Never sacrifice comfort for beauty.

          At first you might think by the title I am saying that you cannot have beauty and comfort at the same time, but in truth I am a firm believer that beauty and comfort are only both at their best when they are paired together. I grew up in a time where houses had the formal dinning or living rooms that were very fancy yet no one in the family was ever allowed to use those rooms. I hope that those are a thing of the past because I believe every inch of space you have in your home should be useable for the whole family, yet to sacrifice beauty for livability takes some of the pleasure out of life in my mind. God himself created flowers with the sole purpose of bringing us joy by their very appearance. The beauty brings a smile to our faces and the smell can even bring about wonderful memories of summer days we enjoyed in times past, they don't have to be functional they are just there for the beauty and our enjoyment. I believe the same should be true of the spaces we live in. Each room should be filled with pleasures for the eye and yet be a place you long to just sit and enjoy, a place to relax and forget the burdens of a long hard work day or the trials of life.

When I decorate a space I first begin with the purpose of the room, is it a gathering place for friends and family like the living room or dinning room, or is it a private space for the home owner alone like a bedroom or bath. Purpose lets you furnish it with a certain task in mind and tells you how many people will have the pleasure of partaking in the results of your design. I desire every room to be filled with a comfort that allows people to feel welcome and wanted but if it is a private space it should be more tailored to the individual then a group. For me nothing is more undesirable than to be invited to someone's home only to find there is no comfortable place to set, or be afraid to move in a space for fear I will break something precious to them. I don't know about you but I am pretty sure I will be looking for an excuse to leave that place as soon as possible. Yet most of us do not invite people over hoping to make them feel unwanted and uncomfortable.

 A room should also express a bit of the personality of the one who owns it. I say a bit because most of us have entered one of those places owned by the hunter who has decorated every spare wall with his latest kill, in those cases a little goes a long way. Yet, my home should reflect me and be first and foremost a place where I am the one who loves my space because it represents me.

Next time you think about remodeling a room in your house I ask you to remember these points.

1. You do not have to sacrifice beauty or comfort, both are needed for the perfect room.
2. Think about the main function of the space and account for the ones who will use it.
3. Let the room share the personality of the home owner because it will be their sanctuary  first.
4. Finally don't be afraid to enjoy the process, a stress free design sets a tone for the room that you display