When two people get married they move into a home with the hopes and dreams of raising a family and living happily ever after.
A home is a sacred place, it is where we can be the most vulnerable and still feel protected.
A home is a place to nurture our marriage, raise our families and create lasting memories.
It does not matter what size your home is or what State you live in, you can create the home of your dreams in any place.
When two people come together and share their environment, it is important that they create the space with one another in mind.
The first step is to find a home that you can afford, not a home that you are struggling to make the payments on every month.
This is crucial to a happy marriage.
The most important aspect of your home is that it cause you minimal stress, it is supposed to be your sanctuary.
Often times we think that a bigger home is better, we will be more happy, but in the end it becomes a burden on the marriage if you are scraping by each month just to make the payments.
So if you are buying a new home, buy within your price range.
If the home you live in is too expensive consider moving to a less expensive home, it may end up saving your marriage.
In my profession as an interior designer and marriage counselor, I work with so many clients who barely have the budget to even put blinds up in their new home, because the house payment itself was all they could afford.
What horrible pressure on a new couple to move into a new home and not be able to have the money to make it your own.
This will cause undue stress on a marriage and in many cases can be the cause of divorce itself.
When you do move into a new home or are trying to recreate your existing home one of the first steps to take in helping your marriage is to de-clutter your home.
You can start by throwing or giving away items in your home that you no longer use.
This can be a very freeing experience once you get started.
Many people use clutter as a way to be less intimate with their spouse or children.
Clutter can make you feel less productive and even stagnate intimacy in the bed room.
A home that is well organized and not full of clutter is a more peaceful space to be in.
You will notice that when a room becomes too cluttered or disorganized, it no longer is a place of relaxation it just becomes the clutter room.
This is especially important when talking about a master bed room.
You want your master bedroom to be clean, organized and uncluttered.
There is nothing worse than planning a romantic evening or peaceful rest in a cluttered master bed room.
Organization is next, make space for your important stuff.
Place books in a book shelf, toys in a box, remote controls in a drawer, important papers in a filing cabinet.
Take the time to organize your home.
If you feel over whelmed by this process there are many good companies out there that can help you get organized.
Invest in furniture that is beautiful and functional at the same time.
When it comes to furniture you want it to have the proper placement and size in your home.
You can make your home stylish, comfortable, and functional all at the same time.
A few tricks that I have helped clients use in their homes is functional storage furniture.
A bench nook in a kitchen that opens and stores things, an ottoman or coffee table in the den that store items.
The master bed could have a bench at the end of a bed that stores items.
Play rooms or kids room, they have all kinds of cubby shelving with baskets on the market for storage.
All of these suggestions make a smaller home seem more spacious when furniture can also be used as storage.
The last item on the list is style and feel of your home.
This may take some time to develop and it is a joint project with your spouse.
Most couples after looking through magazines together or HGTV can usually agree on a style that will make both of them happy.
Once you have decide on the style, you have to be realistic on what kind of budget that you can afford and what you feel is important to spend it on.
The old saying is still true, the husband wants the big screen television and the wife wants her new sectional.
My feeling is compromise, smaller television.
and less expensive sectional or wait and save up for both at the same time.
We all know that marriage can be wonderful and challenging at times.
We can however make our home a place where marriage can be nurtured and is safe to grow and change in.
A home is our sanctuary, and should not be a cause of stress or disagreement.
In the times ahead our homes are becoming more important to us, we eat out less, and we are spending more time at home entertaining with our family and friends, so treat your home as your Temple.
There is no greater joy than to raise a family in a happy and healthy marriage in a beautiful well kept home.