Grace-Full Intentions: Creating an Intentional Home

Many of you may remember the Intentional Heart, Intentional Home series I started a while back. Yeah... it kind of just stopped... So much for being intentional about an intentional living series! Oops! The only explanation I can possibly give is that it came right before my blogging identity crisis and my focus shifted a bit from general homemaking to decorating/organizing.

Anyways, even though the topic{s} of my blog have shifted just a tad, living intentionally is still the overall goal on which I base all other goals. I guess you could say it makes up a huge part of my philosophy on life. Therefore, intentional living should spill over into my home, determining how I decorate and organize. After all, I want to have a home that reflects my intentional life.

What brought this whole "intentional home" concept back to my mind was a series I came across over at Pancakes and French Fries:

Jules goes into the details of why she started this series HERE and as I read it, it really resonated with me. {Read all of her William Morris Project posts HERE.} After all, what's the point in having a house full of stuff that you don't need or don't even like? There is no point. That's why the above quote from William Morris is one of my favorite decorating quotes EVER! More than that, it's also the standard by which I want to create a home for my family: everything we keep should be either {1} useful - in other word, we must actually USE the item regulary enough to warrant it taking up precious square footage in our home, or {2} beautiful - it must bring back fond memories and/or make us happy.

Here are some ways I hope abide by William Morris' quote:

INCLUDE MY HUBBY

I want my home to be a place that my husband enjoys spending time in, just as much as I do. This means I'm going to have to start asking him what he likes and taking his opinions seriously. He lives here, too, and if our home is going to reflect our family, it's got to reflect him just as much as it does me.

In addition to our home being a reflection of "us" instead of just me, I also want my home to be a place that he wants to come home to at the end of a long day of hard work. This may mean lighting a scented candle {one HE likes to smell} or it could simply mean greeting him with a warm smile instead of a tired smirk. The key to this, though, is to know our husbands well enough to know what makes them feel warm and relaxed.

INCLUDE MY LITTLE MAN

My husband isn't the only man in my life. I don't say that in an I'm-having-an-affair kind of way. I mean it in a I-have-a-three-and-a-half year-old-son way. And this little man of mine also calls our house his home. So, I think it's only fair that I take him into consideration as I work to create a place for us all to share. Of course, I have no intention of letting him choose wall colors anytime soon {although, he has requested a blue ceiling in his room}, but there are some things I can do to make this place a little more kid-friendly.

For starters, I don't plan on hiding his toys away in an effort to somehow get rid of the "evidence" that a child lives in my home. I want it to be evident that a child {and, prayerfully, more children} lives here. {For example: I will display his artwork right along with family photos.} I also hope to take that one step further by making my home a place that encourages learning and fosters independence. This can be as simple as hanging a hand broom and dustpan at his level so that he will be able to clean up his own spills or storing healthy snacks in a bottom drawer in the fridge and pantry so that he can help himself {with my permission, of course}.

MANAGE MY HOME WELL

I am NOT a neat freak. Like, not AT ALL. It's a struggle. I hate to admit it, but most of my problem is just pure laziness {and, yes, I'm working on it}. Thing is, keeping a home clean and organized is a huge part of creating a relaxing environment for our family. Not just chores, but making sure the pantry and bathroom are stocked with supplies... because no one likes to run out of toilet paper in their time of need {*ahem*} or start cooking a meal, only to realize you are missing a vital ingredient. Managing a home well is a huge part of being intentional about the kind of home we keep. Of course, these things should never take priority over family, but they should be a priority.

PREPARE FOR GUESTS

A goal I have set for myself is to have people over to our home more often. Dinner... playdates... doesn't matter, just invite people to come to our home and shower them with some good "old-fashioned" southern hospitality. I hope to get to a point where I'm always prepared for guests: the house is always tidy enough that a ten to fifteen minute clean up is all it really takes to get it company-ready; and I want to be able to consistently keep my pantry stocked with all the ingredients needed for one or two recipes, so that I can whip something up at a moment's notice.

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If you're not really sure where to being when it comes to creating an intentional home that has nothing in it that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful, may I suggest starting with the task of creating a home mission statement. By taking a moment to "get real" - for example, learning how your family truly uses your home rather than how you wish they'd use it - you'll be on your way to making a home that your family will love!

For more on intentional living, check out some posts from my Intentional Heart, Intentional Home series:

What It Means to Be Intentional

Becoming Intentional: My Personal Journey

7 Key Areas of Intentional Living

How do you create an intentional home?

Blessings,