What Does It Mean to Invest In Home
“Luxury is in the details of your home and how you use it.”
Somewhere along the way, the art of building a home became more about real estate than the true meaning of ‘home’. Take a moment to reflect on your favorite memories of home. Are you thinking about property value and resale value or are you thinking about the laughs, the friends, and that one cozy corner where you can curl up and exhale? The face value is easy to see. A quick Zillow search can likely give you a monetary figure, but I encourage you to look past that and see the luxury in the details of your home. That luxury is priceless.
Questions to consider:
What does it really mean to invest in your home?
What do you want to remember when you think about your life and the time you spend in your home?
How are the decisions you make today affecting your memory goals for your home?
Why is it that we do not hesitate to invest in the obvious necessities: food, shelter, clothing, health needs, but when it comes to the more nuanced necessities: happiness, peace, joy, quiet, we write them off as frivolous?
Case Study
At MTI, we design spaces for the lives that will take place within them. This kitchen, for example, was designed specifically for a family who loves to entertain. Their nuclear family consists of 2 adults and a child, but their extended family including their friends is much larger. Their home is on the relatively larger side, but as a 19th century build, the rooms within the home are still quite small.
By opening one wall, we created a flow between the kitchen and dining room that allowed for open communication between the rooms. This kitchen will house memories of belly laughs while sitting at the island with wine while the host chops vegetables, and the kids peel potatoes at the dining table, and the grandparents recall stories from the adjacent living room.
That’s what home is! That’s what remodeling this kitchen allowed.
It doesn’t always take a remodel, though. Post 2020, people are spending more time at home than ever before. With many workplaces converting to fully or partially remote, our homes have become more than just the place we return to at the end of a work day and on weekends. Between 2020 and now, your needs have probably shifted too many times to count leaving your home in an odd state of limbo.
What you can do to address the issues:
Invest time. Hold a family meeting to get aligned on the goals for your home.
Are you holding on things you no longer need?
Are you taking into consideration what things you do need?
Are you accounting for the needs of each family member as life grows and changes?
Invest money. Anything worth doing is worth doing well. Once you have an understanding of your needs, take the time to do research, budget, and plan. Rather than rush to get just anything in place, take the time the save for the items that will add real value to your life and stand the test of time. If it’s been a while since you’ve purchased solidly constructed furniture or it’s your first time, the prices may surprise you. Check out our budget guides to get started.
Invest energy. Don’t wait to make the changes you need to enjoy your home. You may be someone who is great at curating your own home once pointed in the right direction, or you might be someone who wants to hand over the process to a professional. Either way, we have something to suit your needs. Once you invest energy in understanding your needs and understanding your limitations, the next steps will be clear.
An investment in your home is an investment in yourself and your family. Don’t be afraid to customize your home to your needs. Whether you rent or own, all things are possible.
Need a little help? Let's chat!
Want to learn how to do it on your own? Check out our Design Guidebook Series.
