How to create a home that supports good emotions and relationships

Imagine that each room of your home could talk. It sounds like something out of a fantasy book, but, in reality, your home reflects your life, including your mindset, emotions and relationships. It can also support beneficial thoughts, emotions and relationships, just as it supports your lifestyle.

Think about it: When rooms in your home are cluttered or disorganized, how does that make you feel? Does it mimic any chaos or over-commitments in your life, or a feeling of lack of control? And, when you organize the space, or freshen it up by adding something new, do you feel more energized or calm?

Even if you don’t notice your home’s effect on your mental health, “the environment itself subconsciously affects the human worldview, life attitudes and even the feeling of happiness,” according to Psychreg, which provides information on psychology, health and wellness and has won awards for its mental health blogs.

“With all the uncertainty in the world, our homes become more and more of a sanctuary, so it’s important to cozy up your place,” said Kasia Karska, owner of Kasia Karska Design in Eagle.

She’s seeing more people remodeling their homes right now, perhaps due to “feeling uncertain and wanting to improve their homes because of what’s going on,” she said.

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A fun little exercise involves going through each room in your house, noting its purpose and then identifying ways it might need help in serving that purpose. Let’s take a look.

Entryway

This welcomes guests and forms first impressions, but it also greets you daily after what may have been a stressful day at work or just a tiring day on the mountain. What tone does your entryway set, and how can you change or enhance that?

In one Eagle Home, Karska designed a huge wall of glass that opens to a sun-drenched atrium with inviting seats and a hot tub. The entryway acts as a retreat, which reflects the homeowner’s value of indoor-outdoor living.

Mudrooms might be part of lower-level or side entryways. This room is all about function. Even if you don’t have a mudroom, do you have enough closet space or hooks to store gear? After all, you don’t want to have to work too hard before your mountain adventures. Organizational systems ensure you don’t forget any necessary gear.

Bedroom

This represents your most intimate self, as well as your relationship if you’re cohabitating, according to Huffpost.com. It’s also the place you go for restorative sleep. Consider how your bedroom can invite more calm and even more intimacy within yourself or between you and your partner. Televisions or laptops can act as a distraction, as can clutter.

To warm up the bedroom — or any room in your home — Karska recommends lighting beeswax candles, which are used in sanctuaries, such as churches.

“They do change the mood,” she said. “Yellow gives warmth and happiness.”

Elizabeth Basso, owner of Basso Interiors in Eagle, treats her nightstand as a pedestal for cheerful and soothing color. Because of their continual blooms, she usually has orchids on her nightstand. She also changes out white bedding in favor of colorful, patterned bedding. She says each color contributes to the overall feel of a room, so choose colors that reflect your goals in this room, for instance, soothing blues for a good night’s sleep.

“Color is magical. Don’t be afraid of color. Use the color you like to change the mood,” Karska said about employing color in your home through everything from an accent wall to throws or pillows. “Fresh flowers and plants are always wonderful, especially in the winter because they bring cheerfulness during dark days.”

Closet and bathroom

Functionally speaking, these are where you prepare for, and ultimately end, the day. Cluttered, overstuffed closets contribute to overwhelm; when you can’t easily pick out an outfit due to lack of organization, you don’t start the day easily, with clear, swift decision-making.

Meanwhile, your bathroom can contribute to a sense of harmony and peace if it’s clean and spa-like, or it can be an unpleasant place to start and finish your day. Consider how your closet and bathroom are working for you, and decide on any necessary changes.

Yvonne Jacobs, owner of Jacobs + Interiors in Edwards, recently remodeled a Bachelor Gulch home in which the owners didn’t have room for all of their toiletries, so her team installed a tower of cabinetry between the two vanities, allowing the homeowners to store items and keep everything organized, rather than cluttering their countertops. The team also replaced a built-in tub surrounded with tumbled, yellowish-brown tiles with a freestanding tub to create a more spacious feeling.

Kitchen

This is the heart of the home, the place you literally create nourishment for yourself and your loved ones. Is the layout functional, or does it take more effort than it should to cook? Is there enough space to store ingredients and equipment, or do you have to cram things into cabinets that don’t make items easily accessible? Does the layout support your lifestyle, in terms of an open layout and peninsulas or islands for people to sit and chat?

Obviously, layout issues require a larger commitment of renovation, so if you’re not ready for that, consider how you can rearrange often-used items to make them more accessible, how you can declutter and how you can nurture your health by mindfully choosing what you buy.

Great room

This is the place that everyone gathers. Is yours open and inviting? Sometimes, all it takes is switching out old furnishings with contemporary styles.

For example, on that same Bachelor Gulch home, Jacobs updated the main rooms with mostly paint and new furnishings. She removed leather sofas, red-toned, overstuffed chairs and heavy-looking coffee tables and rearranged furniture patterns by creating two seating areas: one near the fireplace and another near windows. Her clients chose a blue and white palette, and the new, sleek lines of the furnishings suddenly made the stone fireplace look lighter, rather than heavy, she says.

Powder room

This small but potentially potent space can feature custom finishes or unique fixtures; it’s a place to focus on details that wow guests.

“The benefit of powder rooms being small spaces is that changing a few items can make a large difference for a small price tag,” said Emily Warren, an architect and project manager at Shepherd Resources in Edwards.

Other rooms

Offices and rec rooms speak for themselves when it comes to function. Does your office support your work through functional organization, and does the rec room scream: Let’s have fun?

The home is a sanctuary, so it’s fitting for many homeowners to create a sacred space, whether that’s a small altar or an entire yoga room. Based on Feng Shui principals, Karska recommends placing altars in the northeast corner of the bedroom or the home. You might add candles, photos, a crystal, flowers, incense or anything that reminds you to slow down and enjoy life. During the new moon, Karska writes down her intentions for the coming weeks and places it on the altar.

“Everything starts with a thought, so it’s good to set intentions in the morning,” she said.

And, remember, when setting intentions for the space you live in, it’s all about taking little steps. Kasia recommends letting go of rigidity and perfection and simply starting anew each day, motivating yourself by acknowledging the progress you’ve made and reminding yourself how moving toward your goal benefits you and your family.