From Overwhelmed to Inspired: The Intentional Home Design Method for a Space You'll Truly Love

Just when you think you have your home design just right, a new design trend catches your eye — and you wonder if you need to go back to the drawing board. Between social media + home design stores, it can be overwhelming trying to keep up with the endless design choices.

But we’ll let you in on a little secret, friend. There’s a way to design a home you love without having to go through a massive redesign with every passing design whim. Consider this post your official permission to design a timeless home you love *wink*!

With the help of Elegant Simplicity Interiors, you can finally get clear on how you want to design a truly loved home for comfort, connection + style. All it takes is our three-step Assess, Curate + Transform method to start focusing on intentional design choices that inspire you to live a life you love in your home.

 Are you ready to create a home that fits you like your favorite pair of shoes without the overwhelm? Let’s get into it!

Step 1: Assess

Defining Your Needs for Intentional Home Design

When assessing your home design preferences, it’s important to consider whether items feed into fleeting trends versus helping you create a home with functional, personalized + purposeful design elements. The problem with passing trends is that they can go out of style or even wear out quickly, particularly with “fast deco” pieces that aren’t built to last. Timeless pieces are the opposite — they stand the test of time and better align with your lifestyle, routines + habits, not a trending design aesthetic. 

Start with the personal assessment below to define a design style that matches your needs.

• Get curious: How does your current home design help or hinder your daily life? What are the functional requirements of your ideal home design — a chef’s kitchen? Cozy reading nook? Luxury flooring? 

• Design for emotion: What feelings do you want your home design to evoke? How can your design choices add to your family’s well-being? Consider how intentional design can support different emotions — for example, feelings of tranquility in bedrooms + outdoor spaces and feelings of joy in kitchens + family rooms. 

• Dream big: If you could make a design list and give it to Santa, what would you include? Write down your grandest home design wishes, setting aside practical constraints for the moment. Let your imagination run wild as you envision your dream home.

The assessment stage is all about translating vague ideas and feelings into concrete needs, wants + goals. In the next step, you’ll start narrowing down your choices to build a foundational design for your home.

Step 2: Curate

Making Intentional Choices in Your Home Design

Another danger with choosing trendy items is that they often don’t serve a functional purpose. Like the blue satin bridesmaid dress that looks pretty in photos but never again sees the light of day — despite promises that you’d “wear it again” — certain design choices simply don’t serve a purpose. 

Worse yet, poorly chosen items can lead to clutter + chaos. Imagine putting a coffee table that lacks storage in a small space; soon, magazines, blankets + dog toys start taking over. Before you know it, the clutter is affecting your mood. As your unfinished tasks and to-dos stare you in the face day in + day out, you may become stressed, overwhelmed, and even embarrassed, making it difficult to relax or focus. All that from an impractical coffee table *wink*! 

Instead of getting stuck in an endless cycle of clutter, be intentional as you curate pieces with these tips:

• Practice intentional decluttering: Marie Kondo’s Rules of Tidying include deciding whether items spark joy — intentionally considering each item + deciding whether it gives you a little thrill inside. If not, it’s gotta go (donate, dump, or sell).

• Streamline for better home design: Organizing all those joy-sparking objects requires careful decluttering. Our 15-Minute Rule will help you tackle different areas in small increments without getting overwhelmed. You can also check out our room-by-room guide to organizing your life.

• Choose with purpose: Focus on intentionally selecting quality furniture, decor, accessories, and other items that are both beautiful + functional. These things should make it easy to slow down, pause, and say “no” to being busy all the time. 

• Create balance and flow: A room’s layout, furniture placement + color palettes all play into creating a cohesive + harmonious home design. Consider proportion, scale + flow — aim for natural movement between rooms and spaces to encourage comfort + functionality while welcoming guests.

• Let your home tell a story: If a narrator were to produce a voiceover about your home, what would they say? Your home is just that: yours. It should reflect your personality and family values.

Now that you’ve curated like a pro, you’re ready to start putting your vision into action.

Step 3: Transform

Intentionally Implementing Your Home Design Vision

Have you ever bought all the supplies to fuel a new hobby, like crocheting or playing pickleball, only to get stuck thinking about actually getting started? That’s a familiar feeling when it comes to home design, friend. Just remember, it doesn’t need to be perfect. The hardest step is the first one, but after that, you’ll build the momentum you need to finish your home design project. 

Here’s how to overcome inertia and get the ball rolling.

• Create a roadmap: Map out point A to point Z to bring your home design vision to life. Whether it’s an organizing roadmap to tackle clutter or a plan to redesign your kitchen, breaking it down into manageable steps + creating a timeline with milestones will help you get started.

• Use intentional layering: One of the simplest design tricks for creating a luxurious-looking home is to purposefully layer textiles, accessories + artwork. The right combination of pieces adds depth + character to any space and invites calm + connection — the throw blanket that says “relax awhile” or the woven basket filled with games that encourages family time.

• Mix + match designs: Carefully curate a blend of patterns, textures + colors that add visual interest and make you feel right at home.

Designing your home with intention isn’t simply about finding furniture pieces you like or painting the walls with a striking color. With intentional home design, you’re creating a space that supports your daily lifestyle, enhances your well-being, and urges you to make the most of every day with the people you love. 

Embrace an Inspired Life Through Intentional Design

The Assess, Curate, Transform method is one of the simplest yet most powerful ways to move from overwhelm to inspired living in your home. It needn’t happen overnight; in fact, slow + steady wins when it comes to figuring out what really makes your house feel like a home. It’s not a one-time endeavor but rather an ongoing effort to continually reinvent your home for joyful, grateful living.

The results will be worth it if you can enjoy the journey to creating a home you love to live in, intentionally, one day at a time.

That’s our riff for today, friend. Thanks for tuning in! 

Don’t forget, if you’re in the preliminary planning stages of your next project, let’s chat.

P.S. If you loved this article, then you’re going to really enjoy the 4 Days To A More Beautiful + Functional Home.