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A Home That Tells Your StoryAlexandra Angle Interior Design
via House Beautiful November 2017

We all long to make our house a home. This time of year, I feel like we especially crave a sense of “belonging” in our home. Ya’ know what I mean? As we are getting all cozy and nestled into our home for the season and the holidays, I believe we are (maybe even subconsciously) creating the life we want, too. We’re hopefully designing an ambience and mood to facilitate an experience.

If you’re a regular here, you’ve heard me say it before but the creation of a home and life are quite intertwined. Our home can inspire us and be inspired by us. This incredible room (above) from this month’s House Beautiful (Alexandra Angle Interior Design) so beautifully conjures up a mood that reflects the life of the people who live there. I bet the owners truly feel as though they belong in that space. (I’d happily belong there, too, hahah!).

When our home reflects our heart, our soul, our life, our family, we can’t help but feel warm fuzzy feelings about the place we live. How we design our home tells our story in so many ways! And how we design our home can write our story, too.

A Home That Tells Your Story

You might remember that I shared some of my thoughts on this in Love the Home You Have, but today I’d love to hear your thoughts! Let’s chat.

Are you mindful of the life you want to live as you design your home?

Do you consider a sense of “belonging” in your home?

Have you started thinking about the upcoming holidays? What mood and experience do you want to create in your home?

PS. I’m SO excited about the upcoming holidays! YAY! Stay tuned, friends. We’ll be sharing aaaall the inspiration.

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13 Comments

  1. Jo Jo

    We moved into our newly built home a little over a year ago and I have to say, the interior, design and style-wise is a real departure from our last home that we spent the last 28 years! It’s been so much FUN making this new house our HOME. Took your advice while we were preparing to move and decluttered and only kept what we loved and felt was beautiful and useful. Makes such a difference. Our home now tells the story of US presently, in this new season of life, empty- nesters. We both feel such a connection to this home already and we miss it when we’re not here. We kept things from our past, but have been making new memories here and our home certainly reflects our part AND present. There truly is…NO PLACE like HOME! ❣️

    • Melissa @ The Inspired Room

      So fun, Jo Jo! I love it!! That’s the best feeling. Sounds like you’re in the right place and are making it the perfect spot for you!! <3

    • SUSAN SHIPE

      Jo Jo, I love your comment – it inspires me! We are selling our home of 29 years and downsizing – I love your advice. We’ve been empty-nesters for 21 years but stayed in the nest! I am so looking forward to the re-design. Thanks for your inspiration!

    • Shirley Orfanella

      After 30 years of raising our family in this home, it is time for a new life of carefree living. Time to downsize and sell! Even though it will be sad to leave our home, it has been freeing to sort, throw out or give away things. I advise my clients on this subject all the time, BUT now it’s personal & it’s more difficult that I could have imagined. Also, having a Pack Rat Hubbie does not help! We will be renting for a year or two until we decide where the new adventure is taking us, so that adds an element of uncertainty…even though certain things may not be needed at the cottage, maybe we should keep them because it may be needed in our condo in the future. That 2-step move has definitely added to the difficulty in downsizing. But, I refuse to live in a rental unit! I’m determined to love the rental cottage and make living in the country not only a new adventure but create treasured memories there! #emptynester #towngirlbecomecountrygirl #lettheadventurebegin #lifestooshort

  2. Deanna Rabe

    I love this! I really do believe in making a home that reflects who we are as a person or family and not just what’s on trend.

    I am thinking about the holidays, and will start Christmas shopping soon. I like to find things that are meaningful to each person even if the gift doesn’t cost much. A found dish for a collection, a book by a favorite author, etc…

    Right now I’m thinking of Thanksgiving: who we might include in our day, what we’ll serve and how I’ll set the tables.

  3. Chy

    We designed and built the home we’ve now lived in for 2 years around our lifestyle and our hopes and dreams for our future. It’s not a typical house for our area but because we’re in the country, we didn’t have to follow the trends, which was so freeing! I love our eclectic English Cottage, French Country House, Craftsman, Victorian, Farmhouse styled home that is truly our signature. It’s hard to leave at times but such a joy when we come home. Enjoying Fall, finishing up this year’s landscaping, looking forward to the cozy days and nights that are on their way. No plans in place yet for Christmas. We’ll see as we get closer. Great post – thanks for sharing! Chy

  4. Heidi

    I definitely think we should create a home that speaks to our personality and lifestyle. We are in the midst of redecorating and organizing. When my husband and I first got together we just kind of bought lots of mismatched stuff but now after a few years we are honing in on our style. Thankfully we both have the same sense of home decor! :)
    That first photo by the way is just gorgeous!!

  5. Amy

    I have definitely curated our home’s furnishings and decor with meaningful things, something that was moved to the forefront of my consciousness by Melissa and her blog around 5 years ago. I don’t decorate by the trends I see in the blogs, but rather with things that spark joy for me and my family. So, yes, I agree that in surrounding yourself with meaningful things, whether they be old or new, you are creating the life you want because you are evoking those pleasant feelings when you can look around your home and smile at lots of great memories. Christmas for me is about embracing my German heritage and displaying vintage Xmas decor to inspire fond memories and a cozy atmosphere.

  6. Anna Snell

    When I was thinking about what I wanted my first apartment as a married woman to look like I thought of the things my husband & I love – we love adventure & people – and so I started collecting landscape paintings I found at local “junk” (I call them “treasure”) stores to hang on the walls to inspire us. Also I made sure that whatever we brought into our little home would make us and any guests we had come over feel comfortable and easy – I decided trying to love the people in our life was more important than impressing them, but I think beauty can be comfortable too!

  7. Debbie - MountainMama

    I always like to think that my home reflects me and my family – not trends, not something that’s just a fleeting thing, but something that is lasting and will always be ‘current’ for my family and my life. That’s not to say I don’t change with the times, but I am not someone who follows trends, I would rather my home be cozy and as timeless as possible, with simple change outs to keep it fresh as needed.

  8. Pat M.

    As they say, change is inevitable, and that applies to how we live in our homes. Early on, our design and use may reflect our carefree, single lives, then come children and a huge change in how we live as we adapt to what is best for the entire family. We may, along the line, view our homes from a frequent entertainer’s point of view, and then the permanent empty nest is upon us and all the previous designs and uses are out of date. I’ve been an empty nester (and single) for many years and find that it’s been necessary to create a home that will work for me – the design conveniences that are needed in my later years, the coziness and warmth that old bones require and letting go of past clutter and living for today in the best way possible. It’s still a pretty home, just a couple of generations away from where my design and use began. It’s all good, but change is not only inevitable, it’s necessary for our well-being.

  9. Claire

    We have ben married for 43 years and have beautiful things from both families that we’ve incorporated in all our homes. In addition, we’ve added things we both love, pictures, art, etc. The greatest compliment we have had about our home (we’ve been here almost 20 yrs) came from a friend who said every time she came over, she felt “so at home she wanted to kick off her shoes and curl up on the sofa). That to me is a home that makes not only the inhabitants, but friends, feel comfortable and welcome. I wouldn’t trade anything in this home.

  10. franki

    I had to (downsized, too…) leave my beautiful English Tudor of 43 years (which, by the way, I LUV’D!!) to live in a log cabin in a rural area that was a weekend getaway for the past 30 years. What a shock to my system and to leave most of my “city” belongings behind. *sigh* I’m finally getting adjusted and decided to “like” this place full time. It really is a beautiful setting….franki

 

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