Six Ways Your Home can Feel More Loving

We all want to feel at ease within our homes, and proud to welcome guests. Your home is where you show that you love and are loved, but bar surrounding yourself with hundreds of photos—a trend now well out of date in interior decorating—what tactics can you use to express love? Here are my top six tips to help your home décor feel more loving:

1. SHAPE
And I don’t mean love hearts! In decorating, circles and curves imbue a relaxed and casual feel when compared to formal straight lines or restful horizontal lines. A blend is best—include curvaceous shapes and a few circles, but don’t overdo them or you’ll risk creating a busy space. Florals, circular geometrics, rounded leaves, and soft textured rounded cushions will all help to create a more casual, feminine, soft, and natural feel.

2. ARRANGEMENT
Asymmetrically-balanced spaces have a more informal, loving aesthetic than symmetrically-balanced spaces—that is, a space with the same two items balanced either side of a focal point. For instance, on either side of your master bed, arrange a grouping of three to five items oneside, and three to five different items on the other side, but unite them by using the same style or colours to create togetherness, unity, and a feeling of love.

3. COLOUR
Did you know that the most loving colour on our planet is green? It’s the colour of growth, forgiveness, giving (of time and money), love of the earth, humanity, and animals. The traditional colours of love can have different effects when applied to the home—pink, while sweet, is used to give little girls more energy, while red expresses business, action, male energy, and sex drive. Use green instead to create a loving décor and invite the outside in. It makes your space seem bigger and connected with nature. If you prefer, use green as your base colour with a myriad of other playful, rich jewel hues to create a fun, upbeat, warm and loving décor, as I’ve done in my own home.

4. FENG SHUI
The ancient Chinese art of Feng Shui teaches us to display pairs of images, never just one, in master bedrooms. Photos or art of two people, two matching sculptures, or two lamps are the general idea.Never have anything bulky or heavy-looking above your bed, or mirrors pointing straight out the door. Pairs do create a more formal balance, but in the bedroom, which is typically symmetrically-balanced anyway, it will feel ordered and loving.

5. IMAGERY
Imagery relevant to your dreams, goals, history, and loves,expresses who and what you are. It also helps to reinforce your décor style and colour palette. If you are starting from scratch, begin with your imagery and take its colours, style and theme into the rest of your décor.

6. ART
Art is the easiest way to unite and express all of the above concepts in a single “wow factor” focal point that defines you and helps create a loving atmosphere in a highly visible manner. To warm your space and create luxuriousness, add textures like those found in original art. Art cangive you a sensation of pride in your home every day, truly transforming your house into your home.