Category: You

How Home Makes My Heart Feel

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Function
You

How Home Makes My Heart Feel

Homeward Bound.

Home for me has always been my safest place in the world. It was in the Fraser Valley- Maple Ridge, BC – on a beautiful piece of acreage. It was spacious, functional and fun. It was something I was unbelievably proud of; always full of food, family and friends. It was my place in the world to feel safe, no matter what. When I came back home from university in Nova Scotia, home was always there waitingfor me. I knew how blessed I was to have this anchor of home. It was a physical place to me as well as a feeling in my heart. At the time, I didn’t distinguish the difference, they were synonymous.

Lost. 

It was in 2012 we lost my father to suicide. The loss was and still is unfathomable. It threw our entire family & community in the deep end of mental health awareness. It left a gaping hole in everyone that knew him. I was left… shattered. I needed to go home, but it didn’t feel the same anymore. The safe feeling in my heart was gone. Shortly after, we sold the family home & property along with a lot of our family possessions. My physical anchor and safe place in the world was gone. At the time it felt like that experience might last forever. After the sale, I ended up renting an semi- furnished apartment off a family friend in Vancouver. It was a space that never felt like mine – I wasn’t sure how it felt, but I know how it didn’t feel, like home. 

Found. 

The next year or so was a blur of trying to make sense of what was now my new normal. It was in late 2013 I moved out of that semi-furnished apartment in Vancouver and into a basement suite in Burnaby with my new partner. I was working for my mom’s interior design firm, Good Space, answering phones at the time. The interior designers at the studio offered to help mock up some space plans for me of my new basement suite with the few furniture pieces I had accumulated. 

They showed me the best flow for the open space feeling of my basement suite and also helped me make a shopping list of things to get for the space in the future. The day my partner and I moved in, we followed our floor plans and began to set up our new space. I filled the shelves with my things, I set up the lamps I had, side tables and some of the personal possession I had at my family home. I felt better about my new space but it wasn’t home, it wasn’t the safety and security I once knew. I didn’t know how to shift this, I felt very stuck.

Home is Created. 

Let’s jump forward to 2019. I still live in Burnaby, still live in a basement suite, and still living with my partner. If you were to ask me today where my safest place in the world is, I would have to say the home my partner and I created in Burnaby. I reflected on how I got here from where I was before and it was a combination of things:

  • Addressing function first in the space I am living, working and playing. It was really thinking about how I use the spaces in my home and honouring their purpose. 
  • Putting aside the desire to have my home look a certain way and understand its about how I want to feel about the space.
  • Making goals and lists for things to get in the future to always be improving the space and function around me. 
  • Most importantly, giving my home the attention it was asking for. 

I honoured that it wasn’t something that was just going to happen, or somewhere that I could just show up at, expecting something from. It is an experience that I am capable of creating in any place I live. It needed nurturing, creating, love and energy. 

I learned that home is something I can create anywhere I want to. It’s a combination of energy, function, purpose, my possessions and their meaning to me. It’s a place and feeling that I have learned is both tangible and yet intangible.

Styling a Room – What Does That Mean?

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Goods
You

Styling a room versus filling it with crap… there is a book for that.

During my most recent  book shop crawl I found this gem of a book called Styled: Secrets for Arranging Rooms, from Tabletops to Bookshelves by Emily Henderson. If you have art and travel treasures and things you love and find beautiful and meaningful and want to display them in a way that honours them and inspires you then this book is for you!

Define Styling…

Interior design is a mix of technical work and artistry. I define “styling” for our clients as placing and arranging all their art, collections, books and “treasures”. Styling with art and objects that have beauty and meaning. This is the perfect way to finish a technically well planned space. Styling a room is like the jewellery on an outfit. It finishes it and adds soul to the space. It reflects the most important thing about your space which is you.

What I believe:

I believe the things you have in the room should have meaning and value to you.  In that they make you happy or remind you of people or experiences that feed your soul. Things that inspire you with their beauty or function. The bags of knick knacks from home decor shops dragged into your home in the hope of injecting this feeling is futile. I strongly discourage it! Personally I am not a fan of over doing “stuff” in a room. Stuff for stuff sake or “shelf shit” as my friend calls it detracts rather than enriches a space. An empty shelf or table top is better than one that is filled with things that mean nothing to you.

How Good Space Plans Online deal with Styling:

We have worked out a way to help our Good Space Plans Online clients with styling. Good Space can do that when we are not in the same city  let alone the same room!  There is a great styling section in the Good Space online plans that we create for our clients.  I know this is really helpful for hanging art and placing treasures

Happy Styling!

 

How to improve your home for free!

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You

What if there was something totally free that you could do to feel good in your home even if your home isn’t perfect or close to how you want it to look yet?

What are you focusing on?

It​ ​is​ ​becoming​ ​a​ ​well​ ​documented​ ​scientific​ ​fact​ ​that​ ​our​ ​brains​ ​search​ ​out​ ​and​ ​hang​ ​on​ ​to​ ​the negative.​ ​I​ ​invite​ ​you​ ​to​ ​start​ ​to​ ​notice​ ​when​ ​you​ ​do​ ​this​ ​about​ ​your​ ​home.  Raise​ ​your​ ​hand​ ​if​ ​you​ ​have​ ​ever​ ​welcomed​ ​guests​ ​at​ ​the​ ​door​ ​and​ ​immediately​ ​apologized for or pointed​ ​out a​ ​mess​ ​or​ ​a​ ​flaw​ ​in​ ​your​ ​wall​ ​or​ ​furniture?​ ​My​ ​hand​ ​just​ ​went​ ​up​ ​for​ ​sure!  

We​ ​unconsciously​ ​and​ ​sometimes​ ​consciously​ ​find​ ​the​ ​flaws​ ​or​ ​failings​ ​of​ ​our​ ​homes, furniture​ ​and​ ​fittings​. This causes us to ​spend​ ​precious​ ​energy​ ​focusing​ ​on​ ​it​ ​without​ ​any​ ​intent​ ​or willingness​ ​to​ ​take​ ​action​ ​to​ ​change​ ​it.​ It becomes a habit and unknowingly starts to change the relationship we have with our homes. ​I​ ​don’t​ ​believe​ ​this​ ​serves​ ​us​ ​or​ ​gives​ ​our​ ​homes​ ​the love​ ​they​ ​require​ ​to​ ​support​ ​us​ ​as​ ​we​ ​live​ ​our​ ​busy​ ​modern​ ​lives.

What we focus on expands.

There is a fun game that my grandson and I play it can be played inside or outside. We say,  find all the blue or red or yellow and it is amazing what we see. Suddenly so many objects with that colour appear and we didn’t notice them before. All that changed was that we focused and looked for it! I think this is true about our homes too. If we focus on the flaws then they too seem to expand and become all we see.

Change the focus.

It seems reasonable to conclude that  if it works one way then it can work the other way too. By focusing on what we love or what makes us feel good in our homes we expand and notice these things instead. This seems like a healthier more productive practice. To be grateful for those things that sustain and enrich us and to openly express what we are grateful for and love about our homes feels so much better. This becomes the path to making good choices and planning for changes to our homes.

Let’s find the good and build on that.

Through our work as interior designers we have the privilege of helping people find the good in their homes as we work together to create beautiful and sustaining spaces. Whether it is online or in person we believe this is the foundation of our work. Find the good and what our clients feel they really need and want in their homes and build on that!

Interior Design for Small Spaces – A Good Space Plans Online Four Part Series – Part 4

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Light
You

Lighting Design for Your Small Space

The final of a four part Good Space Plan Online series.

Lighting, we can’t say enough about it!

Good Space Design Group - Marinaside Crescent Project

We believe well considered lighting is essential for your comfort. This is particularly important in small spaces where one room has an influence on the next. The reason being they share the lighting.  Firstly, we put dimmers on all the switched fixtures and then we drill down on the details.

If there is a dining area fixture…

Good Space Project - Osler Street

We like to play with scale and select a maximum sized dining fixture that is fabulous to look at and delightful to experience.  A big “ta-da” with lots of light and interest. It is the star of the show. Once this is in place all the other lights can quietly do their job. These fixtures work by supporting the space, providing general lighting and task lighting as required.

The supporting cast of light fixtures…

Good Space Design Group - Gray Avenue Project

Good Space’s most favourite kind of small space lamp, wall mounted lamps!

 

Because we have minimised table tops in living areas and the bedroom, table lamps are often not possible. At Good Space we use floor lamps and our most favourite kind of small space lamp, wall mounted lamps! These are fantastic and offer super functional light without taking up precious table top or floor space. Some of these fixtures have two lamps in one – which are great as bedside lights. We search out fixtures that are dimmable.  

The price of real estate aside….

Living in smaller spaces puts us in closer proximity to our work places, our activities and interests. Small spaces  can simplify our lives and minimize the stress and expense of maintenance. A well designed space of any size supports you by freeing up precious time and resources to enjoy your life.

At Good Space Plans Online we work with you through a highly engaging online interior design experience that gives you peace of mind, certainty and an achievable design plan for your home.

Interior Design for Small Spaces – A Good Space Plans Online Four Part Series – Part 3

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Goods
You

The Design of Your Bedroom in a Small Space.

Good Space Plan's Online

When is bed more than a bed?

Good Space Design Group - 160th Project

When it has integrated storage! How much stuff is under your bed? True confessions are that mine doesn’t have an inch of space left under there! That is why we love a lift storage bed – these add an amazing amount of storage and function. The reason a lift storage bed is usually the best option for small spaces is that it goes up and not out like drawers. Storage beds with drawers when opened require space around the bed, often in small spaces this isn’t possible. Well designed lift storage beds allow some toe space under them. If you have ever smashed your toes on the bed you will know what we mean.  There are wood and upholstered options so lots of creative possibilities.

Tip: A lighter weight mattress is best for a storage bed – especially a king!

Where does my coffee go?

Anmore Project - Good Space Design Group

Bedside tables also have potential for storage. The key is get the height right – you don’t want to reach up from your mattress to your bedside table top. These can be freestanding or wall mounted – we think the surfaces should be durable or at least have a tray for protecting the top from a hot coffee mug – because a cozy coffee or tea in bed is the best!  

Bedside lighting is for next week…
Your bedroom or your sleeping space is sacred space and worth taking the time to select the best things for you and your bedroom experiences.

Next week: let’s talk about Lighting…