The art of telling Your Home's Story your way is key for those with ADHD. It’s about taking a deep dive into how you want yourself, your family and to a certain extent your guests to feel in your home. Designers often talk about getting to know someone by experiencing their homes and I think this happens in homes that are truly tailored to their occupants rather than those that are decorated in a certain style. So, what do you want from your home? Is it a calm relaxing zone or invigorating and joyful. Is it bright & light or deeper and moody. When we know how we want to feel in our home & in individual parts of it, it helps us to determine the home's visual story which influences everything from patterns to finishes. It is not the colour scheme nor the design style though it does inspire both.
This post is part of a series introducing the main pillars of The KCB Way; Selective Minimalism, Rang-er, Visual Storytelling, Systems, Flexibility & Transition
In this age of social media we have never before spent so much ‘time’ inside other people’s homes. We can spend hours pinning the perfect kitchen, discovering the best organizational system and drooling over other families’ perfect playrooms. All the while not knowing whether those are actually soul-filled, functioning spaces and even if they do fulfil those criteria for that particular family that doesn’t mean they would do the same for you. Before we try to emulate a certain design style or use a certain colour we need to start with feelings. Feelings after all drive so much of how we live as ADHDers and while we definitely all have emotional responses to different colours this process is much more fundamental than just choosing a colour.
Having said that, I also believe that if you have a strong pull or negative reaction to certain colours and tones then that can be a great clue in helping you discover your home’s visual story. If you dislike white walls, pastel colours and light woods then odds are part of your home’s story isn’t going to involve descriptors like ‘light & bright’. Conversely if you shy away from dark colours and wood tones then dark and moody might not be a fit.
To get started, think about the following: while individual parts of your home will vary somewhat there will still be overarching themes. One exception to this may be older kiddos as they find their own story in their own spaces.
The Steps for the ADHD Home Story
Who uses the home
How do we want to generally feel in the space? Is your home a refuge, for relaxing? Do you want it to energise and inspire creativity,
What kinds of activities do we do? This has something to do with energy, is there a lot of playing, reading, creating, working out, work etc, what is the approach at meal times?
Outward or Inward focussed. Some families are always entertaining, there are always tons of people over. Other homes cater more to family members only while other homes are in between. Despite what design tv might show us not all homes need to be for entertaining!
What is the story you want your home to tell? Once we know who uses the home and what we do there as well as how we want to feel then we can get a bit more specific about our story. What is important to you? What is unique about your family & how you use your home? Here are some adjectives to get you started. You may find in the next week or so that more ideas will come to you now that you are thinking about your home this way. Also just as our families evolve so do our homes so this story will shift over time.
Calm, energized, understated, elegant, light, playful, moody, dark, serious, warm, cosy, cool, formal, informal, inviting, bright, neutral, cocoon, expansive, open, cossotting, refreshing, peaceful, welcoming, country, European, elegant, eclectic, cool, joyful.
*remember to include in this step unique elements of your family’s story.
My home as an example
Who lives here ; 3 adults & 4 somewhat wild boys though less than before
We want to feel calm yet energised, creative, curious & together, family time is important
We eat together every night, we play board games, video games, need different homework/work zones, space for creative pursuits, exercise space, love comfortable seating. Nothing can be too precious, don’t mind some nicks on finishes
We are halfway between inward/outward focussed. In the past our homes were more outward but with different medical needs we have folks over less than we used to.
Relaxed but energized, flexible spaces to allow different people doing different things at the same time. Light, bright but not boringl. Be reminded of our past experiences but open to new things.
My home’s story; Bright, light, open spaces that are welcoming, while being elegant yet relaxed. Room to gather and play for our family while including others in flexible, comfortable spaces that are beautiful & sophisticated yet a bit quirky/playful that show international nods from our backgrounds and travel.
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