The Centric Home: Self Esteem and Decorating

Everyone craves a home environment that pleases the eye and nourishes their soul. Our homes are our sanctuary, respite from the world and the heart of our families. How does an average person achieve this seemingly impossible task?

Home & hearth via Pinterest

Let's start by defining the three D's:

~Decor is the style or scheme you choose in a room or your home.

~Decorate is the fashionable and beautiful choices made to put in the decor.

~Design is the creative process, the external being pen to paper and the internal being what your heart desires.

To further define: a house is the building and products within the walls, a home is internal. It's your feelings of comfort and peacefulness. It can be anywhere. Remember the adage "a home is where the heart is"? It's that feeling of Saturday afternoons watching movies on TV, cooking at Gramma's side or making paper dolls with your sister. It is that softer, satisfied portion of your psyche. Your internal sense of home is already there! Trust in your own feelings of home, they belong to you. I once worked with an older man that wanted a round bed in his red and white velvet master bedroom. It was to be similar to the bedroom of a past amour! You are the only one that knows your personal style.

Anyone can rush out to a home decorating store to fill up your space or hire the best decorator in town for the most fashionable look. You can deplete your bank account and still be uncomfortable in your home. People nervous about their sense of home assume they need experts to make the decorating choices. Could you live with the stress of someone else's taste in your home? I don't think you could for very long. Our homes would be beautiful and current but lack soul and comfort. Read Nate Berkus' book "The Things That Matter" for a tear-jerking story on decorating with beloved items.

Why are we so afraid to make decorating decisions in our own homes? Here's the deal. When we open our homes to guests, we are putting our lives on public display. We are open to criticism from our peers. There is pressure to be trendy and "updated". What will people think of us? What if my style doesn't fit what everyone else is doing? So to create a home that nourishes your heart's desire you need to work from the inside out, know and be secure in what you like.

My advice is to make list of things you love. Write down feelings, textures, times of day, whatever makes you feel those homey thoughts and give you that loving experience in your mind. The next step is to collect pictures and swatches of items, fabrics and colors that are representative of those feelings. Look in trade magazines (that's what they're published for, IDEAS not copying), surf the net, shop fabric stores for swatches and bring home some paint chips. Put them together on a color board like the pro's do. Here is a good tutorial on making one if you need help. To decorate for your heart, this will be your roadmap!

Color board via Google

Now I'm not saying you may not need help to pull this off. If you want a certain shade of blue that represents a robin's egg you found as a child, the color board could help a paint salesperson get the idea. Smart phones are a perfect tool for this. Snap a pic of the sofa in one store, show the lamp salesperson in another and ask if your selection is the right scale to work. Ask for help when you need to, professionals are in all departments of home improvement. Just be certain the mood stays true to your heart. A collage of ideas is a gift when you hire a designer too. A good one will get where you're headed and help you tweak it without judgement of your taste. I'll say it again; trust in your own feelings of home, they belong to you!