As a Part II to our Love Letter to Southwest Florida, this installment of Your 4 Walls is an “appreciation post” about our homes. The spaces Dwayne Bergmann Interiors creates for our clients goes well beyond a comfortable and beautiful place to live. It’s where life happens for the families and loved ones that inhabit and enjoy them. Where memories are made, milestones reached, and the little moments of daily life get transformed into something special. Let’s celebrate the houses turned homes and neighborhoods turned communities that bring a sense of place to our lives.
Loving your home starts with making it a place you want to be. Beyond aesthetics and functionality, there is an energy created in our spaces that is reflective of what mood we bring into the home. For example, your living room can look like it’s out of a magazine but if you’re constantly stubbing your toe on the cocktail table, you’re going to subconsciously associate a negative connotation to the experience of being in that room. Dwayne suggests walking throughout the rooms of your home and pay attention to your immediate reactions. Where does your eye go? What memories come to mind? What jumps out as needing to be fixed, changed, or updated? Now imagine how you want to feel in each place, be it inspired in the kitchen, relaxed in the bathroom, or connected in the family room. Then connect the dots by thinking about what conjures those feelings for you and actively seek to bring them into your home.
We all love a good home tour! Whether it’s in the glossy pages of a magazine, NBC’s Open House, or falling down the rabbit hole on Instagram, there’s something so exciting about being welcomed into someone’s home for a guided tour of what makes it special to them. Reignite your appreciation for your haven by conducting a walkthrough of your own! Grab your phone and start outside the front door, or if you’re not camera shy, enlist the help of a “guest” to capture them arriving to your home and then lead them throughout the space. What would audiences want to know about your home? What makes it special? Share the meaningful memories about where you found certain objects, how you utilize the room in daily life, and be sure to point out your favorite things along the way. When you’re done, you’ll have a recorded love letter to your home to cherish. Play it anytime as a reminder of how appreciative you are of your four walls and the life you’ve created within them.
While we may feel safe, at peace, and comfortable inside our own homes, the world outside is not always as welcoming. However, when you enmesh yourself into the businesses, organizations, and individuals that comprise your local area, you extend the reaches of your four walls. Building a sense of community starts at home. Think about what you and your family can do that benefits others, like sharing excess produce from your garden with local food banks, donating clothes to work programs or toys to schools or children’s hospitals. Remember, your most valuable contribution is time, not money. Volunteering your weekends to lend a hand wherever it’s needed will not only fill you with immeasurable satisfaction but will connect you to the other members of your community. For Dwayne, this has evolved from a pastime into a mission and the incredibly inspiring individuals he has met along the way have become more like family. Finding purpose and a sense of place outside the home only deepens our appreciation for the sanctuary we’ve created within and beyond our four walls.
