Hi guys! Welcome to episode 550 of the wildly successful lifestyle podcast! So good to be with you. I get super excited when I’m doing an episode that combine my two favorite things. Design and mindset. Mindset is influenced by our environment AND our environment influences our mindset. I think we underestimate this as a society. Our homes should feel the way we want them to feel. But very often they don’t and also very often it can be an easy fix. In this episode, I list the 5 design mistakes that are making you feel off in your space, but you didn’t realize it. I touch on why so many people make these mistakes and also why fixing them matters.
So many times I have new clients who buy an amazing house and then once all their furniture and art and tvs get in, it doesn’t feel the way they want it to feel even though the house is great and they love it, there’s little things that make a HUGE difference that don’t
These are always so fixable. So we have friends that we visited recently where we stayed in their stunning home. While we were there, she asked me what she could do to create a better feel in her house, just kind of casually. Now sometimes people ask that hoping you say “change nothing, it’s perfect”. I have to use my spidey senses to know when someone really wants advice or if they are looking for me to say it’s perfect. So I took it all in because she had honestly asked my opinion. Well we got so busy and there were a lot of people around so we never got to talk about suggestions. Well it just so happened that they were going to be in Memphis the next week so they stayed with us while they were here. At dinner one night we were talking about feng shui when her husband said so what vibe do you get from our house? I had had a cocktail which you know it loosens you up a little bit so. They have a house that is so beautiful the back of the house has an infinity pool which then looks over a beautiful dock on a lake. It really is stunning. But now that they genuinely were asking I told them. I would lower your tv, arrange the living area so that it becomes part of the kitchen area because it feels blocked off. There were a bunch of us visiting and even though the room is adjacent to the kitchen, it felt like you were so separate and you literally had to look way up to see the tv. Also, the lights were all on the ceiling and the ceilings were very tall. I would lower everything visually to make it cozier which is what they said they wanted. And finally the rug could be WAY bigger. All the furniture sitting on it if possible.
These are all easy things they can fix themselves for the most part. They don’t have to move walls, the hardest things will be getting the tv lower which means either redoing the mantel or putting it on the shelf to the right of the fireplace which might be a bit of a hassle but well worth it.
So these 5 things are very fixable without a lot of trouble and I see them all the time.
Rugs are too small
Lighting is discombobulated/space is dark blinds are closed
TV is too high
Furniture placement feels unwelcoming
clutter including dead plants
Those are the 5 I see all the time so let’s quickly break it down. Why are these specific things problems and why does fixing them matter?
Let’s start with the rugs. Have you ever sent the fat guy in a little coat skit on SNL? That’s how I feel when I see a rug that’s too small. It’s a very common mistake and it’s usually made because people underestimate the size of the space and want to play it safe. So we know this will fit, let’s just do that. But with a little thought and some measuring, you can take a space from feeling choppy and off to feeling amazing so quickly with a big rug and men, it’s ok to cover your wood floors. There’s still plenty left showing. This is a game changer.
Number two. Lighting being discombobulated I could do a whole episode on this may do at some point but make sure that all of your lighting is at 2700 Kelvin bulbs the new LEDs have that a lot of those integrated lights which I talked about recently on my podcast are 3000 Kelvin is very cool and it does not make you feel beautiful nor do they make you look beautiful so if you can and you want to feel beautiful and you want to look beautiful get all of your light bulbs on 2700 Kelvin change your Reese cans to 2700 Kelvin the new ones usually give you that option. Also mix it up. Have varying levels of light. Lamps, strip lights all on dimmers. I rarely turn most of my overhead lights on lamps and accent lighting are key and open your shades, blinds, drapes every day. It matters so much for your mindset and your overall happiness. Lighting is one of the most important aspects to your homes feel. Also a total game changer.
TV placement is usually allowed to be dictated by the builder who just through an outlet up above the fireplace and called it a day. That doesn’t have to fence you in. Honestly the tv should be somewhere around eye level when you are sitting to watch it. So counter to I would say 90% of the homes I go in. Nobody wants to sit in the front rows of the movie theaters for a reason. So don’t force yourself into that. Ideally it should be eye level when sitting. It may mean it goes on a shelf. And yes people can still see it from the kitchen. Another game changer.
4th. Furniture placement is trickier. Most people feel you HAVE to build everything around the tv. And You are at the whim of the space you have. If the rooms main function is watching tv then let sure let that dictate the furniture placement but if it’s an area where you would like to have your coffee cozily or have guests over for a glass of wine and conversation then let the tv be a side note. Arrange your furniture so that you have flow all the way around it if possible and it opens to the kitchen area if that’s an option. Having a tall sectional backed up to the kitchen makes that space closed off, definitely blocking the chi of the space. Sectionals are best for family areas where you can just let it all hang out not for areas where you entertain. A sofa and 2 chairs or 2 sofas works really well. And move things around until you get the feel you want. You’ll know it when you get it. It’s a big deal as well.
Finally clutter including dead plants. The reason this happens is We just stop seeing it. It bothers us but in our busy lives, we tend to overlook it. Pretend you are having the most important guest of your life over and walk through each of your living spaces with that thought in mind. You will see everything that is bothering you subconsciously at that point.
Ok! My challenge to you this week is to see if any of these 5 things is going on at your home and fix at least one of them. Any one of these will be a game changer. Share this with three people who want to feel good on their home. I love you guys, I’ll talk to you in a few days!
