Feeling like an outsider in your own house can lead to stress and sadness. Did you know that colours, shapes, textures and plants have an impact on our mood? When well chosen they can make you feel at ease at home, centered. It’s surprising how much some simple adjustments may help to feel more at home while living abroad.
Key to every design is functionality. If it has no purpose it will not serve you. Think of creating enough storage space for all your belongings. Consider the best space planning at home for all your family members and activities that need to place there. Functionality is there to support your family lifestyle.
The addition of plants creates a natural and calming atmosphere at home.
Mixing your precious (heirloom) furniture with new pieces will represent your story.
Natural daylight is essential to our wellbeing at home. Sunshine just makes us feel happy. Artificial light has the same impact on our mood when natural daylight is not sufficient. It creates an atmosphere and is needed from a practical aspect. A well designed light plan will consider function, layout and colours of the room.
Adding colour in your new house abroad will reflect your personality. If you leave everything bare and white it might never really feel like a home to you. The sooner you can feel comfortable at home in your new house the better!
Being surrounded by pictures of family and friends is a good reminder of how many loved ones you have in your life. Photos of your travel experiences are a great representation of your lifestyle and personal story. And what better way to create positive energy than surrounding yourself with happy memories at home?
While traveling around the world you may have been inspired to experience food in a new way. You probably have personal habits and traditions on how to prepare meals for your family.
Make sure your kitchen at home provides the needed storage space first of all. Keep in mind to create enough workspace to prepare your meals. And last but not least, surround yourself with colours and materials that are practical to maintain and represent your personal taste at the same time.
Do not underestimate the power of design for relaxation at home. Having the opportunity to unwind and relax in the bathroom is a great way to feel safe and at ease at home. At the same time, when a bathroom is properly designed around your family lifestyle, it will help you start your day in the most streamlined way.
Like in the kitchen keep in mind the needed amount of storage space and choose you materials wisely. Make sure they are practical for maintenance and pleasing to your style preferences.
Last but not least is to make sure you provide each family member their needed personal space! It’s so important to have the opportunity to relax at home. Somewhere you can go whenever you need to be alone or spend time doing activities you like. How to create this personal space can be totally different for each of us.
Not feeling familiar with your surrounding happens frequently while living abroad. But feeling overwhelmed in your new home abroad is definitely not what you need while living the expat lifestyle!
I hope to have inspired you to create your own sense of wellbeing at home. Still not feeling at home and curious how this could be achieved for you too? I can assist you in the whole process of unpacking, (re)organizing and (re)designing your new house. To make you feel at home while living abroad. Looking forward to meet you!