Creating Your Home Haven Tip #1: Indulge

This tip is part of our "Home Haven" series and is provided by Laura Benko, Feng Shui Consultant and Home & Garden TV correspondent to Live It Up! WLNY.

The biggest way to make a haven at home is to indulge!  Here are a few ideas and ways to make your home a special retreat that makes you feel cozy, while still showing off your own unique personality and style.

In order to avoid the impersonal, generic hotel look, don't be in a rush to decorate and don't buy everything from the same place.  Go for a gathered and thoughtfully collected look - even if that means having empty spots here and there until you find the right piece.

Room by room, go through every object and ask yourself, "Do I absolutely love it?  Does it uplift me?  Do I really use it?  Does it make me feel good?"  If there are any "no's," give it away, donate it, let it go.  Ideally, you want to surround yourself with only objects, collectibles, furniture, and artwork that truly make you feel good.

Do not feel obligated to keep stuff you don't want.  Time and time again, as I go into clients' homes, they show me all the stuff they feel obliged to hold on to, just because it was a gift or handed down to them or used to belong to their parents, and they hate it.  This can cause guilt, frustration, and anger.  It's OK to let it go and give it away.

If you are going to indulge in only one area, make it the bedroom.  The bed is where the foundation of a haven is born.  You spend a third of your life sleeping.  Go for feather beds, high thread counts, lavender sheet spray, black out curtains, and anything else that inspires a good night's sleep ensconced in luxury!  Get rid of the TV and as much of the electronic devices as you can.  Studies suggest that being bombarded by electronic magnetic fields (EMF's) from appliances and devices can hinder a good night's sleep and make you feel anxious.

Purchase a comfortable couch.  Nothing irks me more than going into a home and seeing an uncomfortable, rigidly traditional, or too small couch.  How can you really relax?  Extra deep couches are perfect for snuggling or watching movies!