The Perfect Home: Myth or Reality?

I myself am still trying to decipher my perfect home ingredients. For me its a combination of a country farmhouse with a big wrap around porch, large yard with a garden and a couple of chickens combined with modern essentials, and clean lines. Throw in a lakefront view, great neighbors and a kid friendly interior and that may just sum it up! Am I dreaming-yeah a bit, but dreaming is what gets you closer to the reality. Dreams are your way of figuring out what fits your lifestyle and loved ones.

Maybe your idea of a perfect home is a high rise condo in the city with slick modern lines and a killer skyline view. Or maybe its a cozy cottage separated from the hustle and bustle of neighboring crowds. Whatever your ingredients call for remember to think about how you want to feel when you are home.

I recently tweeted and posted on my Enabled Space Facebook page the question “What would your dream home be like, what does “home’ mean to you?” The responses were great and included words like:

• cheerful
• comfortable
• haven
• get away
• rejuvinating
• serene
• cozy
• intimate
• sanctuary
• healing
• peaceful
• inviting

See a theme here??? It seems as though people want to come home and unwind, feel safe, and be comfortable to use the place to leave their stress from work and outside world at the door.  So eventhough the word “perfect” means something different to each of us the trend for home design and decoration unites all of us in the fact that we just want to walk in and feel at peace.

So here’s a few quick tips that may help you find that comfort zone in your home space:

1. Choose your favorite colors to paint not what is trendy, surround yourself in colors that bring you utter joy
2. Display heirloom or family objects that provide sentiment and bring about good memories
3. Choose furnishings that coordinate with your lifestyle whether you are an active family, prefer more formal spaces, or want the home to be casual, consider how you truly use the space and not just want you want the neighbors to think
4. Mix it up, don’t be afraid to mix and match, no one’s life is completely solid and if it is we may need to work on that in another blog post : )
5. De-clutter and organize your home so that is is a stress free area for you to come home to. The more organized it is the easier it will be to maintain
6. Create small nooks or intimate spaces so the occupants can get personal downtime areas to read, relax, and hide! Moms you know what I am talking about
7. Don’t be so consumed with making the house “perfect” all the time for those nosy neighbors, remember to personalize and claim your space as your own, perfection is truly in the eye of the beholder. What seems perfect to one maybe be uncomfortable to another
8. Make sure to let the sun shine in, open the blinds, make sure there is enough natural light streaming in, sunlight creates a happiness inside pyschologically so don’t be such a hermit, allow the light to come into your space wherever you can
9. Rotate your accessories and move around your furniture at least once a year, preferably once a season. It’s amazing how fresh and new a room can feel with some new throw pillows, fresh flowers, and a rearranged space. Grab a friend, pick up the other end of that sofa, sweep out the dust bunnies and try a different angle, it can bring a whole new perspective to a space
10. Finally, don’t forget that your home is a safe zone for self expression, your home shouldn’t look like everyone else’s, inside it should show off your personal tastes, collections, and things that make you smile. Don’t worry if it doesn’t look like the magazines, because the “perfect” home is what is perfect to you

So is the idea of a perfect home myth or reality? I personally don’t like the word perfect because I don’t believe it really exists. But what I do know is that perfection is about being true to your self and simply putting things you love in your home. If you do that you will feel comfortable, and it will give you the peace we are all craving.