Decorating our homes is a bit like putting the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle together. Before you begin, you must take time organizing the pieces. Decorating is a reflection of our personal sense of style, taste, and our experiences.

What inspires you, what captures your heart and mind, what do you wish you could do in your home?

Design books, blogs, websites, movies, people, art, nature – all of these things inspire me. How do they inspire me?

Sometimes it’s the turn of a phrase that inspires me to make a change in my living space. Or perhaps make a change in my life. Recently in one of the books I was reading, the French phrase Joie de Vivre (exuberant enjoyment of life), jumped off the page, and I immediately knew that this phrase exactly captured how I feel about my life, my home, my work, my family – everything! And to embrace the power these simple words have for me, I decided to paint them on the wall of my office! Now, whenever I’m sitting at my desk all I have to do is look up and see Joie de Vivre, and my personal life affirmation is affirmed.

Sometimes my inspiration comes from a beautiful image, colors or room design and I’m inspired me to redo a part of my home. I was reading a new design book last weekend and it inspired me to add a lovely shade of cobalt blue to several areas of my home. This is completely new for me as I tend to be more of a green girl than a blue girl, but the robust richness of this color absolutely captivated me and inspired me! Now I can’t wait to begin the process.

Yummy cobalt blue!

Sometimes it’s the beauty in nature, colors, texture, variety that inspires me to incorporate a bit more nature into my home environment. Bringing nature into your home can be as easy as fresh flowers, a new plant or even rearranging my furnishings to take advantage of a beautiful view from my windows.

Anything can be an inspiration, all you have to do is see it and then act on it.

Making our living spaces more beautiful improves the quality of our environments and when the quality of our environment improves, so does the quality of our lives.

The next time you’re watching HGTV, or looking through the latest design book, or taking a walk outside, open your mind to the possibilities, the opportunities that inspire you. You don’t need a decorating plan to create a home filled with warmth, personality and comfort. What you do need is a connection to your inner self, your personal sense of balance and beauty and then trust yourself as you begin the process. And it is a process – trial and error – your spaces constantly evolving just as you are.

“There is no such thing as “wrong” taste or styling, as long as it comes from an authentic place and is ultimately portrayed with confidence.” – Lili Diallo

We all have the ability to create what we love; we just have to believe we can.

© 2011 Harmony Life®, LLC by Laurie Bornstein
Feng Shui Lifestyle™ articles, tips and conversation http://www.fengshuilifeandstyle.com

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