeling" of Home

One of the most significant steps you can take when designing your home, or any part of your home, is defining how you want to feel when you are home. Designers often refer to this as "mood". It’s easy to skip this step, start shopping, only to step back and wonder why your design isn’t meeting up to your vision. It can be highly disappointing! By deciding how you want to feel before you make any design decisions or purchases, you will be able to decide what needs to be included, adjusted or eliminated. It’s the best first step towards making a house a home.
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How do you want to feel in this space? 
Here are three variables to help you.

Notice how a space can evoke a feeling within you, even if it's not your own personal style, a feeling will emerge based off your environment.

1. Accessories

Anything placed in your home will affect your feelings and your mood. I’m well known for going through my home and removing items. As an individual, I am easily overwhelmed and stressed by the amount of “items” around me and function much more efficiently with less. Keep in mind this is a personal reaction for each and every individual. I know many individuals who own many items they adore and have created an exhilarating home that speaks to them.​

There's a lot going on in this space. It's cohesive design is passionate and bold. This will be inspiring for some, but a bit much for others.

In contrast to the previous photo, this space is calm and serene. It's exactly what some need after a busy day. For others it will read cold and lifeless.

Start paying attention to see how items affect you and your family. Is it easier to go through a day with fewer items to distract you, or do you find more items to be inspiring and stimulating? There’s no right or wrong answer, but by taking time to be self-aware, you can begin to recognize how items are either aiding or hindering the feelings you want to create in your home. 

2. Furniture

Furniture is an imperative player when it comes to the feelings of your home. You don’t play basketball with a soccer ball, and you shouldn’t expect your furniture to be used for something it wasn’t designed to achieve. If you want a home that is relaxing, you need the right furniture to meet that need. It should be comfortable, soft and provide a place where you can curl up with a hot drink and read a book, watch movies or have a heart-to-heart with family and friends. Can you feel it?

Notice how both couches below will work for lounging, but one works infinitely better (although I must admit it's not an aesthetically pleasing couch,  but you get the picture - pun intended). It all depends on your needs and likes. ​

If you want a home full of energy to entertain, you need the right furniture to meet that need. I’m not one who often encourages new purchases if it is not 100% necessary, but if you want to entertain and don’t have the right furniture, your furniture may need to be rehomed in place for new furniture that will be able to seat everyone you would like to host. This is just an example. It applies to every room of the home. A loft bed won’t give you the same feeling as a canopy bed. An intimate round table will give you a different feeling from a large formal dining table. 

It all depends on you, what you want to do in your home and what feelings you want to bring forth.

3. Color

I’ve talked about paint before and while I don’t want to sound like a broken record, I can't post about “feelings” without bringing up color. The easiest way to impact “feeling” within your home is with paint. Do you want a calm sanctuary where you can come home, relax and let the stresses of the day melt away? Cool colors often help you achieve this goal. Or do you want an exciting home that excites and inspires? Look to warm colors. By researching color psychology, you can be sure your color selections match the feelings you want to invoke in your home. Keep in mind that a well thought out color scheme can help you mix warm and cool colors to create an interesting color scheme for your home that helps meet your goals.

I have found that it is hardest for individuals and families to see the changes that they can make to their own homes. I believe this to be due to familiarity, but sometimes by stopping and accounting how you want to feel in your home can help you to make the necessary adjustments to make your home meet your needs.

​Keep in mind that you can create a home that is exciting AND calming. A place to rejuvenate AND a place to entertain. Life is more than black and white. You can mix it all up, but be mindful of your design to ensure that you can achieve the feelings you desire when you go home, because going home means you should feel safe and free. 
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The combination of accessories, furniture, and color creates a mood. Making adjustments to these three elements will allow you to create your own formula for what feels like home.