Love the House You're In: 40 Ways to Improve Your Home and Change Your Life

Stop hating your house and start adoring it—40 steps to make your home express who you are and work for the way you really live

Deco­rating can be daunting and overwhelm­ing, but here’s the secret: If you want to love your house, the inspiration and ideas need to come from you. Interior designer Paige Rien thinks it’s about more than creating a beautiful space; it’s about creating a home that reflects you and all that you find comforting and inspiring in your life.

Through 40 actionable steps, you’ll discover tools that will help you:
 

• Explore your life story: Mine your life for those things that inspire nostalgia and create a positive connection to memories, explore your family’s heritage, and be conscious of how you want to live now.
• Understand what you’re working with: Take stock of your stuff, understand the history of your home, and get clear on the space you have.
• Create an inspired action plan: Discover how to ap­proach design room-by-room, find the through line that ties the whole house together, and work in ways that empower your own ideas and creativity.
• Learn the design skills that matter: Get tips on pick­ing paint colors, choosing window dressings, arrang­ing art, and more.

When you start decorating your home with you as the starting point, you can create a highly personalized space that reflects your past, your future, and how you want to live today. In the process, you’ll gain the confidence and inspi­ration to come up with a functional and fabulous living space that’s just right for you and your life.