Home Owner Advice

Jan 22, 2009

02:16 PM

Style and Spirit: Finding Your Inner Home

Which piece would you choose for your living room: a deep-cushioned club chair or a well-proportioned wing chair? If you choose the club chair, I’d agree. Prefer the wing chair? I’d also agree.

That’s because home design is all about creating style that’s all your own. Contrary to what some people believe, style isn’t about money. It’s about enjoying the way you live. Gathering with family and friends and fully appreciating the comfort and beauty of your home is the most fashionable thing of all.

Real style transforms even the simplest objects and events. Yet, it doesn’t require more stuff—or a big budget—to enjoy its abundant or unanticipated pleasures. The more I work with clients, the more I see the holistic benefits of our work together. It’s far more than fabric, paint, and furnishings that we’re working with; it’s about rendering all of the pieces into a whole to make a house a home. Your home.

Wondering where to begin your endeavor to style and spirit? Here are some steps to help begin your journey into your inner home.

Live authentically. This is the starting point for finding a style all your own. The first piece is to step back and evaluate. Is your household one with a young, active family or grown children? Or are you a single homeowner? Do you have pets? The function and design of a home begins with an understanding of how you live and how the space is shared with the people living there.

Think of your home in terms of the functions it must perform then explore how it will perform them. Next, it’s time to consider the way you want it to look. Where you live has to fulfill your needs as well as your aesthetic preferences, not anyone else’s (not even a professional designer’s). This starts the dialogue. You just have to be open to the conversation.

Learn from the ancients. Personal space is an extension of one’s self. This philosophy, dating back 5,000 years to the eastern Feng Shui masters, involves the placement and balance of objects in our environment. A basic tool that offers immediate results is removing clutter and eliminating areas of chaos. The theory behind this is to facilitate the flow of positive energy throughout the space. If chaos is impinging upon your office or controlling your closets, overcoming clutter will restore a sense of balance and instill calm. Not only can this be a do-it-yourself, no-cost project, but you can help someone else by donating your surplus to a local charity—with or without a tax-deductible receipt.

Allow breathing room. No matter the size of your home, space is a luxury. Open, well-lighted areas are the ultimate luxury. Ironically, during the Victorian period, a bare room was a form of bad taste, so every surface was covered with objects and hangings from floor to ceiling; as a result, there wasn’t enough visual relief for the eye to rest, a good tip to keep top of mind when you’re choosing or placing furnishings. Less really is more.

The same is true for accessories. Groupings of objects are unifying and make a statement, whereas scattered items lose impact and interrupt balance. You don’t have to display every piece you own at the same time. Choose what you love most, and move things around if you see that a piece has become less noticeable.

Eliminate stress. If getting dressed every morning means a face-off with an unwieldy closet and drawers that hide your underwear, you’re already off to a stressful start. If you must zigzag your way to sit in your family room, your guests undoubtedly will have to do the same thing. If you’re anxious your pet will soil the sofa, silk fabric is an accident waiting to happen. Feeling tense yet? If not, here’s one more: how many men enjoy excavating through boudoir pillows every night before getting into bed? Enough said.

Spread light and joy. Every day, the people who make our lives meaningful enrich us. When friends and relatives gather together, they exchange the privilege of each other’s special gifts. So why not showcase style by opening your home to more often, beyond special occasions and holidays? Dim the lights and set out the candles. Serve simple food and drink, with or without cocktails. The smaller the group, the more intimate the mood. Yes, we live in a harried time, but Emerson’s words still ring true: “The ornament of a house is the friends that frequent it.” Enjoy your journey.

 Design stylist Angela Lowy owns Grace HomeStyleDesign, an interior design and styling service for the home and lifestyle based in Wilton, Connecticut.