Your relationship with your home has something in common with relationships you have with loved ones…you care for your home, and your home cares for you.
Think about the last time you had any kind of home maintenance done. Next, think about the last time the gutters were cleared out. Did you winterproof before the first freeze last holiday season? Do you regularly give high traffic spaces in your home little “make-overs” to keep your environment beautiful and fresh?
When you “give” to your home, your home gives back to you, too. It provides you with your sanctuary. It gives you a respite. It supports you in your lifestyle.
…At least, it should!!
There are three things your home should give you:
- The look you LOVE walking into every day
- The feel you enjoy (and adore sharing with others, too)
- And the function of each space that allows you to use it with ease
These three things—look, feel, and function—are the trifecta that make a house your home. If your home LOOKS great but doesn’t feel like you, or it feels homey but there are numerous inconveniences in its design, then you deserve more than your home is providing you.
Ask yourself the following questions to discover which parts of this trifecta is under-providing in your home…
Is your home easy to clean?
Ask yourself whether your home is easy to clean to learn whether it meets this essential standard of function. If you have trim with lots of grooves, light fixtures that are NEVER free of dust, or grout that simply won’t go back to its original color…then there are details in your home that are making your life harder than it should be.
Remember, this question isn’t about whether you like to clean, it’s about the ease of cleaning. The perfect home will have the surfaces you can wipe down, the finishes you can keep fresh, and the right materials in the right places to minimize wear and tear.
Learn about the technology of tile and how certain selections have become easier to clean!!
What’s the first thing that annoys you about your home when you arrive?
This question is a litmus test for what functional things are coming up short that annoy you ALL THE TIME…but don’t have to.
When you walk in the door, is there something about your entryway that’s inconvenient? How close are you to the pantry to put groceries away? Is there adequate mudroom storage for whatever you tend to come in with?
OR…is there something you see in your home that just feels frustrating every time you lay eyes on it? Do you feel like arriving home gives you a big breath of relief, or is there some constant reminder of something you need to fix, or something you’re tired of, or something you wish you could change?…
What do you believe guests generally think about the décor in your home?
If you’re confident that guests will “ooo” and “aaah” and admire your interior design style, that’s GREAT!
However, if you AREN’T confident (or even feel a little nervous about it), that tells you one of two things about the look of your home:
- You think guests will be left unimpressed because your style is dated, or it’s never really looked the way you want it to…
- Or you think guests won’t “get it” because it’s SO eclectic, but you don’t care because it was all intentional and YOU love it!
Obviously, if you have your own style and people think you’re a little crazy for it, that’s just fine!! If the look of your interiors DOES leave you feeling bad, though, that is YOUR CUE to give your environment an interior design make-over.
What do you fear guests will discover about your home?
Beyond what guests SEE, there are also those things that are broken or worn out that you fear guests will experience first-hand…
Here’s how you get to the heart of this question: make a list of five friends or family members. Make sure you have different kinds of relationships or degrees of closeness with each.
Then ask yourself, how would you feel about each of those people staying in your home overnight? (Using the guest room…the guest bath…using the kitchen…)
There’s going to be one primary feeling that washes over you when you answer. It will probably be:
- …Excitement…
- …Or embarrassment.
If your answer is the second, what source(s) of embarrassment do you foresee?! These are functional or feel “sore spots” that need to be addressed!!
What would have to happen for your primary bath to feel spa-like every day?
This is a more abstract question, but does your primary bath provide you a spa-like experience to start and end your day, every day?
If the answer is NO, then there is HUGE functional thinking to do. What storage solutions would you have in a perfect world? What amenities? The bathroom is SUCH an important space that this question can get to the heart of function, look, AND feel all at once…
What kind of cook is your kitchen made for?
This is a fun question to get at the function of your kitchen. Is the space designed for someone who likes to bake? How about someone who uses lots of devices like pressure cookers and blenders? Figure out what cook would feel most at home in the space…
…Are YOU that kind of cook?
If your kitchen is NOT designed for the way you like to cook, that points to a major functional upgrade.
Have you seen what kinds of storage solutions exist now in custom cabinetry?! Just think about…
- Special cookie sheet storage
- Pull-out utensil storage with knife blocks built in
- Practical spice storage where you can see and get to EVERYTHING
- Pull-out solutions that utilize EVERY available space
- Soft-close doors EVERYWHERE
The trifecta of the look, feel, and function of your home means LOVING the décor…LOVING how you feel inside…and LIVING YOUR BEST LIFE.
Whichever of these three things aren’t “giving back” in your home, your home needs you to give some attention in that area. Define the relationship you want with your home. It might be interior design services, renovation services, or a home maintenance plan that makes the difference.
Join our private community to tell us what you discovered about your home and what you dream of doing to elevate it!!
Leave a Reply