Many people visit my home leaving with the inspiration to go back to their own space and make something more out of it. An Interior Designer and artist by trade, I must admit my house is quite fun, inspiring and artsy. I have always been very specific about how I personally keep my home. It is properly Feng Shui’d, inviting, cozy and my outside gardens look charming and very much loved. I’ve worked hard on all of these elements because I love working on where I live.
Once someone said to me, “I can’t believe you are landscaping the outside of your home, you’re renting!” They looked shocked and worried for me. I quickly replied back to them, “I just don’t think like a renter. It’s not fun. I have never been one who spends my time somewhere just ‘living to move’!” I have also planted thousands of dollars of Perennials plants in the gardens. How is a garden enthusiast supposed to live?
I am always going to make my home the most beautiful and relaxing place that I can make it. When you are always justifying your life because of this or that, it won’t be worth it in the long run. The mentality that people have about their home, apartment, or even the room they rent, reflects on the mentality that they have about everything. I can tell right away when I walk into someone’s home whether or not they are happy with their space, or if they are waiting to move someday soon. When one is waiting to move, you can usually tell, for their home can lack sparkle and love. There is simply no ‘happy to be here’ energy, within the space.
I don’t think that there are too many of my kind out there. I have fixed up any place that I have been in (within reason) and painted all of the walls to make them feel fresh and new. To me, painting walls within a space clears away any of the previous tenant’s/ homeowner’s energy. It’s like hitting the reset button for the space’s energy. Outside, I have always planted beautiful gardens, taken care of everything, done a bit extra, etc. You would literally think that wherever I have lived, even if I was renting, that I owned my space. This is because I take so much pride in where I live. Why wouldn’t I? I live there!
I went over to a friend’s house a while back and as I came up the stairs to her main living area, she said “I wish my house could be as cozy as yours. I hate this place. I can’t do anything with it and I can’t wait to move one day.” I told her right away that any space can be artsy, magical, inspiring, loved, etc. The reason she found her place so hard to work with was because she was living to move. How can she find comfort and inspiration in a space that she can’t wait to get out of? After giving her a new perspective of the way she was living, after two years of living in her home she became inspired to start loving the space she was in. Whether she is going to move or stay, she will find happiness in the space she is in currently. Too bad she wasted two years of not loving her home.
Living to love your space is one of the most important things you can do for yourself. Your environment plays a massive role in how creative you are, how good you feel and how inspired you become every day. It’s a great thing when you can wake up pleased about your environment. Making my place cozy, interesting and inspiring are big priorities of mine. It is so important to make all of the areas of your life good, even your living space. You don’t need to surround yourself with expensive items and live in a mansion on the water for your space to feel great. You can simply do your best to make your environment a place of inspiration, creativity and love. This could easily happen with you setting the intention that your house is a space of good energy. This could easily happen with you hanging your favorite crystal in a window, burning scented candles, repainting a room, changing up your decor, actually cooking in your kitchen, or even by having a small ceremony to make your deck a ‘creative space’.
I understand that some people cannot make changes to their homes for many different reasons. Possibly, someone cannot find the actual feeling of ‘peace’ within their home to be able to ‘love where they live’. Whether it is a place in a forest, a park, a library, or friend’s house; make a space where you know you can feel at ease, inspired and happy. You might not be able to physically decorate the space, but you could bring your favorite candle to the park and burn it as you read your favorite book. Whether you are renting, own your home, moving in two months, or have 2 roommates; every day of your life counts. Give it that ‘loved’ energy. Make your home your favorite place. Make it inspiring, creative and unique to you. This goes for your vehicle too. You can always tell when someone is with another person just for convenience and not for love, can’t you? It’s the same thing when it comes to one’s home. I guarantee that if you get into the mindset of living to love your space, no matter how long you are there for your life will change for the better. I dare you to love all of your spaces. It will change your life.
Originally published at medium.com