The Architecture of Happiness

It's no secret that I am a huge book nerd. The library is my jam. But for some reason, even though I read quadruple the books that the husband does...he always finds the books with the best messages and take aways. Some of you know he has a background in design (the website, business cards and ebooks? All him.)...in fact in addition to all this he was 1 credit away from being a 'credentialed' interior designer in college. So there you go. I'm a lucky girl.

This is his book recommendation and based on his highlights, you seriously need to get your hands on this book. It's pretty deep and maybe you'll get some insight into why you make your space the way you do. 

One of the big take aways from The Architecture of Happiness by Alain de Botton is  what we surround ourselves with or dream of doing with our space is based on what we lack elsewhere in life (Mind blow). Someone who lives in the middle of the city might dream of a garden or buy natural fibers and house plants....because they lack the greenery in their daily lives. Someone who is going through a rough time in their life might crave a cozy space with layers, depth and warmth. 

As a personal example, we are in the midst of renovating an 1890's simple victorian home. Huge project. I spend hours scraping paint off of beautiful, original *grumble grumble* victorian moldings for fun. While we picked it for a variety of reasons, one was because we craved a home with character...that was different and customizable. Why? In college we rented an apartment that, while top of the line in the area, was not customizable and was totally cookie cutter. And maybe because the husband grew up in same-same-same neighborhoods his entire life that were all designed and decorated for resale purposes. We are drawn to unique. We like the idea of knocking down every wall downstairs to create an open floor plan because we can. Or painting the bathroom black. Or leaving the wood beams exposed for the celling. 

 During this rennovation (not so much now, but definitely at the start), I was pushy and dying to just get rooms 'finalized' and 'put together' way before it was time. I wanted a room that was decorated, complete and felt like me. Side note: this is so stupid to do during a renovation...but it's because I crave a sense of organized completeness in a room. Why? I grew up in a super relaxed, busy and cluttered home where there were a million projects being done at the same time that usually took years to finish. So in all of a chapter, my craziness was psychoanalyzed and made sense. 

Just some food for though. What's your ideal space? Does it make sense based on this book?