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Five Senses

by | Aug 16, 2007 | Decorating Inspiration

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Five Senses

When beginning to decorate a home, most people immediately start thinking about how the room will look when it is done. And that can stop people dead in their tracks. Trying to put together a room can be daunting. If you aren’t sure of your style, short on time or funds, or just not sure where to begin you can find yourself running around in circles or just plain paralyzed.

As you know by now if you follow my blog or know me at all, ambience and authenticity in the home are the building blocks to everything I do. I can’t imagine doing a home that didn’t address those two issues. But in order to create those two foundations in any home, I must understand certain things about myself or my clients. The five senses are big piece of the design puzzle. I believe a home needs to address all of the senses, according to the taste of the homeowner, in order to feel complete.

If I were to ask each of you which of your five senses were most important to you, everyone probably would have a different answer.

Some people feel most alive with color and pattern and sights. They see everything in all its splendor and beauty. The way the light casts a shadow or illuminates a painting sends chills up their spine! To some, they instinctively reach out to touch something with their hands — they want to feel the texture of a fabric or the smoothness of a stone. Yet others have a keen sense of smell and memories associated with different scents. The smell of lilac from their grandma’s garden or the yummy goodness of bread baking in the kitchen would make them feel at home anywhere. To others, music is their heart and soul. They are soothed by the sounds of water, the whir of a fan, the soft gentle breeze blowing through the curtains. And to the foodies out there, one sip of a good red wine, a taste of a marinara sauce or a piece of fine chocolate makes their hearts sing.

In our homes, all of the five senses are important in creating the ambience of home we all long for. We may be more keenly aware of some of our senses and tend to focus more on those, but for a house to really come alive and have that certain something so many houses are missing, we need to consider all the senses in some way or another.

When you address the five senses in choosing things for your home, you will be creating an ambience and style unique to you! Each choice you make will say something about you. Layer upon layer these choices will create your authentic home.

Because this is a more intricate and involved topic, I will be breaking it down over time, addressing each of the senses and how to incorporate them into your style. I hope you will check back and follow this series. It is one of my favorite topics!

Five Senses

Photos from one of my favorite home product creators: Pine Cone Hill

3 Comments

  1. Terri

    I will look forward to your upcoming posts, as this is an intriguing topic! We like to cook, so our house is always filled (after work, at least) with kicthen smells, but I stay away from other scents because I have headaches and various family members are scent-sensitive. I use all unscented products (even laundry soap, sadly) since besides headaches, I also have eczema and dermatitis on my face – which, since switching to dye- and perfume-free laundry soap has almost disappeared! I love scent, but now it is rare in my house, in products, anyway. I do find that all-natural soaps have the most divine scent and don’t flare up my eczema, so shower-time is my one scent experience of the day…
    Looking forward to your posts and also thanks for the link to Pine Cone Hill – I could spend an afternoon perusing their quilts! And I was shocked to find two retailers in a nearby town of Cochrane! Yay! Looks like a weekend day-trip for me…

    Reply
  2. kara

    melissa,
    glad i took a peek today! we love pinecone hill, it’s on its way to the store soon. love to mix up different patterns so not too “matchy”. looking forward to your future posts.
    best,
    k

    Reply
  3. Beck

    Hi Melissa,
    This is a great idea to discuss! I think that I am a high senses kind of person! :) I am forever touching things in stores- I don’t feel like I’ve really experienced something unless I’ve touched it. But at the same time, I love the way that things look and smells can take me back to pinpoints of time. I’m talking, “that smells like that day when we were 16 and I had a sleeepover at your house’ kind of memories. :) Very connected to smell. And sound, I love the way that music can ground, inspire, relax or get me bopping! Can’t wait to read what you have to share :)
    Beck

    Reply

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