Functional, Peaceful and Beautiful
by John & Sherri Monte
Photos by Miranda Estes Photography
It’s no secret that everything we’ve experienced so far in 2020 has changed our perspectives of home, forever. For many of us, our homes suddenly, without warning, became the place our entire lives would revolve around. And to be quite frank, when it comes to comfort, it can be overwhelmingly difficult to go from spending a little time in the morning (or evening) and a couple of extra hours during the weekend, to spending nearly every waking moment of your day at home for weeks –– and what’s now becoming –– months on end.
…”we’re asking ourselves what do we need from our homes to live the life we truly want.”
Looking forward, as our everyday routines slowly begin to take us further and further away from our homes again, one thing that remains constant is an almost universal hope and the necessity for our homes to be many things. For many of us, we’re asking ourselves how our homes can be what they’ve always been, but also make room for designated home offices, gyms, and workspaces for school, too. We have a renewed desire for our homes to be clean, healthy, and safe, while also feeling comfortable, inviting (yes, we’ll get there), and functional for everyone who lives there.
With that in mind, as an expert interior designer and professional organizer, here are a few things to consider to get you started towards creating a home that’s functional and family-friendly.
IDENTIFY FUNCTIONAL SPACES
Before we ever deep-dive into the land of designing a beautiful living room, kitchen, or bedroom, you have to first identify how you’ll use the space. And while the main functions of those spaces are fairly obvious (relax, cook, sleep), their secondary activities aren’t, but they’re arguably just as important.
Not everyone has an extra room for their guest bedroom, home office, their gym or where their kids will do their school work, so we really have to consider how we plan to use them (or how others plan to use them) before we begin thinking about all the beautiful design elements of the space.
In other words, we’re asking ourselves what do we need from our homes to live the life we truly want. Identifying functional spaces before designing them aligns our desires for our lives with the home we live in.
DEFINE CLUTTER + RID YOUR HOME OF IT
When we begin to look at how we live in a space with an unbiased eye, we realize we all just have a lot of stuff. Stuff lying around, stuff in closets, attics, garages, and pantries. And clutter has a lasting effect on our well-being. But how do we know what’s valuable stuff vs what’s clutter?
The truth is, with over a decade of experience as a professional organizer, what’s clutter in my eyes can in fact be a deeply cherished moment in your own life. So, we define clutter as an excess of stuff that rears its ugly head in our physical, mental, and emotional lives.
We know that we have too much stuff in our lives when we’re constantly overwhelmed and frustrated with stuff being everywhere, stuff being lost and stuff being bought that we know we already own.
At the end of the day, decluttering your home isn’t about getting rid of everything you own, it’s about making room for the things that matter most.
WHAT YOU BRING INTO YOUR HOME MATTERS
A home should tell a story. Your story and your family’s story. Each design decision you make, whether you’re thinking about the color of your walls or each time you purchase something and bring it into your home, realize that you’re adding to the story you want to tell.
So, investing the right time, energy, and of course money in finding these pieces for your home gives you a deeper appreciation for where things come from and how they’re made. We live in a culture that is focused on quick fixes and same-day delivery, but being intentional about the things you buy is not only important, it saves you time, energy, and money later.
“creating a home that you just slip right into because it’s so peaceful + beautiful”
If you’re curating things with the right intentionality for your home, it ensures that what you buy will last. It will live up to the demands of who you and your family are and how you want to live your life.
Whether you’re focused on identifying the function of each space, eliminating clutter, or investing with intentionality in the things you purchase, you can rest assured that you’re creating a home that’s functional, forgiving, and family-friendly for everyone.
We live in a world that revolves around going further + faster, but home is about living slower + closer. It’s about taking the ordinary-everyday- life + creating a home that you just slip right into, because it’s so peaceful + beautiful.
And to support you along your journey, you can see Elegant Simplicity’s FREE Video Course: 4 Days To A More Beautiful + Functional Home.
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