Hey roomies!!
Today, I want to talk about something that is very close to my heart.
Something that I believe is at the center of every beautiful home I've ever walked into, every room I've ever designed, and every meaningful space I've ever created.
The feeling of belonging.
You know, we spend so much time asking ourselves, "How do I make this room look beautiful?"
We search Pinterest. We scroll through Instagram. We visit furniture showrooms, fall in love with gorgeous sofas, admire perfectly styled coffee tables, and suddenly convince ourselves that our living room needs an entirely new personality.
And before you know it, you've purchased six decorative pillows, three vases, a new lamp, and something made of marble that you don't even know what to do with.
Roomies, we've all been there.
But what if I told you that the secret to creating a beautiful home isn't necessarily about finding more beautiful things?
What if it's about finding the things that feel most like YOU?
In today's video, I'm inviting you into my own living room to share three pieces that help make my space feel personal, meaningful, and wonderfully comfortable.
And I'm giving you a simple little design exercise that might completely change the way you look at your home.
Watch today's video here:
How to Make Your Home Feel More Like You | Rooms By Roma
Stop Decorating for Everyone Else
Can I tell you something?
Your home does not need to look like a furniture showroom.
It doesn't need to resemble the house you saw on Instagram yesterday.
And it certainly doesn't need to follow every new design trend that comes along.
Your home should look like someone lives there. And that someone should be YOU.
I think we sometimes forget that decorating is supposed to be personal.
We become so concerned about whether something matches, whether a color is trendy, or whether a piece of furniture is considered fashionable that we forget to ask ourselves the most important question:
"Does this make me happy?"
Because at the end of the day, the most beautiful homes aren't necessarily the ones filled with the most expensive furniture.
They're the ones filled with meaning.
They're the homes where you can walk through the door, take a deep breath, look around, and think...
"This feels like me."
And roomies, that feeling is priceless.
My Three-Piece Formula for Creating a Personal Home
When I'm helping someone design a space, I like to think about three important elements.
Not twenty.
Not fifty.
Just three.
One large anchor piece. One meaningful decorative piece. And one source of beautiful lighting.
Together, these three things can become your design compass.
They help establish the room's personality, guide your decisions, and create a foundation that feels intentional rather than simply decorated.
And the best part?
You may already own all three.
Let's talk about them.
1. The Anchor Piece: Something That Grounds Your Room
Every room needs something that gives it a sense of purpose.
In a living room, that might be your sofa.
In a bedroom, it's often your bed.
In a dining room, it's the table where everyone gathers.
This is what I call your anchor piece.
It's usually one of the largest pieces of furniture in the room, and it helps establish the overall feeling of the space.
In my own living room, my anchor pieces are my custom white sofas.
Now, you know how much I love a beautiful white sofa.
There's something so fresh, clean, and timeless about white upholstery.
But what I love most about these sofas isn't simply their color.
It's how they help the entire room feel open, airy, and welcoming.
They give the space a foundation without making it feel heavy.
And that's something I always want you to consider when choosing larger furniture.
Does this piece make the room feel the way you want to feel when you're in it?
Not just how you want it to look.
How you want it to feel.
Because a sofa isn't just something to photograph.
It's where conversations happen.
Where friends gather.
Where family sits together.
Where you curl up at the end of a long day.
And sometimes where you sit with a cup of coffee, stare into space, and wonder why you walked into the kitchen three times and still forgot what you needed.
That's life, roomies.
And our furniture needs to support it.
A Little Roma Design Tip: Give Your Furniture Room to Breathe
One of my favorite ways to create an open, airy feeling is by choosing furniture with visible legs.
When you can see a little floor underneath a sofa, chair, or cabinet, the room often feels lighter.
It's a small detail, but visually it can make a wonderful difference.
And remember, not every piece of furniture needs to be pushed against a wall.
Sometimes giving your furniture a little breathing room creates better flow and a more inviting arrangement.
Good design isn't about filling every inch. Sometimes it's about knowing what to leave open.
2. The Meaningful Piece: The Little Things That Hold the Biggest Memories
Now we're getting to my favorite part.
The sentimental pieces.
The things that might not mean very much to anyone else but mean absolutely everything to you.
In my living room, those pieces include beautiful brass dragonflies that my mom gave me.
And roomies, I love them.
Not simply because they're decorative.
Not because brass is beautiful.
Not because they happen to work with the design of my room.
I love them because they came from my mom.
Every time I see them, there's a connection.
A memory.
A little reminder of someone I love.
And that is something you cannot purchase from a showroom.
You can buy a beautiful decorative object anywhere.
But you cannot buy the history that makes something meaningful.
That's what gives our homes their souls.
Your Home Should Tell Your Story
Think about the things you have collected throughout your life.
Maybe it's a photograph from a family vacation.
A piece of pottery you purchased while traveling.
A painting your child made.
A small sculpture someone gave you.
A book that changed the way you see the world.
A piece of furniture that belonged to someone you loved.
These are the things that make your home different from every other home on the planet.
And isn't that wonderful?
I think about how much of our lives is connected to the objects we keep.
Some remind us of celebrations.
Some remind us of places we've visited.
Some remind us of people who are still beside us.
And some remind us of people we carry in our hearts.
A home can hold memories without keeping us stuck in the past.
It can honor where we've been while making room for where we're going.
That's something I've come to appreciate more and more throughout my own life.
Because our homes aren't simply collections of furniture.
They're collections of moments.
Don't Hide the Things That Matter
Here's something I want you to try.
Look around your house and find something that makes you smile because of the memory attached to it.
Now ask yourself:
Why is this tucked away in a closet?
Why is it sitting in a box?
Why am I saving it for someday?
Roomies, someday is not a decorating style.
If something brings you joy, find a beautiful way to incorporate it into your home.
Display it on a shelf.
Give it a place on your coffee table.
Put it beside a favorite book.
Let it become part of your everyday life.
It doesn't have to match everything perfectly.
Sometimes the most interesting piece in a room is the one that has the best story.
And I promise you, that story will always be more interesting than a perfectly coordinated set of accessories.
3. The Lighting: Where the Magic Happens
Now we have our anchor piece.
We have something meaningful.
But there's one more element that can bring everything together.
Lighting.
Oh, roomies.
You know how I feel about lighting.
Lighting is one of the most powerful tools we have in interior design because it can completely change the atmosphere of a room.
In my living room, I love using warm ambient floor lamps.
They create a soft glow that makes the space feel comfortable, peaceful, and inviting.
And here's what I love about that.
The sofas don't change.
The dragonflies don't change.
The furniture stays exactly where it is.
But when the lighting changes, the entire mood of the room changes with it.
That's the magic.
Your Home Should Know When It's Time to Relax
During the day, I love natural light.
I love how it fills a room, brings out the colors, and makes everything feel fresh and alive.
But in the evening?
I want something softer.
Something warmer.
Something that tells me it's time to slow down.
That's why I love ambient lighting.
A beautiful floor lamp in the corner.
A table lamp beside the sofa.
A warm glow illuminating a piece of artwork.
These small layers can make a room feel so much more personal.
And here's a little tip:
Pay attention to your light bulbs.
A beautiful fixture with the wrong bulb can completely change the atmosphere you're trying to create.
Consider warm bulbs for spaces where you want a softer, cozier feeling, and use dimmers where appropriate so you can adjust the lighting throughout the day.
Because sometimes the difference between a room that feels cold and a room that feels welcoming is simply the quality of the light.
A Little More Design Advice: Don't Be Afraid to Mix Wood Tones
While we're talking about creating rooms with personality, I want to share another little tip.
You do not have to match every wood tone in your home.
I know.
Somebody just gasped.
But it's true.
Different wood tones can create depth, warmth, and visual interest.
A darker wood table can look beautiful beside a lighter wood cabinet.
Warm wood tones can complement soft upholstery.
Natural textures can help connect different finishes throughout a room.
The key is creating balance.
Look for undertones that work together, repeat finishes thoughtfully, and give your eye a sense of connection.
Your home should feel collected, not purchased as a matching set.
Because your life isn't a matching set either.
It's made up of different experiences, different chapters, different people, and different memories.
Why shouldn't your home reflect that same beautiful variety?
You Don't Need to Start Over to Find Your Style
This is something I really want you to remember.
If your home doesn't feel quite right, that doesn't mean you need to replace everything.
Please don't start ordering an entirely new living room before you've even finished reading this blog.
Your wallet and I would like to have a conversation first.
Instead, start with what you already own.
Find your favorite large piece of furniture.
Choose something sentimental that makes you happy.
Then look at your lighting.
Those three things can help guide the rest of your decisions.
Maybe you realize you need a different rug.
Maybe the artwork should move.
Maybe you need to add warmth with a lamp.
Maybe you discover that the room already has everything it needs, but the pieces simply need to be rearranged.
Sometimes creating a home that feels more like you isn't about bringing something new in. It's about rediscovering what's already there.
Your Home Doesn't Have to Be Perfect to Be Beautiful
I've talked a lot about this as we've been settling into our new home.
There's always something to do.
Something to move.
Something to hang.
Something to change.
And I think we can become so focused on finishing our homes that we forget to enjoy them.
We tell ourselves we'll invite friends over when the living room is finished.
We'll have dinner when the dining room is perfect.
We'll relax when everything is organized.
We'll celebrate when the house looks exactly the way we imagined.
But roomies...
Life is happening right now.
Your family is growing right now.
Your friendships are happening right now.
Memories are being created right now.
And your home should be part of those experiences, even when the artwork isn't hung and the pillows aren't perfectly fluffed.
The people you love aren't coming over to inspect your baseboards.
Well, hopefully not.
And if they are, we may need to reconsider the guest list.
They're coming to spend time with you.
To laugh.
To eat.
To talk.
To feel welcome.
That's what makes a house feel like home.
Design Is About More Than What We See
The longer I work in interior design, the more I believe that the most important part of a room is something we can't always photograph.
It's the feeling.
The comfort of sitting on a sofa you love.
The happiness of seeing something your mother gave you.
The warmth of a lamp glowing softly in the evening.
The memories attached to artwork.
The familiar objects that remind you of your journey.
Those things create emotional connections.
And emotional connections are what turn spaces into places where we truly belong.
A beautiful room can impress someone.
But a meaningful room can make someone feel something.
And roomies, I'll choose that feeling every single time.
Your Three-Piece Challenge
Here's what I want you to do after watching today's video.
Walk into your favorite room.
Look around.
And find three things.
First, your anchor piece.
What's the large piece of furniture that helps define the room?
Second, your meaningful piece.
What's something you own that carries a memory, a story, or a connection to someone you love?
Third, your lighting.
What light makes the room feel warm, peaceful, inviting, or simply more like you?
Now look at those three things together.
What do they tell you about your style?
What colors, textures, and materials connect them?
What feeling do they create?
And how can you use those answers to guide the rest of the room?
You might be surprised by how much your home is already telling you about yourself.
Final Thoughts From Roma: Home Is Where Your Story Lives
Roomies, I want to leave you with something that's been on my heart.
We spend our lives collecting so many things.
Furniture.
Artwork.
Photographs.
Books.
Souvenirs.
Little treasures.
But what we're really collecting are memories.
The sofa where we laughed with friends.
The dining table where we celebrated birthdays.
The photograph that reminds us of a beautiful vacation.
The little brass dragonflies that remind me of my mom.
The soft light that makes the room feel peaceful at the end of the day.
These are the things that matter.
Not because they're expensive.
Not because they're fashionable.
Not because someone on the internet told us we should own them.
But because they're connected to our lives.
And I think that's the most beautiful thing about interior design.
Our homes have the ability to tell our stories without saying a single word.
They can remind us of where we've been.
They can comfort us through difficult seasons.
They can celebrate the people we love.
And they can welcome us into the chapters we haven't written yet.
So don't worry so much about creating the perfect room.
Create a room that makes you smile.
A room that brings you peace.
A room filled with things that have meaning.
A room where you feel comfortable being exactly who you are.
Because at the end of the day, the most beautiful home isn't the one that looks like everyone else's.
It's the one that could only belong to you.
And that, my beautiful roomies, is something no amount of money can buy.
Watch today's full video as I share the three meaningful pieces in my own living room and show you how to begin creating a home that feels more personal:
Watch the Full Video: How to Make Your Home Feel More Like You
For more heartfelt interior design inspiration, home decorating ideas, meaningful styling tips, and personalized interior design services, visit Rooms By Roma.
And now I want to hear from you.
What are the three pieces in your home that make your space feel most like YOU?
Is it a favorite sofa?
Something your parents gave you?
A piece of artwork?
A beautiful lamp?
Or maybe something small that holds a memory only you understand?
Share your three pieces in the comments. I would love to hear the stories behind them.
Because every home has a story.
And every story deserves to be celebrated.
As always, thank you for being here, for sharing your homes and your lives with me, and for allowing me to be a little part of your design journey.
I look forward to creating with you.
