It just dawned on me that decorating or keeping a beautiful home is a continuous process. One that involves commitment, time and understanding. Understanding what you like and what you need is the first step to building or decorating your dream home. And there are three important things to consider–function, aesthetics and maintenance. Function, your house has to work for you one way or another. It has to improve the quality of your life. If it does not, what’s the purpose of living there?

Secondly the aesthetics, it has to work and it has to be beautiful. And I think I have an eye for beauty. Sometimes, I find myself walking into a room and looking at the furniture and accents and experience a quick hit of inspiration. I find that a simple plain room would instantly become fabulous with a few well-chosen accessories. It may be a painting or elegant candle holders. Even the feel and choice of fabrics would make a room more homey and warm. And what I love best are luxurious soft throws and embroidered quilts. They make you fall asleep and dream of nice things. Who wouldn’t want that? When I was a child, I used to come home from school and look forward to my freshly made bed and a plate of cookies and hot chocolate. It would be nice if someone does things for me. But being the grown-up, I’m now in charge of the house. And that includes the cleaning.

The maintenance. Sometimes you would find yourself with no time and housework creeps up on you. And the thing I hate most is the clutter. Clutter ruins a beautiful home. That’s why I make it a point to de-clutter and clean my house at least once a week making sure that I get under everything even the nooks and crannies. I move everything so that I can wipe every surface. Lately I’ve noticed that my bookshelves have stains and marks and I find it very hard to remove them. Apparently, bookshelves that are painted with latex paint age badly and books would sometimes stick to the paint leaving it with undesirable marks. I wish I could purchase bookcases that look elegant and paint-free in the near future. It would make my book collection stand out even more with equally impressive teakwood bookcases. Wouldn’t that be great?

Actually, decorating and keeping a home need not be stressful. With the right furniture, accessories and a little bit of know-how, one can even find it therapeutic.