“You can look at your home [as having a particular intention.] You’re not setting it up for people to photograph, or for a magazine, but for yourself and your friends and family. It’s a space for human beings.”

‐ Thich Nhat Hanh in Making Space

A Space for Human Beings

Much too often, we allow how we want others to perceive us to take priority in how we design our spaces and let the burden of our belongings to dictate the ways we live. We shouldn’t let these pressures seep in, lest we want to be constantly reminded how much others’ opinions matter to us. (They shouldn’t.)

Instead run the opposite way: embrace imperfection and practicality over flair and flourish.

Keep in mind the people who matter: You, your friends, your family, not a photographer or voice of the judgemental stranger in your head. The people who matter don’t expect a perfect, magazine-worthy home; they want your home to feel like your imperfect, wonderful self.

Put there where they make sense. We should be proud to put our most beloved, most frequently used things front and center. Don’t feel the need to hide everything behind cabinet doors. You should only feel the need to get and put away someone five times a day when you’re staying as a guest in a stranger’s home, not your own.

Don’t decorate for other people. For all those decorative adornments, unless they have a meaning for you or make your feel happy (then the brightly colored pillows or lively green plant serve a wonderful purpose), don’t put something there just to fill the space or because it’s trendy to do so.