In December, I talked about it being up to us to make our homes special. After hearing all of our positive responses, I thought it might be nice to expand on this idea as we head into the new year.

There is an element of the old “Chicken or the Egg” adage when it comes to how a family uses their home. What comes first? Designing the space to better suit your families current needs or designing the space so your family can use it how you ENVISION.

I meet with clients who say… “Oh, we never use the fireplace…” “We never watch movies together…”or “My kids never want to hang out here…” But then I look around the space and see the fireplace hasn’t been maintained, the room doesn’t have comfortable seating, or it feels too hands-off for kids to be kids — and I think, well… there’s your answer. Who wants to curl up with their spouse to watch TV on a tiny ass sofa?!?! (All of you lovely clients know how I like to kick back and binge watch with my hubs when not working!!) Now, maybe you really aren’t the fireside-type family or maybe you and the spouse have really opposite tastes in movies…and no amount of design will change that but I don’t want you to miss the bigger picture. If you ENVISION wanting a family that curls up around a fire to chat, you need to make sure that room is inviting and promotes that kind of behavior. Maybe you COULD find a movie you both agree on if that’s the most comfortable place in the house to watch something and relax. And maybe your teens would hang at home if they had a space that felt like theirs to hang. If you build it… they will come.

So, as we head into the new year… ask yourself are there areas in your home that could be changed to help induce the moments you crave? Again, it’s up to us to identify the tools we need to create the moments and memories we crave.

Here are some fun pieces that look chic and help create a playful inviting space!