Styling my first small home

HOME & LIFE GOALS:

Where does this home fit in my life? Keeping in mind that: Main priorities and current values in life = work & savings, travel, friends, hobbies, rest, & romance. The purpose of this exercise I designed is to plan where to focus my energy & money; where is it worth investing energy & money. How do I achieve maximum happiness and not feel overwhelmed due to focusing too much senseless exertion of energy? What adds value to my life in the long run?

• First, beginner house = A haven, and a place to invest in oneself while being able to enjoy & explore hobbies such as creative styling & decorating.
• Having this home itself satisfies work & savings because I am putting money into this home that is close to work. This also puts me closer to traveling / the airport, my friends, hobbies, and possibly romance? :)
• The entryway is going to need to be efficient for my work life as I'll be in and out the door 5 days a week. And I'll need to consider my weekend life as well. What about my bike?
• Because I want to travel, I'm going to want to save a good portion of money for this. It probably doesn't make sense to fill my house up with tons and tons of decor. My goal is to collect only the items that capture my heart from abroad. Everything else is noise and out of my budget/lifestyle as I plan to travel and not be IN all the time.

• I'm going to want enough decor to evoke personality & hospitality for visitors and friends and family coming to my place. Comfortable furnishings such as a sleeper sofa are a requirement for overnight stays. I'm going to need to keep a few entertaining things in the area, possibly a dining area where I can serve refreshing food.
• Hobbies - definitely need to perfect that wardrobe walk in closet as a play area. My desk is going to need to be efficient for my morning routine and online scavenging. I'm going to need a vignette or two in the house to play with. I go through a lot of receipts, papers, and packages, shopping bags, for my hobbies. There needs to be a space for this.
• I need to feel relaxed for sleep. My bedroom is going to have to be both comfortable and functional. What if I need a drink or dinner while on the computer? I also need to feel clean & pure in order to relax.
• Romance. How do I solve for romance? Where does romance even fit into this picture / my home life? I want to feel confident and good about myself despite having no partner, so that someday I may meet somebody that is the right fit, and I'll be in a happy, confident state of mind. What I don't want to feel is, that I've wasted my time on something, investing in parts of myself that don't make me happy or confident in the long run. Feeling like my life is a mess (financially, mentally, etc.) rather than getting clarity and function from my home. Two scenarios could happen:
  
  
• What if I move or decide to have more than one home? Some aspects of life should be portable. The dedicated spaces will need to be "slot in" with those portable pieces whenever I move from one location to another. Which pieces should be static?

RESOURCES:

Based on my diary entry above, I feel like I mainly need investment relaxing furniture (staple pieces), any functional pieces to fit my day-to-day, and 2 or 3 small vignettes for a touch of personality/sparkle of joy (?). Furniture & vignettes should generally be leave behinds/anchored to this home location so it makes sense not to have too much/too expensive unless it's going to be with me for a lifetime. Ie. try not to have too many separate small storage items that could be vignettes. Instead, store things in built in shelves/permanent fixtures or furniture while being functional & efficient.

Along with my own mind/instincts, I will be using this book to help guide my decisions and planning and inject ideas. Pinterest will collect my ideas and my own house will be the laboratory :)

STYLE:

From the quiz in the book I've uncovered my opposing style profiles:

• Zen is an Eastern approach to decorating (or “undecorating”) that focuses on the warmth of materials in a minimalist style. These rooms achieve balance, harmony, and relaxation by softening the starkness of minimalism with natural materials, wood accents, and sculptural greenery.
• Modern Glam: The focus is on feminine curves, metallics, luxe finishes, and generally just bling anywhere and everywhere.

ROOM AREAS:

Let's start off with each room and the mood it needs to evoke.