Welcome Home: 7 Ways to Claim Your Space
Custom built-ins turn this playroom into a flexible family space—designed to evolve as the kids (and their rituals) grow. Design: LSD Studio / Photography: Liz Swaminathan
Welcome home. Maybe you’ve just closed on a house, or maybe you’ve lived in yours for years and are ready to shape it more intentionally. Either way, clearly the place has some magic—or you wouldn’t have chosen it. Unless you’re planning a full-scale renovation, the real question is: how do you make it feel unmistakably yours with thoughtful, lower-intervention moves?
Here’s where we like to focus when helping clients claim their homes—and, just as importantly, their daily lives.
1. Space Planning: Make Every Room Earn Its Keep
Every home has quirks. The question is how you choose to use them. A home office can become a guest suite with the addition of a Murphy bed, while a den fitted with a wet bar suddenly functions as both family room and guest kitchenette. Oversized rooms can be right-sized with custom built-ins or a wall of books, while forgotten corners can become opportunities: a small display of bold art, a sculptural floor lamp, or a single beautiful houseplant that thrives in a shaft of natural light.
And please: resist the impulse to orient everything around the fireplace. In Austin, fireplaces see only a handful of cold nights, but they dominate layouts year-round. Mounting a television above one is uncomfortable and impractical. Orienting your furniture toward a blank wall may feel counterintuitive, but your neck—and your design sensibility—will thank you.
We also like to remind clients of a few rules of thumb: avoid placing a bed’s headboard directly in line with the door, ensure dining chairs don’t interrupt the natural circulation path of a room, and pay attention to where the sun falls throughout the day so you can live with light, not against it.
Key takeaways:
Flex rooms should serve more than one purpose.
Layout choices matter more than “focal points” like fireplaces.
Pay attention to light, circulation, and proportions before buying furniture.
2. Entrance: First Impressions Matter
Entrances set the tone—for visitors, yes, but also for you. Ingrid Fetell Lee has written beautifully about how bright, joyful colors can lift your mood the moment you step inside, while Jun’ichirō Tanizaki’s In Praise of Shadows reminds us that a moody, cocooning entry can be equally powerful. Both approaches work; what matters is intention.
The public entry is your chance to create a sense of arrival. We prefer art with personality here—something that sets the tone for the home—rather than mirrors that feel expected. Saturated paint, a sculptural fixture, or a single statement piece can establish presence immediately, even without a formal foyer.
The private entry—the mudroom, garage door, or back door—is where real life happens. If your home is anything like mine, this is where backpacks, groceries, and sports gear pile up. Motion-sensor lighting here is transformative; arms full, lights on. Pair it with fragrance that keeps boots from smelling like boots. Done right, this is where architecture serves ritual: a transition as you leave to face the day, or a warm embrace as you return home.
Key takeaways:
Treat the public entry as a stage-setter—art, color, personality.
Make the private entry practical and sensory: light, fragrance, and utility.
Mudrooms are rituals, not afterthoughts.
3. Lighting: The Architecture of Atmosphere
If we could give only one piece of advice, it would be this: be thoughtful about your lighting.
Recessed cans are useful, but they are “cleaning-day lights,” best suited to chores. To create atmosphere, you need to layer light for different programs and moods. Over dining tables, kitchen islands, or even beds, chandeliers and pendants bring the ceiling down, creating intimacy and rhythm. Repetition over islands is satisfying—two or three pendants evenly spaced. Powder rooms are opportunities to have fun, whether through sconces, flush mounts, or a pendant that exudes personality. Hallways come alive with sconces or art lights, stairways with hanging fixtures, closets with flush mounts, built-ins with library lights, and consoles with table lamps.
The right system also matters. Many high-end homes already come with integrated smart lighting; if yours does, lean into it. If not, a system like Lutron Caseta is a prosumer-level solution that’s intuitive, reliable, and guest-friendly. The key is layering: cans for bright work light, hardwired fixtures for ambiance, and lamps or programmed accessory lighting for nuance—the glow that welcomes you home at sunset, the reading light that saves you from overhead glare at night.
👉 We’ll explore this more deeply in our upcoming piece, Lighting 101: Why Cans Are for Cleaning, Not Living.
Key takeaways:
Match the fixture to the program: pendants over tables, sconces in powder rooms, flush mounts in closets.
Layer light: functional cans, architectural fixtures, and lamps.
Lean into smart systems—whether whole-home or prosumer like Caseta.
4. Wall Finishes: Beyond Builder Beige
Drywall and paint are not the only options. Plaster finishes, like Venetian plaster or American Clay, bring natural materiality and subtle texture into a room while also improving air quality. Paneling and shiplap, used judiciously, lend rhythm and warmth in stair halls, bathrooms, and mudrooms.
Wallpaper is best reserved for spaces where you want impact: powder rooms, dining rooms, or a dedicated study. We’re particularly fond of hand-painted options like Gracie, which transform a room into an experience.
Distinctive paint colors can also be powerful. Playrooms benefit from cheerful brights, while dining rooms and mudrooms thrive in moodier tones. The art of wall finishes is in balance: if your home flows kitchen → dining → living, we often suggest a simple neutral for the kitchen, a richly patterned wallcovering in the dining room, and a quieter but elegant paint for the living.
Key takeaways:
Consider plaster or paneling for natural materiality.
Reserve wallpaper for high-impact moments.
Balance bold finishes with quieter fields.
5. Closets: Infrastructure That Changes Everything
While closets infrequently appear on magazine covers, they quietly shape daily life. Modular systems like Container Store or California Closets maximize usability through adjustability, but custom millwork can make every inch work harder while also reflecting your aesthetic. The most successful custom closets allow for flexibility—shelf pins that let you reconfigure heights years later, or rods that can be easily moved as wardrobes change.
Timing matters. If you’re making pre-move-in updates, this is the moment to tackle closets: no dust in your clothes, no disruption to your routines. The ROI is immediate and daily—better mornings, smoother routines, and a sense of calm in the most functional of spaces.
Key takeaways:
Modular systems maximize flexibility, custom closets maximize space and style.
Build adjustability into custom solutions.
Do it before move-in if you can—your future self will thank you.
6. Ritual Spaces: Design for the Life You Actually Live
The fastest way to make a house yours is to design around your rituals.
Morning coffee deserves a corner designed with mise en place: cups, spoons, beans, and equipment all beautifully arranged. An exercise space should not be an afterthought crammed into a spare room; it should be dignified, with fresh towels, a small fridge, and natural light if possible. Cooking rituals are supported by thoughtful pantries and kitchens, not cluttered shelves.
Getting ready deserves its own architecture. A well-designed closet, a vanity with organized drawers, even a makeup area with flattering lighting—these are not indulgences but acts of self-care and readiness. They elevate the mundane into ritual.
Key takeaways:
Layered lighting, custom millwork, and lived-in comfort — details that shape how a home feels and functions every day. Design: LSD Studio / Photography: Kieran Reeves Photography
Rituals deserve dedicated, dignified spaces.
Thoughtful design elevates everyday routines.
Organize for joy and ease, not just storage.
7. Hardware: The Architecture You Touch Every Day
In our experience, builders often skimp on handles and knobs. Walk through enough homes and you’ll see it: multi-million-dollar properties with the same levers you’d find in a school.
Hardware is a tactile experience. While you may not consciously register it, you will feel the difference between a lightweight, hollow lever and a solid, hand-finished one. The handle you grasp is often the first signal of quality. Cabinet hardware, especially in bathrooms or wet bars, is an opportunity to express personality quietly—like cufflinks or statement earrings.
While we believe interior door hardware should be uniform throughout your home, a limited budget may mean focusing first on cabinet hardware in the most used rooms—the kitchen, primary bath, or powder room. Even small changes here can shift the daily experience of a space.
Key takeaways:
Hardware is the most tactile way to signal quality.
Uniformity across the home is best, but start with the most-used rooms if budget is tight.
Cabinet hardware is an easy way to inject subtle personality.
The Through Line
These aren’t simply cosmetic moves. They’re architectural strategies for living better—ways of aligning a house with your life, your rituals, and your sense of style. Design is about making daily life easier, richer, and more beautiful.
