What makes a home inviting? I mean what is it when you walk in and feel this invitation, this pull to come further into the room and then sit down. Sometimes you’ll find yourself looking around and slowly start to smile. You want to stay for a while. You want to sit on that big comfy couch and just be there.
Think back to the last time you felt this way and see if any of these things were present, or what I really mean is absent. Were the surfaces clear with maybe one or two eye-catching pieces? Were most of the furnishings coordinated in color and style? Was there space to walk through the rooms without bumping into anything or having to navigate around items? Making a home inviting is more about what is not there.
I recently helped prepare a home for sale. The family had lived there for 15 years and had accumulated a lifetime’s worth of possessions, as we all do. All of their favorite things surrounded their living spaces, and everywhere you looked there was a memento of the life they built. But what was amazing was the transformation of the house when things were taken away or removed. The house came back. When rugs and excess furniture were gone, the floors shined. When blinds and curtains left the windows, sunlight streamed in. When the bathrooms and kitchen were clear of everything except essentials, they drew you in. And something unexpected happened, the house felt lighter. I felt lighter! I felt a weight lifted and a positive spirit enter.
This is the second time I was involved in such a process. The first time, I binge watched “Tidying Up with Marie Kondo,” on Nexflix, and also listened to the audiobook The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing. Marie Kondo’s focus on keeping only those things that really spark joy in life, is a motivating concept worth implementing. She recognizes that all possessions serve a purpose, but perhaps no longer for you. Her use of recycling and reusing or repurposing items we already have encourages donations of excess goods and a reduction of new purchases. So when it was time to help my new seller declutter in preparation for potential buyers to see the home, it was easy to offer the extra or leftover household items to others who could make use of them.
Whether you are thinking about putting your house up for sale or would just like to lighten the load your home is carrying, I’d love to help. Come visit me over at FirstHomeEd.com and let’s figure out what possessions you own that truly spark joy and which you’d like to send out into the world.
All good things,
Diana Cohen
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