Tapping Into Your Heart of Home

By Irene Turnbull

Have you ever thought about how you enjoy a great space? I mean, a place that engages your senses - and makes you smile?

It can be anywhere really, indoors or out, and if you have, could you describe it?

Or have you ever experienced a place that you found uncomfortable? What was it that you didn't like?

Sometimes it is hard to put words around these encounters but there’s no doubt, we all know if they are pleasing or not, because we can "feel" the difference. It could be the discomfort of a twinge in the stomach, the hairs on the back of our necks bristle or
we feel agitated instead of experiencing the warmth and comfort we might enjoy from pleasing surroundings. It is really very personal.

Actually, when it comes to you and your home, "personal is the optimal word".

You see, just as two snowflakes are never the same, yet belong to the same snowfall; we humans while connected to the same earth body, are also mutually exclusive.

We’re shaped by our individual life experiences and tied by our emotional connections to them.

Our likes and dislikes are less about the physical objects we focus on and more about how we "feel" about them.

The fact is The Secret of creating great interiors depends upon these "feel good" results and the path to achieving them is probably not where you would expect. The discovery of The Secret is what I call your "Heart of Home".

Let me explain...

It would be very easy to assume that we might respond to things like colour, shapes, textures, room sizes, and furnishings in a somewhat similar fashion given that, as human beings, we operate with some consistency on a mechanical level. For instance, despite the indigenous reflection on genetics such as how we look and our gender identification, we do for the most part, all have two legs, two arms, breathe through our lungs, pump blood through our bodies with our hearts and take in sensory information through our noses, eyes, ears, etc.

However, we know that we do not all "see" and "feel" or "taste" in the same way. We don't all dress the same nor do we eat the same foods. Most of us have little difficulty with these choices.

So why then, when it comes to our homes, do so many of us struggle? The answer is not because there is a lack of choice, but rather, in not knowing how our choices are influenced.

The fact is, from the time we are born we are processing information about our world and forming beliefs and values which ultimately shape our lives. In the early years we are concerned mostly with making sure our biological needs for safety, food, and love are met. How and when they are satisfied shapes our belief system. As we grow our awareness expands and our needs increase, but our early experiences have created benchmarks which will remain with us throughout our lives.

These experiences are absolutely personal and exclusive, and are held in our cellular memory where they are continually relived through our emotions.

For instance, as a child you learn about love. It is your own interpretation based on your relationships with your caregivers. Your values about yourself and your world are shaped by these relationships. Your sense of worthiness, comfort, and so on.

But, here is the curious thing...all human experience happens in a space...and the fact is, the space is part of our experience. Our senses are always at work taking in information from our environment even though we may not always be aware.

When your subconscious is clicking the picture of your experiences it is including the surroundings where the events of your life are taking place. So, when you form opinions about your experiences, you’re also including the places where they happened. When you’re making decisions in the present about how to decorate your home, you are actually being influenced by a belief system that is holding on to an early memory of space.

Here's how this works...You’re looking at buying a new sofa and chair. You’re drawn to the more contemporary styles in all the pictures but when you go to the store to actually pick your selection, nothing "feels" right. Where is this feeling coming from?

Actually the furniture is comfortable enough to sit in and the colour is okay...but something is definitely "wrong", and you seem drawn to another completely different choice than you thought you wanted. So, you think back...way back...and you discover that when you were very young, you spent weekends and holidays at Grandma's
house. You remember that these were among the best times of your life. You always felt special, loved and cared for and Grandma would cuddle with you in her big red overstuffed chair while you read wonderful stories together. You look at the

contemporary styled chair you thought you liked and then to the one that reminds you of Grandma's. The choice is easy...you embrace the warm fuzzy feelings.

I call this process of discovering and connecting with your emotional connections "Heart of Home"...and when we honour these deep rooted feelings with the decorating choices we are making in the present, we will create homes that nurture and support us.

What's more, when we "feel good" about our space, we will actually be influencing our own good health.

Contact Irene at:

Turnbull Interiors of Distinction Inc. 560 Bryne Drive
Barrie, Ontario L4N 9P6
Irene@turnbullinteriors.com
705 722-9934

So, here’s to finding your personal “Heart of Home”

Sincerely,

Irene