Now that the Christmas decorations are neatly tucked away and things at home look a little bare, it is time to evaluate your rooms and make sure they are saying to you all that you want to convey to your family and friends. Does your home say "don't touch, you might mess me up" or does it say "come in, have a cup of coffee and stay awhile."
I don't know about you, but I hope the latter is true. Some times we can get so wrapped up in creating a beautiful home, that we forget the "comfort" part of the beauty.
Several years ago I sold furniture in a high end design store. I had a gentleman come in looking for a few chairs. In the course of visiting with him, he shared with me the purpose of the search. His children were getting older and he realized how quickly time was going. He wanted to make sure that in the family room there was enough seating for every member of the family. You see to him, it was important that every family member have a place to call their own, a place to be when they all gathered as a family to play a game or watch a movie together. He felt that if there was not enough seating the kids would retreat to their rooms and hide away rather than hang out with the family. Now, he knew that hanging in their room was normal teenage behavior, but he was doing his best to create the environment that would draw them in and keep them around a little bit more often.
I never had the opportunity to check back with him to see if his goal was accomplished, but I have always remembered this. I have tried to create a family space where everyone feels at home. Here is a list of a few things that have helped me to do this
1. Make sure there are enough places to sit .
2. Make sure every area has a place to lay a book or set a glass down.
3. Make the main "hangout" area less formal (perhaps feet on the coffee table could be okay here)
4. Keep a basket of throws and blankets close by for snuggling up with
5. Remember, that others live here and it is not all about me. I can be "anal" about a lot of things, but everyone needs to be
comfortable and feel like they belong
6. Learn to relax and just be... (You have heard me say this before) When mom is relaxed, it sets the tone for the entire
household.
I am sure you could add your own ideas to the list (and I would love to hear them). All in all it is just good to remember that home is and should be a refuge from the outside world, where each member feels loved cherished and comfortable.
How this is created is different for everyone. Won't you join me in making our homes such a place?
Happy New Year! May blessings abound for each of you!
I like the story and what a great idea to have enough seating for EVERYONE.
ReplyDeleteI took out our HUGE coffee table and now have so much more room for our grandchildren and seating.
Great idea!
Oh my Debbie, My family room is real relaxed. There isn't anything formal in it. My honey and I lounge in there watching tv. Age changes the way we think of things. In my younger years, I was picky about "stuff" but now the grandkids have the run of the place. If they want to play with something, I just let them. Precious items are up high and out of the reach of little hands:) Hugs from your Georgia friend and thanks for sharing the chair story!
ReplyDeleteYou are so right Debbie! Great ideas you have shared here.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your sweet visit tonight! You are a wonderful friend and I'm glad we "met".
Many blessings to you in 2010. ~Melissa :)
My husband and I worked with an architect to design our home who gave us some good advice....he told us to keep the bedrooms on the small side because you only want your children to sleep in there. He was right! We don't allow t.v.'s or computers in their rooms either...another idea that worked out well for us. We also put a play room in close to the "action" (kitchen and family room) so they could hang out in there but still feel like they were close.
ReplyDeleteI like your suggestions, especially #'s 5 and 6!
A cozy den is the only way to go!!!! Thanks soooo much for the post...hope you have a good week!
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Linda
What a great story! Now that my kids are older, with one on her own and the other hardly home, I could really do with clearing out some furniture!
ReplyDeleteSigh... We are in a spot. We need some furniture seriously! When we moved, we moved into a bigger place but it had a smaller LR. We got rid of our one love seat and now just have the couch. We don't have enough seating at all. But finding what I want that will go into our home has been very hard... All they sell out there is modern and well I'm not modern in my decor! I don't know how to mix modern and old together! UGH. And I want to paint our LR, but it is one open space into our dining area and I didn't know if I wanted to do that in the same color but it would look like a 3 ringed circus if I did two different colors. I am at a loss!! Even though I feel completely blessed in our new home, there are things D&I want to do but its saving up for things and doing it slowly is how we want to do them because I am not going in debt just to satisfy my itch! LOL. So it's a slow process and here in WA I haven't found furniture that I like much at all...
ReplyDeleteSo much for an upbeat post! LOL. I am upbeat about it, I just got a minute of I want it all fixed right now!!! Actually we shifted our focus to our laundry room, which is the only room in our home not finished. Just the washer and dryer in there and nothing else. So we are going to actually paint in there and get a cabinet to hide the detergent and stuff. You see, I want to decorate in there because we walk in there from the garage, its how we come into our home so I'd like it to be welcoming for us! It's a small space, but I am envisioning it somewhat!!!
Well.. With all this being said you need to come over! LOL.
e.
This is a great post! I think cozy, warm, comforting and inviting works for our family. You included some good suggestions though. Thank you! I want so much for others to sense the hospitality and want to curl up on our sofa.
ReplyDelete