By Mark Briggs
T

ere is a TV series called "Home is Where the Art Is." Nick Knowles challenges three clever artists to create beautiful artwork for people they've never met. In doing so, they compete to win a special new commission for a paying homeowner.

Your home, a two-room flat or the custom-built house of your dreams, is your blank canvas to create something attractive. Every color, shape, and texture has the potential to reflect your heart. Each piece should tell a story. I say should because so many in today’s society have an inferiority complex when decorating their home. Therefore, they go with the flow of the latest trend and never deviate from the norm.

 

Consequently, they live in a lovely house but remain homeless because Home is Where the Art Is! Attractive homes are artful!

 

What do I mean by making your house artful? Well, let’s think about it. Why are you attracted to a piece of art? What would make you pull out that debit card to indicate you see value? For me, I’ve answered four simple questions. 

 

  • Is it attractive and palatable?
  • Is it warm and inviting?
  • Is it original?
  • Does it have a story?

The bottom line is your home should tell your story and not someone else’s from a magazine. Gloria Vanderbilt said, “Decorating is autobiography.” 

 

Every home should be comfortable and authentic. By authentic, I mean I want my home to be like my friends: real, thought-provoking, and often worn around the edges. Things in my home, much like my friends, have a storied past. These are signs of a life lived.

 

A home is something that is created and then curated over time. Creating a home is a personal and subjective effort. Your home should be filled with the things you love. Things that remind you where you’ve been, where and who you are, and where you want to go.

Ask yourself those four essential questions before you make any decision about decorating your home. You should ask other questions, no doubt, but these four will help you remain authentically stylish.

 

The most prolific housebuilder of all time declared that the house wisely built has “rooms filled with rare and beautiful treasures.” Proverbs 24:3-4

 

Indeed, Home is Where the Art Is!