Here’s how I made my home feel happy + more like me
1. Put up pictures of you and your friends being hilarious, adorable, amazing
2. Make it smell happy
3. Paint an accent wall a color you love
Colors make a huge difference in how you feel about a space. When I moved into my apartment, it featured awful flesh-toned satin-finish paint on every blessed wall. No one wants to live inside a skin ball. But! Now it’s white with accent walls in a color best described as mermaid. And I feel so much better.
Choose a color that will help you feel the way you want to feel. Here’s a great article about how the colors of your space affect your moods and which colors are best for which rooms.
4. Stock your fridge and pantry with food you love
Things that are depressing: opening your fridge to discover you have a bag of moldy radishes, one Coors light and a slice of leftover pizza. Grocery shopping is the one avenue where I allow myself to spend indiscriminately and I love stocking my kitchen with food that thrills me: strawberries, wine, baguettes, fake bacon, tiny fingerling bananas. It’s lovely open those doors and feel happy about what you find.
Which (relatively healthy) foods do you love? What slightly-fancy foods do you ‘save’ for special occasions? What if your special occasion was “I nailed that presentation at work!” or “I finally purged my closet!” Celebrating little victories is one of the keys to a happy life.
5. Consider a Non-cheesy Inspirational Poster
6. Add a Bit of Greenery
7. Incorporate Favorite Things into Your Decor
8. Get a pet
Obbbbviously getting a pet is a huge responsibility. Of course you should give it a lot of thought and really, really consider if a pet would be a good fit for your lifestyle.
That being said, few things make you feel better faster than an animal friend. In fact, pet ownership has been shown to reduce stress and depression! If you want to dip your toe into pet ownership, consider fostering first.
9. Stock up on engaging, funny books and movies
10. Paint the inside of your closets or cupboards a crazy color
11. Incorporate the whimsical and ridiculous into your space
But I want to hear from you! What do you do to make your living space more happy?
P.S. Did you know I have a (free) private Facebook group dedicated solely to the topics of money and happiness? And the stuff we talk about has helped members change jobs, save thousands of dollars, and fight less with their partners? Join us!
me! me too! i am going through a Very Bad Breakup too!
and!
on the 19th of august i move into a new tiny apartment! for the first time on my own AND with a dog!
at the ripe age of 22 i have never felt so sweet and terrifyingly free.
I love all of these 🙂 It sounds kind of kooky, but one of my best friends has had a rough couple of years, so another friend decided to burn some sage throughout his new place before he moved in, in order to symbolize a new beginning.. well, he's only been there for a few months, but already I get this amazing sense of calm whenever I walk in to visit, and just about everybody says the same thing upon entering! AND.. *dun dun da* .. his life really seems to have turned around, and he's a lot happier.. I know, it's weird, nutty and almost 100% loony, but it seems to have worked! 😉
Whatever works, right? I have a good friend who's Native American and she had her dad come through and bless/cleanse the house we moved into our senior year of college. And that was a good year!
All great suggestions! I think the pet one works best – I have a sweet little cat whose more or less my child.
I also like to keep the windows open (when it's nice out) and have fresh flowers! Candles and blankets are nice for when you want to be cozy…
Yes! It is my firm conclusion that trying to save money on food is A BAD IDEA. Because food is important.
We have guitars hanging on one of the walls and a piano. Our house feels so much cozier and happier knowing we could make music at any moment.
Ok, I'm trying to figure out this aromatherapy link thing: I've clicked it multiple times but can't smell anything. I've sniffed the page both before and after clicking the link. I've even scratched my screen. Right now I'm trying to figure out how to change my cursor to the little hand-thingie that grabs stuff in Acrobat. Maybe that's the scratch fxn for my computer…
This post made me smile. I also have "flesh" colored walls and it drives me batty. I'm planning on adding an accent wall soon, but I can't imagine painting the rest white…too daunting!
Our awesome, hilarious friend Jess gave me a little poster from marriedtothesea.com with a sketch of the fictional "Museum of Shitty Animals" which supposedly exists in Columbus, OH. That, along with a postcard of some graffiti in Berlin that says "FUCK" on it, brought me the constant catharsis of cursing. Seriously…every time I looked at them.
Ooh, also! Years ago I ordered Elizabeth Taylor paper dolls from Ebay, arranged her and her wardrobe choices on colored (acid-free) paper and framed them and she hangs girlishly on my bathroom door, where she can help me decide which outfits to wear each day. So helpful.
You always have such good ideas. I now cannot WAIT to move into my own place and paint the insides of the cupboards and closets whatever colors I want.
In our redonk-o-saurously small little Airstream we have a few staples… a James Brown magnet that lives in the hood above the stove top. Hot! A sock monkey that swings from a curtain rod, one extraordinarily silly little terrier mutt aged two and a half years. Other than that wade through the secret piles of accumulated stuff from all over the country and who knows what you'll find? Mmmmmm…. what is this here? A llama scented postcard from Bolivia? Yes! Yes it is! Perfect.
Put musical instruments out in plain sight, even if you don't play. It'll encourage you to experiment, and encourage any guests to hootenanny!
I love these ideas! Your place sounds lovely, any chance to see some photos at some stage? I especially like the sound of the mermaid coloured wall.
i love this article! i've just moved into a new flat share and am looking forward to picking up a bunch of cheap but quirky frames to hang photos that i've taken on my travels (printed in sepia or black and white to look all dramatic and fabulous).
Yay! The timing of this post is perfect – I'm moving into a new apt tomorrow and have been thinking about how to decorate it all week. Thanks for the new shot of inspiration!
–xo.
Oh man, I can't believe it;s over.
Officially, I would like to say best post ever!
I want/need to do all aforementioned things, thanks again for being awesome and optimistic and full of things I want to read about!
I hung lots of mismatched frames in my living room and filled them with stupid and funny things. It never fails to entertain me and guests… and makes me wonder 'what was I thinking'? In the best way.
When I lived alone, having a fantastic bed with the most wonderful linens and pillows was sooooo important to me. And my TV played Golden Girls as often as possible. Two very important things to me, along with the 2 sweet puppies I got. Oh and hand soaps that I loved. Tissues in every room too. Anything that makes you feel comfy and happy.
Flowers! Flowers everywhere! Put them in a vase. Put them on your little porch…put them in the ground! Even if you have a rental. Flowers make it seem like home. ?