Home is Where the Heart Is: How to Make it Yours

Home is Where the Heart Is: How to Make it Yours

Making your home the heart of your life is something even a Diva like myself can get into. The saying, “Home is Where the Heart Is,” can be traced back to the mid-nineteenth century, but it has its roots in writings as far back as the seventeenth century. It can mean that home is wherever you are when with those you love, or it can mean that home is where you bring those you love. No matter how you define it, there are a few things you can do to make your home a warm and inviting place for everyone you care about.

Create a No Electronics Area.
Ditch the smartphone, iPad, laptop, and television. Yep. That is the first thing that you can do to make your house a warm and inviting place for everyone you want to spend time with. Create a space where there is room to talk, and do all those analog things that bring people together like crafts, games, and old-fashioned conversation. Unplug the distractions, instead put in card tables and big comfy couches. Keep a closet filled with art supplies and other fun things to do.

Use Earth Tones on the Walls.  
Using bright colors on your walls can be jarring, plus the colors themselves are stimulating. After all, there is a reason fast food joints use lots of yellow. It stimulates hunger. Colors have a psychology. Too much bright red and orange draw attention and create urgency. Pink increases the pulse. Purple causes irritability. Make your home a haven by using cool tones, like greens, blues, and grays, to reduce stress, revitalize, and encourage creativity. Did you know that blue is the most loved color the world over?

Put in Wood Flooring.
There is something about bringing a dash of nature into your home that is the ultimate in calming. Natural wood flooring, or any of the great engineered wood and laminate substitutes, are inviting and provide lots of texture in the home, especially when paired with a custom luxury shaggy rug from Karastan. Or one of their snuggly warm Weaver’s Point 100% New Zealand wool area rugs to keep the tootsies warm.

Fill Your Home with Books.
On a long winter evening, there is nothing like snuggling up with a good book with lots of inviting pillows and lush blankets. I have great memories of spending a lazy holiday afternoon relaxing with my father. Each of us had an entertaining book in our hand, and a mug of hot chocolate placed on a très chic coffee table next to us. Dad even got a lengthily nap, as I recall.

Remove All Clutter.
Clutter is draining. It drains our time, our energy, and even our financial resources. Clean it up. Don’t just stuff it into a closet. Decide what you need and love, then get rid of the rest. The process that Marie Kondo outlines in her book, The Magical Art of Tidying, really works. Touch each item, but, as Nadisa Tatsumi says in her book, The Art of Discarding, if the answer to the question “does it bring you joy,” isn’t “Hell, yes! Then the item is a NO.” Get rid of it. You’ll be surprised how much you hold on to because you think you should keep it, not that you want to keep it or need it.

These Diva words of advice, when put into action, are sure to make your home the place where everyone wants to come and share the joy, companionship, and laughter. Oh, and having lots of good food and drink around helps, too!

I’m inspired. Time to go off to grab a book, pour a dash of liquor into my hot chocolate, and dive into the newest issue of AD wrapped in a fluffy wide knit blanket in nurturing cream.

Happy New Year and Cheers!