There are a million different ways you can decorate your home. You can be a maximalist or a minimalist. You can decorate with bright colors, or stick with neutrals. You can even decorate your home to calm anxiety and promote personal well-being. But if you look around your home right now, do the spaces feel intentional? You should have designated, intentional spaces throughout your entire home, and we’re going to show you how to do it.
Step 1 – Set your intentions
You can’t create intentional spaces without knowing what your intentions are. What do you want each room or space to evoke? For example, do you want a living room that evokes love and family? A home office that evokes ambition? A kitchen that evokes a healthy wellbeing? Map out what is important to you in regards to values, and set your intentions from there.
Step 2 – Cleanse + clear
Now that you know what you want each space to be, it’s easier to see what you don’t need. You’ll want to spend a good amount of time intentionally clearing and cleansing your space.
- Declutter the rooms and donate anything that you no longer need or want.
- Clean the space – Give it a really good deep clean, so you can start totally fresh in the space.
- Clear the energy – Cleanse the energy of the space with sage or Palo Santo.
Step 3 – Define the purpose
For each space you’re working on, you’ll want to ask yourself a few questions.
- What is the purpose of this room?
- Does the layout serve the purpose of this space?
- Does the furniture and décor serve the purpose of this space?
If you find yourself answering “no” to the last two questions, that’s going to be your starting point.
Step 4 – The fun part
Undoubtedly the most fun part of this process is decorating. You don’t need to do a top-to-bottom makeover and drain your savings. But you do want to make sure that everything you have in that intentional space serves the purpose. Don’t go filling the house back up with knick-knacks and junk, you just did all that decluttering work! As a general rule of thumb, each space should have:
- Plants
- Color
- Light
Adding living elements like plants into the space can immediately change the energy and shift the purpose of the décor. Color plays a large part as well. We’ve talked before about how color affects your mood and productivity in your home office, but it’s true for every part of your home. Do you want your living room to be a space for energy and socialization? If so, you’ll want to add in brighter colors such as yellows and reds and pinks. If you want it to be a calming space for relaxation, then you will want to go with blues and greens.
Light plays a crucial role as well. If you want your bedroom to be a haven of rest and refuge, you aren’t going to want to install a giant skylight. Your living spaces and your office, however, would benefit greatly from as much natural light as you can manage.
Step #5 – Cover all the senses
When incorporating color, light and living elements into your space, keep in mind all the other senses. You’ve already covered sight when choosing your décor, but make sure to keep in mind texture as well. Find textiles that bring you joy, and you get excited to sit on or cozy up in. Another important element of creating intentional spaces is scent. If you have pets, kids or both, you’ll especially want to pay attention to this sense. Keep an essential oil diffuser, linen sprays or candles in each room of the house that you’re setting intentions for. The scents you choose can play a huge role in how you perceive the space. Lavender and eucalyptus can create the perfect serene space in your bedroom, where brighter scents such as citrus can help you feel a boost of motivation.
shop our favorite home scents:
It takes some real planning and dedication to create these intentional spaces, but once you do, your house will feel fully realized and a true home sweet home.
