Think of the happiest moments in your day.  Talking with a loved one.  Sharing a home-cooked meal with family.  Reading.  Stopping to appreciate a flower or a sunset out the window.  Holding a child.  Communicating with a friend via email.  Having friends over.

Have you given thought to designing your home to facilitate your favorite activities?  Does your home enhance communication and nurture relationships?

Love to have lively conversations with friends?  Plan a comfortable, inviting conversation area.  Did you know that seating should be no farther than nine feet apart to encourage easy talking?  So be encouraged if you don’t have a large room.  Cozy seating is better for conversation!  You don’t need to shout.   Make sure each guest can have eye contact with the other guests so no one misses facial expressions that cue us into the speaker’s feelings.  Large sofas don’t lend themselves to good conversation because guests are lined up in a row, making it hard to look at each other.  Loveseats and chairs placed around a central area lend themselves to better eye contact.  People feel safer when their backs aren’t to a door or open space.  Make it easy to pull up more chairs into the conversation area if your group is large.  Our eating counter is close to our living room, so three more guests can enter the conversation in the living room by simply swiveling around on the bar stools.  Often the conversation area is also used for TV viewing.  Is there a corner that you could set aside for more engaged conversations between two people without the distraction of TV?  These one-on-one conversations are important for the health of relationships.  Choose to set aside space and time away from distractions for these priceless interactions.

Love to have family or friends over for a meal?  Design a kitchen that makes it convenient for guests to chat with the cook while she/he finishes prep for the meal.  An eating counter with stools makes it natural for guests to sit and chat with the cook.  If you enjoy having help in the kitchen, plan a layout that accommodates more than one person working in the kitchen.  This means room to pass each other without bumping into each other, and counter space for two to do prep work.  Pay attention to the placement of the refrigerator so helpers can easily access cold drinks and ice.  I almost made the mistake of placing our fridge at the far end of our kitchen.  At the last minute, I changed the design by placing the fridge at the near end of our kitchen so helpers didn’t have to walk through the kitchen to get a drink or a condiment.  Another mistake I made with the fridge was not allowing enough space between it and the opposite counter.  I hadn’t allowed for the protruding handles the current styles have.  Poor husband had to knock out a pony wall between the kitchen and living room in order to gain 5 inches for a more comfortable distance between fridge and sink.  Oops.  The joys of being your own house designer!  An open floor plan makes sure the cook isn’t isolated from her guests. Comfortable seating should be close enough for the cook to see guests and, if possible, close enough to chat with guests.  As we age, loss of hearing can become a barrier to communication.  I designed an open floor plan that put the living room and Husband’s comfortable recliner close to the kitchen so we can talk while I prepare meals.  We once had a kitchen that was large enough to put an easy chair in the corner and Husband would come home from work and sit in comfort while keeping me company as I finished supper.  Another feature of a friendly home- finishes that aren’t fragile.  If young children are in your home, choosing fabric coverings that are cleanable will help you relax.  Save the silk for your bedroom!  Avoid rugs under eating areas, or upholstered dining chairs.  Pick easy to clean surfaces.  Spills can easily be washed off wood floors.  If you have an area rug that isn’t so easy to clean, have a No Food rule in that area. (I couldn’t resist a lovely shag area rug for our living room.  Kids just don’t eat there.)  For outdoor socializing, seating around a fire-pit lends itself to great conversations.

Do you love to read?  I do!  Do you read on a screen or with a book in your hand?  Give some thought to the space where you read.  If you’re like me, reading is a treasured luxury.  For many years, most of the reading I did was reading out loud to our children.  Now that all are grown with families of their own, I have free time to read in order to improve myself and do research so I can share accurate information on my blog.  Making my reading area comfortable and pretty, with lighting appropriate to my needs helps me relax and deeply enjoy my reading time.  If you read printed material, i.e. books and magazines, make sure you have enough light to make reading easy, but without a glare.  Usually, the light source should come from slightly behind you at about head level.  A floor lamp works well for this purpose.  Did you know that a 50-year-old needs twice the wattage that a 20-year-old needs?  As we age, our eyes need more light in order to see.  ”The eye’s need for more light to read by increases 1 percent a year. When you’re 10, you can read by 40 watts or hardly any light. By the time you’re 60, you need around 100 watts.”  Dr. Eleanor Faye  Most of my reading is done online, so I situated my computer screen so that no windows reflected on it.  I even placed it so the wall behind my chair was dark, not white.  A dark wood bookcase is opposite my computer so I don’t get unwanted reflections.  I decorated my home office/play room with as much effort as the more public rooms because I spend a lot of time there.  I don’t just read there, I write this blog, do photography editing, email friends, and keep up with our adult children on Facebook.  Besides the kitchen, this room is where I spend hours of my day, so I want it to be a lovely space.  There is a rocking chair that I relax in when I read books.  It’s also comfortable for Husband to sit in when he’s lonely and just needs to chat while I work!  The closet has shelves with toys and dress-up clothes in totes so if the grandchildren want to play in the living room with the adults, we can just bring the totes out, or they can play right in the office with its open double doors through which they can see and hear the adults.

Do you love to unwind and enjoy the view from your windows?  Wise choices of window coverings make it possible to see outside while controlling glare and heat. We love our solar roller shades which filter heat and

light, at the same time allowing us a toned down view of the outdoors.  We don’t feel closed in because we can see outside through the open weave of the shades.  They are very clean and modern looking with just enough texture to add interest without being fussy.  Of course, when they are not needed, they roll up in an inconspicuous manner.  At night, we pull them down to make our space feel cozy and bright.  Because we live in the country, complete privacy isn’t necessary.  But we do have fairly close neighbors on both sides.  The solar shades mute what can be seen from the outside in.  Placement and intensity of indoor lights affect how much is visible.  The angle of view also greatly affects what can be seen.  A visitor standing directly in front of our windows at night could see quite a bit.  But someone standing at an angle to the windows sees very little.  Because the neighbors’ houses are at an angle to ours, their view at night of the inside of our house is very indistinct and blurred, the lights being the main visible things.  No details can be seen.  We measured our windows ourselves and ordered the shades online at great savings.  Installation was quick and straightforward.  We did order the shade for our smallest window first, before ordering the big windows so we could decide if we liked the color and visibility without a big investment.  We’re very happy with our decision to purchase solar roller shades.

In summary, the secrets to planning rooms that enhance your activities are:  provide seating for interaction, provide storage so your space can be kept neat and organized, provide appropriate lighting for the activity- including controlling natural light, choose surfaces that are easy to clean and tough if children are present.

Here is an easy to read, illustrated article to further help you plan your living spaces.

For Further Reading

http://blog.sheahomes.com/living/6-ways-to-create-conversation-area-layouts-for-your-home-2/

Window Covering Source

https://www.stevesblindsandwallpaper.com   We found their service to be fast and accurate at reasonable prices.  Somewhat limited color choices, but many vendors.