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Creating Happy Homes: 5 Simple Ways to Add Joy
Last Updated on March 15, 2023 by Tracey McGrath
Here are some quick tips to bring more joy into your living space and your life. Creating happy homes is as important to your health as eating nutritious foods and exercising.
Make Your Home Reflect You
It is important to make sure your home feels comfortable and inviting to you. This is the space where you come to release after a long day at work. Where you invite your loved ones to relax and enjoy meals together. You want it to feel like a representation of your true self.
You can infuse yourself into your home in big or small ways. Your personality traits can shine through the details or large furniture pieces and wall colors. First, though let’s discuss the difference between happiness and joy and how that can help you create a happy home.
Happy and Joy Difference
What is the difference between being joyful and happy? Joy is a fleeting emotion, like a sudden burst of enthusiasm and contentment.1 It can be felt in a moment like the first bite of a birthday cake or seeing a cluster of butterflies. It’s that exciting feeling in your stomach. You literally cannot hold back a smile when you feel joyful.
Happiness on the other hand is more of a sustained emotion.2 It is accrued satisfaction and contentment over time. If you focus on joy and finding joyful moments throughout your day you also increase your level of happiness. Being mindful and taking note of what makes you feel joyful can play a role in your happiness.
Ingrid Fetell Lee, the author of “Joyful”, states it wonderfully in her article, “Because joy lives in moments, it’s a lot simpler and easier to find than happiness.”3 You can most likely easily list several things that would make you feel joyful.
Give it a try now! Make a list of 10 things that make you feel joyful. These joyful-inducing things can add to your level of perceived happiness. And these are the things to focus on when you’re deciding what to bring into your happy home.
Your Personal Style
Focus on things that bring you joy to create your happy home’s personal style. That may mean you have tropical wallpaper as a backsplash in your kitchen with dark blue painted cabinets and gold fixtures. Or it could be minimal looking with a huge black and white photo hanging on a wall and only a few pieces of modern furniture. The items, colors, and designs themselves could bring you joy or it could be a happy memory that they evoke.
Creating Happy Homes with Kids
If you’re living with small children, sometimes it can feel like you’re drowning in toys and books. I recommend that you keep your space filled with things you love and make it workable for both of you. Create shared spaces where they have designated places to stash away toys and books. They can have their toys and books but you can still have the things that you love too.
Your kids need to see your style and how you express it. Expressing your personal style helps to create happy homes. And it’s one way that you can show your kids how important it is to know yourself and lean into those unique likes.
Our style is just one area of us that shows the world who we are and what draws our attention. What you are drawn to are like little pieces of a puzzle. Sometimes it may seem off the wall but it’s a part of you and that’s what makes it special.
Finding out more about yourself with personality tests can be so much fun and informative. Check out my article on the Best Free Personality Tests Online to find out more about your unique personality!
Finding Joy in Things
Joy can actually come from material possessions. It can be found in our clothing and the items we choose to add to our environment as well. Sometimes it has felt to me that focusing on things was negative, materialistic and selfish. But it doesn’t have to be! There’s no question that you’re going to put things in your home and wear clothes. So, why not choose items that make you feel joyful?
Our environment impacts our mood a great deal.4 Fill up your happy home with things that make you feel joyful. Check out Ingrid Fettell-Lee’s book, Joyful, for tons of great insight on how your personal space affects your mental health.
Buy Items You Love
It’s wonderful to buy things that you love. Surrounding yourself with those things can actually make you feel good. If it feels uncomfortable for you, ask why and see if there is an underlying belief about what you do or don’t deserve.
You can be grateful and honor your opportunity to create a space you love. You can also be thoughtful and show appreciation for the items you choose to put in your space. Buying mindlessly to fill up space does not spark joy or create happiness. That behavior can actually build shame and regret.
Take your time and create a space that fills up your soul with joy and peace. It should feel like a breath of fresh air when you come home. Check out the beautiful (and affordable) art prints at The Crafted Prints!
Tips for Creating Happy Homes
Tip #1 – Create a Unique Likes Board
Here’s a cool mindful art exercise to find out more about what you like. Because knowing what you like is essential to creating a home that feels joyful to you. Grab some magazines and start tearing out pages. Set a timer for 20 minutes and just go.
First, notice what kind of magazines you have in your house. What are you drawn to? Food, family, interior design, travel?
Then notice the colors that are predominant in the pages. What are some similarities in the colors and images?
Use these as inspiration. Can you paint a wall one of the colors that you love? Just one wall. Or do the images represent something that helps you feel at peace or ready to have fun?
Pick one recurring theme and incorporate it TODAY. Examples may be photos of the beach – try to bring some of that peaceful environment into your home with seashells in glass jars or seagrass in a tall vase.
Check out my article on Therapeutic Art for more fun, mindful art exercises to try!
Tip #2 – Change up something small
Changing something small can have a huge impact. Lighting, paint colors, and decluttering can totally change a space and are affordable ways to add more joy.
Would cozier lighting help? Lighting has such an impact on our moods.5 Try looking for lamps to update at your local thrift store. Or maybe just change your lightbulbs to more natural lighting. Open shades and curtains to let in more natural light.
Or plants are a great way to add dimension and warmth to a space. Buy baby versions of indoor plants to save money. They will grow up given a big enough pot. I love the quality and selection of plants on Plants.com.
And there’s great joy to be found in the decluttering process too. For more information on decluttering and how it affects your stress level check out my article Tips on How to Declutter to Destress. Getting rid of clutter can not only change the look of a room but also your mental health.6 Check Marie Kondo’s line of organizational tools at The Container Store.
Repainting a room or even just one wall can totally change the look and feel of that space. And simply looking at paint colors can feel joyful!
Tip #3 – Add Art that Makes You Smile
Art can make you feel so many different emotions. For art in your happy home, find images that make you feel good. That could be a sense of calm from an ocean scene or an energetic boost from a colorful image of flowers. Check out the beautiful art prints on The Crafted Prints or check out your local art galleries.
How about an art project? Create your own art to add an original touch to your happy home!
Choose one of your favorite colors. Buy a large stretched blank canvas (at least 12”x16” or larger) and acrylic paint. You’ll need black, white and your favorite color, or grab a set of several colors. And you’ll need a large flat brush too. Or get started with whatever supplies you have on hand and get the creative juices flowing.
Grab a paper plate and mix the color with a lot of white. Paint one line across the top of the canvas. Add more color to the mixture and repeat a line right underneath the first line. Repeat adding more color as you move down the canvas. Once toward the bottom, you may want to add just a teeny bit of black paint to darken the color.
You’ve just created an ombre painting in your favorite color! No frame necessary! Just hang wherever you want.
Great joy can be found in CREATION! Check out my article on Mindful Art for more fun art projects to tap into your creativity!
Tip #4 – Create Personal Space
Create a space just for you.
Pick a corner in your bedroom or living room or wherever you can find a corner. Maybe even in the closet. And make it yours!
Get some nice cushions, a candle, or a chair if it can accommodate that. Just make it comfortable and cozy….and just for you. Think reading chair or meditation space or if “I’m in this space let me have 5 minutes to myself please” chair.
Want a creative space to call your own? Check out my article on How to Create Your Art Room!
Tip #5 – Fill Your Space with Inspiring Joyful Quotes
Do quotes make you feel inspired? I LOVE quotes. They can change my whole perspective on the day, my life, my current situation, whatever.
Check out my article on Artist’s Famous Quotes to Inspire You for some great quotes! Or find your own. Choose one quote that inspires you. Now open a Google or Word Doc. Type it out and choose a font you love. Print it out on thick card stock and frame it.
Or you could use Canva to create your quote artwork. Canva is an amazing graphic design website. They have a free version that allows you to make so many beautiful projects! And it’s so user-friendly.
Voila! Instant wall art and positive vibes!
Let’s Connect!
I hope these tips help you to create your happy home! Finding ways to create more joy and peace in your life is so important for your overall sense of well-being. I love teaching others how to use mindful art techniques to do just that! Check out my digital course, Becoming Blissful with Mindful Art, for a complete course on creating more peace, joy, and mindful moments in your life!
Frequently Asked Questions about Creating Happy Homes
Infuse your home with whatever brings you joy. If you feel joyful when you look at a piece of art or color then that feel-good energy will create a sense of happiness in your home and those who enter. Bring in the things that make you happy.
Discuss with your housemates how important it is for you to feel joy in your space. Remember it is your space just as much as it is their space. If needed, define space that is yours alone and fill it up with things that make you feel joy.
Start with discovering more of what makes you feel good. Try out some personality tests to learn more about your unique personality. Visit stores or flea markets to browse. You’ll discover what you’re drawn to. Just take note of what you like and what you don’t.
References:
- https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/joy
- https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/happiness
- https://aestheticsofjoy.com/2018/05/14/why-the-secret-to-happiness-might-be-joy/
- https://heritagedesigninteriors.com/how-interior-design-impacts-your-mental-health/#:~:text=Everything%20in%20your%20home%20triggers,your%20focus%2C%20and%20reduce%20anxiety.
- https://blisslights.com/blogs/blisslights/how-lighting-affects-mood-and-human-behaviour
- https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/mental-health-benefits-of-decluttering
Disclaimer: This post includes affiliate links, and I will earn a commission if you purchase through these links. Please note that I’ve linked to these products purely because I recommend them and they are from companies I trust. There is no additional cost to you.
Tracey McGrath is an artist and pharmacist. She is on a journey to share how mindful art can help women with their mental health. She is a certified mindful art teacher by the International Mindfulness and Meditation Alliance and a certified meditation teacher by UnPlug Meditation Studio. She is also a Duke Health & Well-Being Usui Reiki Level 3 Master Practitioner as well as a Certified Strategic Life Coach and Certified EFT Practitioner by Priority Academy. She earned her doctorate of pharmacy from UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy in 2004.