We want our homes to nurture us, to reflect who we are and what we value, to welcome us…perhaps even to beckon us. Home needs to be beautiful to us and it should feed our spirit. Yet in the tumult of modern life, home can sometimes feel chaotic, lonely, conflicting, or even painful. We can change that.
As the German Catholic priest Meister Eckhart once wrote, “God is at home; it is we who have gone out for a walk.” The sanctuary your soul seeks is within your reach. With some mindful planning and thoughtful creativity, you can have a home that inspires and enlivens your spirit.
You might ask, as a holistic health association, why are we discussing issues of home? Glad you asked! Holistic means holistic, i.e., all aspects of health. Feelings about home are an important part of health. Feeling safe, secure, peaceful, and comfortable all have a profound positive influence on health. Science has shown us that over and over. Entire books have been written about creating a home that feeds your soul, so we can’t cover it all here, but we can plant a seed that you can nurture and germinate as your time and budget allow. So, let’s begin.
Soulful Symbols
Modern design often focuses on the sterile aspects of form and function … square footage, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, maybe the size of the kitchen or type of appliances, the size of the garage, stairs or no stairs. But what about how a home feels to you or what feelings it invokes in you? How can we access those aspects of home?
One way to experience more soulfulness in our homes is to develop eyes to see them differently. When you look at an old pot on a stove, what do you see? Perhaps an old, beat-up pot with scratches, dings, dents, and stains. How did those physical characteristics occur, though? For example, can you recall all the meaningful meals with family and friends where this pot served you? In the same way, shift your focus from the structure of your rooms to symbols they contain. When we learn to celebrate common objects like a stove or a bathtub as symbols of nourishment and transformation, we open our hearts and minds to workings of the spirit. Recognizing the symbols contained in our homes ignites creativity and imagination, which, in turn, can transform daily life from mundane to meaningful.
The kitchen, for example, is the heart of the home. Like our heart organ, it provides nourishment and sustenance. For many, it’s the most-used room in the house – one where we go for food, feelings of belonging, and time to connect. The repetitive tasks of cooking, eating, and cleaning symbolize the natural rhythms of life that can foster feelings of comfort and grounding. Deep family bonds are often formed while cooking together.
Bathrooms symbolize cleansing, and letting go, literally and metaphorically. Just as the body disposes of waste to make space for nourishment and renewal, bathrooms can symbolize life transitions where the old is cleared away to make room for the new.
Most of us would agree that bedrooms are the most personal of all our homes’ spaces. They symbolize rest, relaxation, intimacy, and self-expression. Bedrooms are sanctuaries or escapes from the demands of daily life. Peace in this space is especially important as it’s where most of us sleep and restore.
The living room is a space for relaxing, unwinding, and enjoying the company of others. It symbolizes hospitality and connection. A fireplace in the living room (or in any room) symbolizes warmth, comfort, and a sense of home.
Décor That Soothes and Nurtures the Spirit
The needs of the soul are satisfied through the typical actions of human dwelling such as cooking, eating, gathering with others, sleeping, dreaming, intimacy, bathing, managing finances, and solitude. So, in addition to recognizing the symbolism, creating a home for the soul can be achieved by making soul the reference point for the forms, textures, materials, and colors you choose to accomplish these actions. Consider this example: through a soulful lens, you wouldn’t choose a particular desk because of its craftsman style that harmonizes with the style of other furniture in the room. You would choose it for the ways the color, texture, and shape inspire you, speak to you. Likewise, consider that the building and decorating materials in your home have a substantial impact on the soulfulness of it. In general, materials found in nature or those made with a minimum of technology delight the soul more than high-tech products. For example, a wood or stone countertop enriches the soul more than one made of plastic laminate. A wool rug cultivates the soul more than carpet made of acrylic fibers.
To be food for the soul, our interiors should not only be comfortable, but stimulating or soothing (depending on the purpose of the space), with rich and varied textures, pleasant sounds, colors, and lighting schemes that are appropriate for the room’s atmosphere. Bright ambient lights are better for living rooms and bathrooms, kitchens usually need a combination of bright ambient and task lighting, whereas soft and accent lighting supports the intimacy, restfulness, and restoration we seek in bedrooms.
From color psychology we know how deeply we’re affected by choices of color. Warm colors like red, orange, and yellow evoke feelings of excitement, passion, energy, and warmth. Cool colors like blue and green are tranquil, calm, and serene. Neutral colors like beige, white, and gray are spacious, clean, and minimalist. The colors you choose to adorn your rooms feel more harmonious when they coincide with the purpose and symbolism of the space.
And finally, the days of matchy-matchy multiple-piece sets are gone. It’s far more interesting to embrace the slow-living movement and approach furniture, art, window coverings, and other décor from a mindful, intentional perspective that allows pieces that speak to you – whether old or new, same design style or different – to live harmoniously together under one soulful roof.
No matter how humble or grand the dwelling, no matter how spacious or snug the proportions, the spaces that shelter our most cherished dreams also hold our hearts. And when you’re surrounded by things (and people) you love and value, stress is reduced, mental and emotional stability is enhanced, a sense of belonging is fostered, and creativity grows. Our prayer is that God is always home in your home and His spirit intertwines with yours there.
References
- Bird, S. and D. Duchars. (2020). Home for the Soul: Sustainable and Thoughtful Decorating and Design. Ryland Peters & Small: London & New York.
- Lawlor, A. (1997). A Home for the Soul: A Guide for Dwelling with Spirit and Imagination. Clarkson N. Potter Publishers: New York, NY.
- Lester, M. (2025). Gracious Home: Cultivating a Spirit of Welcome. Hoffman Media, 83 Press: Birmingham, AL.
- Pegrum, J. (2003). Peace at Home: Simple Solutions for Serene Homes. Chronicle Books: San Francisco.
