Lifestyle

10 Ways to Start Loving Your Home Right Now

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February 24, 2026

I’m Allison.
Design obsessed and self-taught DIYer, I'm so excited to share my journey with you, and be a source of inspiration as well as a resource.
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Gimme that

If you’ve ever looked around your space and thought, I’ll love this more when it’s finished, this post is for you. These 10 ways to start loving your home right now are not about renovating, replacing everything, or chasing a new trend. They’re about shifting how you interact with the home you already have so it starts giving back to you immediately.

For years, I believed I would feel more connected to my home after the next project was complete. After the paint dried. After the furniture upgrade. After everything finally felt cohesive. But what I learned the hard way is this: if you keep postponing enjoyment, you miss living in your home while it is becoming.

Loving your home is not a finish line. It is a relationship. And like any relationship, it grows through small daily actions, not dramatic overhauls.

So today I want to walk you through simple, meaningful shifts that can help you start loving your home right now. These are realistic. Affordable. Immediate. And most importantly, they work.

1. Light the candle you have been saving

10 Ways to Start Loving Your Home Right Now: light the special candle you've been saving.
Shop: my favorite candles | chess board (similar) | alabaster box (similar)

If you have a candle that feels too special to burn, this is your sign to light it tonight.

There is something powerful about scent. It instantly changes the emotional tone of a room. It signals that this moment matters. For a long time, I saved my favorite candles for gatherings or holidays. Now I light them on ordinary afternoons while answering emails or cooking dinner.

Your home does not need a special occasion. It is the occasion.

2. Restyle one small surface

When you want to start loving your home right now, resist the urge to redo an entire room. Instead, focus on one surface.

A bookshelf. A console. A coffee table.

I recently restyled my bookcase and it feels so much more cohesive now! Everything linked here!

Pull books from another space. Add something organic like branches or fresh flowers. Layer art behind objects instead of lining everything up evenly. Play with height and texture.

One thoughtfully styled surface can shift the feeling of an entire room.

3. Use the good dishes on a regular night

You know the pieces I mean. The beautiful glasses. The vintage plates. The linen napkins that feel reserved for guests.

Use them anyway.

When you begin interacting with your home differently, your relationship to it changes. Setting the table with intention, even for a simple dinner, elevates the experience of being at home.

It reminds you that beauty is not meant to be stored away.

I found a set of these gold and turquoise glasses at an antique mall & love using them even just for sparkling water

4. Move what has been quietly bothering you

Sometimes loving your home right now means addressing a tiny irritation you’ve been ignoring.

Is a chair blocking the flow of the room? Does that lamp feel slightly off balance? Is your art hung just a little too high?

Experiment. You are not locked into your layout. Give yourself permission to adjust and test. Often a five minute change makes a space feel more harmonious immediately.

I swapped out the lampshades on my bookend lamps 3 times before they felt right! Shop the Cozy TV Room here.

5. Add something living

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Shop the Kitchen

Few things warm up a space faster than something alive.

Fresh flowers from the grocery store in a special vase. A clipping from your yard. A plant that adds softness to a corner. Even a bowl of fruit on the counter can bring life into a room.

Living elements create movement and energy. They remind you that your home is an environment, not just a backdrop.

6. Switch to lamps tonight

Bamboo Mirror | Marble Pedestal Dish | Vintage Buffett | Draperies | Blue Greek Key Pillows | Dragon Jar | Glass Tiered Coffee Table | Candle Cloche | Coffee Table Books | Match Striker | Marble Ribbon Bowl | Pharmacy Floor Lamp | Chandelier

Lighting changes everything.

If you want to start loving your home right now, begin tonight by turning off the overhead lights and switching on lamps instead. Layered lighting creates warmth and depth. It softens shadows and makes a room feel intentional rather than clinical.

This small shift can make a familiar space feel entirely different.

7. Play music in a room you normally do not

Design is not only visual. It’s sensory.

Play music while cooking. While getting ready in the morning. Recently I’ve loved putting on some soft instrumental music in the home office while working. Sound changes how a space feels and how you move through it.

When your home feels alive, you feel more connected to it.

Shop: Desk | Desk Lamp | Design Books | Brass Tray | Leather Desk Mat | Wallpaper | Paint Color | Dentil Molding | Chair Rail | Box Trim | Light (similar)

8. Display one personal memory

If your home feels beautiful but slightly disconnected, it may be missing you.

Print a photo that has lived on your phone for years. Frame a handwritten note. Display something sentimental that tells part of your story. For me personally I’ve loved having old photos of my family displayed in glass display boxes.

Trends come and go. Personal history adds depth and meaning.

I love using display boxes to showcase old family photos

9. Finish one small project

Not a major renovation. Just something small.

Hang the art that has been leaning against the wall. Install the cabinet hardware you already bought. Touch up a paint scuff you keep noticing or finally paint your outlet covers to match the wall color (ps – I love these ones!).

Completing something builds momentum and helps declutter your mind. When you actively shape your home, you naturally feel more invested in it.

10 ways to start loving your home right now. Swap out your outlet covers!
Finish a tiny project for a little “win” like swapping your outlet covers to paintable ones for a seamless look!

10. Sit down and enjoy what you have created

Stop adjusting the pillows. Stop scanning the room for flaws. Stop mentally drafting the next improvement.

Sit down. Look around. Notice what is already working.

Loving your home right now begins with gratitude. It begins with recognizing that your home holds your life as it is today. It does not have to be finished to be meaningful.

If you’ve been waiting for the perfect moment to feel content in your space, consider this your permission to start. Right now.

The primary bathroom is not completely finished yet, but I am not waiting on window treatments and artwork to start loving it now.

10 Ways to Start Loving Your Home Right Now: A quick reminder to save for later

If you’re in a season where you feel disconnected from your home, come back to this list anytime. Pick one tip, try it tonight, and let that be enough.

Related Posts:

How to Style the Perfect Bookshelf

My Spring Home Refresh

The Surprising Magic of Color Drenching

How to Style Long Bookshelves

My Moody Color Drenched Bedroom

Budget Friendly Kitchen Renovation

Moody Fall Home Decor

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