Written by Ingrid Gorissen
What is it that makes your house a home? Is it being grounded, having a feeling of connection, smell, sound, seeing, and the taste of memories?
As soon as you open the door, you know that you are at home. Home is a place where you can withdraw from for a while, but only for a short period of time.
It’s that wonderful feeling of coming home that you only get to know when you are gone.
After traveling, after adventure, the unknown … coming back and feeling at ease.
My heart is where my home is. My home is where my heart is!
I sleep easily, find my own habits in the unknown and can realize with great happiness that we live in a beautiful world.
And yet, the longing for home can always overtake me.
It’s the deep longing for my scents, my recycled furniture, my nick-nacks, my colours.
That’s home. Especially when we don’t have our loved ones around us, the feel of them being near can be really important for our wellbeing.
That is why it is so important to make your place, yours.
It needs to be you with all your habits and enjoyments.
Even when it is a bit messy or busy, if you feel good with having your own bits and pieces or your
emotions and memories around you, then it will feel emotionally pleasing.
You might need to have the help from an expert to put it all in balance, so it is easier to enjoy, but the
base for a home has been set. Your heart is exposed.
Do you also know the feeling when you walk into your home and you recognise the smell of it? Your
own smell, like your washing, coffee or baking. Smell is also really important as it is 1 of the 5 senses and we react automatically to them.
It is a comforting feeling of yours, your home, belonging.
We constantly act in response to the incoming stream of information we receive through our senses.
The physical environment impacts across all the senses. Therefore, it makes sense when designing
to consider all the senses and not only the visual aesthetics.
Sight, touch, sound, smell, taste. Our mood, our emotions, our behaviour.
Surround yourself with all the great memories as without knowing it, they will put a smile on your face and will warm your heart.
Memories can be in photo’s but also in recycled furniture, pieces that have been brought back from a
nice holiday or found on the beach.
Beautiful fabrics or rugs that feel warm and cuddly, trigger your sense of touch.
You can use the texture in your home to create the feel you want. Fabric and texture can invite someone to sit and send good vibes through a home, hard surfaces can really make a room feel cold or warm.
Some people for instance like to walk bare feet in a soft and warm carpet and others like the natural feel of tiles. The right curtains can give you that cocoon of comfort or the soft connection to an ocean wave.
Colour can also have a significant impact on feeling of being at home.
Colours you choose for your home will affect your lifestyle. Colours can calm your mind, make you more active, help you sleep, make you happy, and even make you feel hungry.
Colours say something about you as a person and can be an extension of your mood.
So how nice is it to come home in the colour that suit you. Whether that is a lot of pink, a subtle touch of sea green or a contrast between your main colour and the accessories, colours show who you are.
I like to believe that everyone should, needs and deserves a particular place who/what you truly love
and that guides you in your thoughts, wellbeing, giving you a direction in life. Everyone needs that
particular place, being it a home, or a place called home, a place to go back to, to feel connected to, to be your heart.
Wherever you are, that place will give you a feeling of belonging and a longing to be there.