5 ways you can bring more joy to your home's design

Betsy Kornelis
·4 min read
Abundance is a design aesthetic used by author Fedell Lee, which Kitsap Sun columnist Betsy Kornelis translated into her own hallway. Filling a blank wall with family photos in bright or distinct frames adds pattern and texture.
Abundance is a design aesthetic used by author Fedell Lee, which Kitsap Sun columnist Betsy Kornelis translated into her own hallway. Filling a blank wall with family photos in bright or distinct frames adds pattern and texture.

When decorating our homes, we often choose finishes, furnishings and colors that feel timeless, classic and safe, under the guise that we will be happier with it in the long run. We’re worried if we follow our hearts, we risk our spaces ending up too colorful, too quirky or with a design that won't stand the test of time. There’s nothing wrong with this formula, and these are all valid considerations since it takes significant resources to renovate or decorate a home. But, playing it safe can sometimes result in spaces that feel impersonal and lackluster – which is how I’d been feeling about a number of rooms in our home.

Admittedly, I was in a design rut, until very recently. A friend introduced me to a Ted Talk by interior designer Ingrid Fetell Lee entitled "Where Joy Hides and How to Find It." That shook me right out of it. Luckily she also wrote a book about this, and it’s inspired me to be more experimental with color and express my creativity by adding more personal touches throughout our house.

In “Joyful: The Surprising Power of Ordinary Things to Create Extraordinary Happiness” (2018), Fetell Lee outlines what she calls the 10 “aesthetics of joy”: energy, abundance, freedom, harmony, play, surprise, transcendence, magic, celebration and renewal.

Each chapter dives into one element and provides study and evidence to support why and how implementing these aesthetics can actually create more joy in your life at home. At the end of the book Fetell Lee provides a “Joyful Toolkit” which has worksheets, exercises and tips to inspire you to change the way you see and feel joy in both your physical environment and life in general.

Below, I highlight the 5 “aesthetics of joy” that resonated most with me, accompanied by what Fetell Lee describes as their “tangible qualities,” and share some ideas of how to inject them into your own decor.

Betsy Kornelis
Betsy Kornelis

  • “Energy: vibrant color and light” Nothing like the power of paint to instantly transform a bland room into something special, and why not pick your favorite color to be the feature? If you're afraid to plunge a whole room into color, just paint a piece of furniture or an accent wall, then repeat that same color in the rug or art and pillows. I’m adding pops of my favorite color, coral, in various ways throughout the house this spring. Bring in layers of warm, ambient light with cute table lamps or plug-in wall sconces.

  • “Abundance: lushness, multiplicity, and variety” Add this element with layers of pattern, texture and repetition. Hang wallpaper on an otherwise empty wall, or swap your plain linen bedding for a quilt with pattern and color. Keep to a tight color palette and vary the scale and type of patterns in the fabrics you use to add variety without too much chaos. I’m making over my formerly bland photo gallery hall by adding more art and photos, painting the frames in bright colors and also covering some of them with fabric.

  • “Play: circles, spheres, and bubbly forms” According to Fetell Lee’s research, round forms harken us back to joyful childhood moments with bubbles, beach balls, kiddie pools and balloons. Round dining tables are ideal for convivial dinners, and “circular layouts increase movement.” Try hanging a collection of spherical paper lanterns in a dead corner to add visual interest and movement. Bring in decor accessories with scalloped edges and round silhouettes.

  • “Harmony: balance, symmetry, and flow” A room that does not feel balanced in its layout, is not as inviting or visually pleasing as one that does. Create symmetry by placing the larger pieces in the room opposite each other. When buying new furniture or art, consider how their size, shape and color will blend with your existing pieces for a better balanced composition. In the book, Fetell Lee brings order to an untidy entryway and notices how it positively impacts the flow of daily activity that breezes in and out of her home.

  • “Celebration: synchrony, sparkle, and bursting shapes” This was perhaps my most favorite of the 10 aesthetics that Fetell Lee defines. So many moments, big and small, are celebrated by bringing people together at home. Arrange furniture in a way that encourages interaction and conversation. We decided to move the TV to the basement so our living room is a place to read, listen to music, play games and enjoy fires together in winter. Bounce light around the room with a starburst mirror or swap out matte cabinet hardware with a shiny brass or chrome. Or make everyday feel like a celebration by exchanging a boring light fixture for a disco ball!

Find more inspiration from Ingrid Fetell Lee on instagram @ingridfetell and at theaestheticsofjoy.com.

Betsy Kornelis is an Interior Designer in Bremerton. Find her at paisleyandpine.com and on instagram @paisleypine.

This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: How to design a home that brings joy to your family