“We shape our buildings and our buildings shape us.” Winston Churchill

We talk a lot these days about wanting our homes to reflect our personalities. For instance, if you like to travel, perhaps you put artifacts from your travels on your coffee table. But have you ever thought on a deeper level about how your home in return can shape and define you?

I was watching The Today Show and they were featuring Charleston, South Carolina. Their story mentioned the idea that the stately beautiful homes and buildings in that area have shaped them and defined them as people–gracious and refined.

Remember in “Gone with the Wind,” when Rhett Butler turns and faces Scarlett O’Hara and says, “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn…”? While that is the part everyone remembers, read the rest of the quote: “I’m going back to Charleston where there is still a little grace and civility left in the world.”

That is so great. It really speaks to why it is so important to our well-being and success in life to create lovely homes that are authentic representations of ourselves–not just flashing wealth or material things, but showing our character and our values. While we are creating a beautiful place to live, we are also shaping ourselves into the very person we want to be in our fullest potential. We take the seed of what we are and what we want to become and by nurturing it in our surroundings it actually comes to be.

What do you think? Do you think by working on your home you can actually shape your life? Something to think about!