Creating a joyful environment starts with making your home a haven of happiness. Discover how to be happy at home with insights from top experts, including psychologists, interior designers, and lifestyle coaches. From decluttering and decorating to nurturing relationships and embracing the calming presence of pets, these practical tips will help you maintain a warm atmosphere for yourself and your loved ones.
Creating a Happier Home with Personal Touches
Transforming your home into a happier space involves adding personal touches that resonate with your sense of comfort. Interior designer Marcie Bronkar shares how thoughtful details like well-chosen decor and pleasing scents can create a sanctuary that reflects your unique personality and brings tranquillity to your daily life.
Marcie Bronkar:
‘A happier home reflects the personal taste of its owners. A place for everything, artfully and easily arranged, can offer a sense of peace at home. I don’t believe at all in a need to save things or keeping piles of items never needed or used. Scent is a large part for some as well. There are scented candles that evoke a sense of well-being and pleasure moments in our lives. Personally, I even travel with my favourite scented candles. It is very freeing and liberating to toss, bring in the fresh air and not to be afraid of splashes of colour where the eye roams.’
Decluttering Your Space
Streamlining your space starts with tackling the clutter that often accumulates, especially paperwork. Gretchen Rubin, author of Happier at Home, offers practical advice on how to effectively manage and minimise clutter. By focusing on what needs to be kept and eliminating the rest, you can simplify your space and support your overall well-being.
Gretchin Rubin:
‘Paperwork is one of the toughest forms of clutter to vanquish. Ask yourself: Have I ever used this paper? Could I easily replace it, if it turns out I need it? Is this information on the internet? What’s my reason for keeping it? Does it become dated quickly? What’s the consequence of not having it if I do need it? Could I scan it, so I can keep it as a reference but get rid of the physical paper?
When you’re facing a cluttered area, don’t say to yourself, ‘I need to get organised.’ No! Your first instinct should be to get rid of stuff. If you don’t keep it, you don’t have to organise it. You can spend a lot of time filing papers that you don’t even need to keep, and one of the biggest wastes of time is to do a chore well that need not be done at all. Make sure there’s plenty of time to get things done without rushing. This makes a huge difference in my day-to-day happiness.’
Related: 8 Free Ways to Reduce Stress
How to Love Your Home
Creating a home filled with love and connection goes beyond just decorating—it’s about nurturing relationships and expressing affection. In this section, Melinda Carver, Psychic Medium and Positive Energy Specialist shares her insights on how infusing your home with daily acts of love can strengthen family bonds and foster a happy living environment.
Melinda Carver:
‘The key to making a happy home is not to fill it with objects, instead fill it with love. Filling your home with love is easy. You make a practice of it every day when you kiss your spouse or children good morning, goodbye or welcome home. Spend time with your family, communicating clearly and stating ‘I love you’. Showing your affection for your spouse and children daily strengthens these relationships. This is so important today. With all the noise clutter and distractions, showing and stating that you love someone can slowly diminish. Making it a part of your everyday routine will keep your marriage strong, and your relationships with your children open.’
How Animals Improve Home Happiness
Integrating pets into your home can significantly boost your overall happiness and well-being. Dr. Helen Driscoll, Lecturer in Psychology, explains how caring for pets enhances emotional connections and contributes to a joyful living environment. For tips on managing pets in your home explore cheap and easy ways to keep your home clean when you have pets.
Dr Helen Driscoll:
‘If you have the time and resources to properly care for a pet, they can really contribute to a happy home. Dogs have an evolutionary history as social pack animals. They are therefore able to form strong bonds, to reciprocate our attachments to them and become part of our families. Human-canine attachments depend on the hormone oxytocin – the same hormone involved in parent-child attachment. When we interact with our dogs, we experience a release of oxytocin, and they do too. Such attachments contribute to wellbeing and can alleviate loneliness. Although evidence indicates that dogs form particularly strong attachments, there are benefits to sharing your home with other pets. Relationships with pets may even provide a buffer to stress and even have a beneficial effect on blood pressure.’
Uplifting Your Home Energy
Enhancing the energy in your home involves more than just selecting the right colours; it requires a thoughtful approach to design and decluttering. Here, interior designer DeAnna Radaj offers her expertise in using natural colours and Feng Shui principles to create a harmonious space.
DeAnna Radaj:
‘Colour schemes I like to use for uplifting the energy and vibe in a home are taken from Mother Nature herself. Think of using a natural green. Pantone’s colour of the year, Greenery, is a great example of a natural green.
From a Feng Shui perspective, you first need to do a clutter-bust of any items that no longer serve a positive, supportive purpose in your home. If you don’t love it, use it or need it, it’s got to go! Donate or toss. Be brutal. Most people find that many of the items they have were bought to “fill up an empty space”. After the home detox, look at what’s left and place it in a space where it matches the function of the room. For example, pictures of your kids, family & friends belong in the living/family/media room, foyer or hallways on a gallery wall.
Your home is a sanctuary from all the crazy that’s out in the world and it should reflect that. Only bring in items that make you happy and joyful when using them. Never buy anything because you think you SHOULD. This includes items such as hand-me-downs from family/friends or because something is a great bargain.’
Related: How Can Life Control Affect Your Happiness?
Creating a Calm Sanctuary
Crafting a tranquil home environment is essential for unwinding after a busy day. In this section, Hatty Scaramanga, Yoga Enthusiast and Founder of Yoga Pants shares her approach to transforming her space into a place of relaxation.
Hatty Scaramanga:
‘My home is my place to relax and rejuvenate after a long day of busy meetings, yoga classes and running a clothing company. I have neutral colours for my walls, and simple pieces of art that bring a calm and peaceful ambience to my living space, this makes me happy and ready for anything that life throws at me. I am a believer in Feng Shui and will make sure I always have fresh flowers, lit candles and incense in my house to make it a happier home. Also, I often practice yoga morning and night to help with this.’
Nurturing Positive Relationships in The Home
Building a happier home involves more than just creating a pleasant environment; it’s about nurturing the relationships within it. In this section, Catherine Donovan, Professor of Social Relations, offers insights on fostering positive interactions with your partner and children.
Catherine Donovan:
‘To make a happier home, you should want your partner (and children if you have them) to be the best they can be. Look for ways to support them. Encourage them, be kind, remind them that you love them and why you do, say thank you for what they do for you, tell them how lovely they look, make them laugh and enjoy being with them.’
Creating a happy home involves more than just physical comfort—it’s about nurturing a positive environment that supports both emotional and physical well-being. By incorporating the wisdom of experts across various fields, we’ve explored how personal touches, decluttering, love and support, the presence of pets, and mindful design can all contribute to a more joyful living space. From adding meaningful decor to practising daily acts of kindness, each step helps transform your home into a sanctuary that reflects a sense of peace. With these insights, you can take actionable steps towards making your home a place where happiness flourishes.
What tips do you follow to make a happier home? Let us know in the comments!
