Living in Your Design

THE most important thing to remember when designing your space is that you will have to live there- day in and day out, through all the seasons (let’s just assume you’re like me and don’t have multiple properties). Your divine looking space must also function for you and your family. It really takes a lot of forethought to design a place that meets all of your needs. You must consider the tiniest of details of your day to day life- where do you take off your shoes? How much storage space do you really need in the kitchen? What things do not currently have homes that need them? These details will be the ones that make your house into more than a showpiece. You also need to think about how you would like to use your space that you are not currently using it as. Maybe you’d like to entertain and will need room for that, even though you don’t currently. Make sure to include your daily living routines into your plan for home design so that your house becomes a functional and comfortable home.

Starting at the Front Door

   I am going through the process of re-decorating the main living areas of my house. After a year of living here, and many different plans and directions; I have finally landed on something solid. I love my bedroom, even though it still has unfinished touches. When I walk into it, I smile, my blood pressure lowers, and I feel calm. I need that same feeling from the rest of my house. It finally occurred to me that I need to decorate the rest of the house in the same style as my bedroom, rather than going in a different direction. Duh! So, the front door seemed like a logical place to start, especially since I already had a cabinet that was functional. I had painted some side tables in a hammered silver finish and loved them, so silver was a no-brainer for this formerly dark cabinet. It brightens up the small entryway and gives it more modern feel. I added a vintage tray to catch the mail (which is also sentimental, because it belonged to my husband’s grandmother), and a vase of roses so that we are welcomed home by all of our senses. The cabinet already worked well to catch all of my husband’s pocketfuls of bits and bobs in the drawers, as well as housing ads and coupons. There is a coat closet just past this cabinet, which helps to keep everything else organized. I left space on top of the cabinet for me to place my purse as I come in the door, and I will add a mirror when I find the perfect one.