When it comes to our sanctuaries, why is it so much easier to interpret someone else’s view of what’s beautiful and lovely than trusting our own sense of style?
Vision is not the masterful assembly of elements in a room but something else entirely; that is, the manifestation of what is longed for in the heart. This definition makes designing spaces sound fun, even enlightening. And it should be. Then why does it seem just so hard to begin?
The problem is that we have become so obsessed with the way our spaces look that we’ve neglected to contemplate how they live. Let’s go back to this statement…Vision is the manifestation of what is longed for in the heart. What do you long for?
Such an overwhelming question for most of us, but why? Because it demands the admission that something important is missing from our lives.In a recent Sanctuary Living Journal entry, This Longing, I wrote, “From a woman who has made a career of surrounding clients with beautiful things, comes the revelation that the fulfillment of all we long for lies in something more felt than seen.” It’s extraordinary and yet not surprising at all, that the disposition of our spaces is nearly always in alignment with the condition of our hearts:
- Closed off or wide open.
- Dark and sultry or filled with light.
- More interested in impressing than engaging.
- Restrained or full of energy and life.
Our fascination with images of “perfect spaces,” has inadvertently subjugated all other sensory perceptions to sight. But life is a fully immersive experience— the smell of fresh-baked cookies in welcoming kitchens, the touch of tiny toes wiggling under soft linen sheets, sounds of laughter drifting down galleried hallways, speaking intimate conversations by the fire.
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When I was a little girl, we weren’t allowed to sit on the living room couch. Except for rare occasions like elegant parties or a solemn celebration of Christmas eve, this furniture piece existed for the sole purpose of being gazed upon and admired. But there were the secret nights when I would climb out of bed and sit at the edge of that forbidden room and imagine myself nested amongst the pillows, experiencing a sense of belonging in the spaces of my childhood that I rarely felt.
I am known for saying that the most beautiful design makes a way for love. Does your sanctuary put this sentiment first? That seamless design flow we crave has less to do with color, texture, and light than it does with a kind of energy that transcends the tangible pieces we place throughout our home. When we neglect to acknowledge what we bring to our surroundings, we default to the cookie-cutter versions of someone else’s life.
Are you living your own unique expression of a beautiful life? If you’re wondering how to harness what seems to be some elusive quality, start here: By imagining what the humans you adore are doing in the room. Then weave the elements of your innate personality into every corner.
Design is never distant and objective but intimate and as personal as it gets. It demands that we examine, first, the interiors inside of us. This is why design, when done right, is just so emotionally intense.
Now, more than ever, creating a vision for the life you long for depends on shifting the focus from beautiful things…to beautiful YOU. Beauty has never been defined by something purchased or provided but something you already have —an original point of view.
In the end, WE are the lovely interiors we seek—the condition of our hearts, the quiet of our spirits, the color of our souls. N
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Janene Kraft is a Coeur d’Alene-based writer and founder of Sanctuary Living Design. You can find her at sanctuaryliving.life.
As seen in the 2025 Home and Garden edition
By: Janene Kraft