Creating Intimacy in Our Homes

Feb 14

This is a cozy where we placed a custom chaise for reading, relaxing and watching the views.

Happy Valentine’s Day! Valentine’s Day inspires me to explore how we create intimacy in our spaces. Intimacy can mean a lot of different things to different people. It can mean closeness and familiarity - bonding and community. It can mean privacy and cozy, intimate spaces, or it can mean sexual intimacy. All aspects of intimacy are a fundamental human need that we want to nurture in our homes and spaces.

The need for these intimate spaces is critical in designing our home. We want spaces to commune with family and friends, spaces to feel cozy and cared for, and we also want private spaces for intimate acts that connect us with our partners and ourselves. More importantly, we want these spaces to remind us to engage in intimate acts with ourselves and others. These intimate acts foster well being and joy in our lives.

Have you considered what spaces in your home foster and nurture these feelings and activities? Here are a few areas to consider:

Valentine’s tradition - heart shaped pizza.

Is your dining room inviting and comfortable? Do you want to gather with your family and friends regularly - break bread, discuss the day's activities, make life goals, or just be together? How can you make this room more inviting? Comfortable chairs, amazing lighting, soft window coverings, wallpaper that wraps you in a warm hug of joy, just to name a few…
Do you have a cozy reading nook somewhere? A place with a comfy chaise, sofa or chair where you can stretch out and read, watch tv, nap, relax? Do you have lamps that cast soft warm light into your space and invite you in?
Does your bedroom promote intimacy? Does it reflect the ways you want to nurture yourself and your partner(s)? I could say a lot here - there are so many different directions this can go. Suffice it to say, creating and nurturing our sexuality is vital to our health and well being.

Personally, I feel like I have neglected these spaces in my own home in the pursuit of career and general “busy-ness”. I definitely want to think about how I bring some intimacy into my home in 2023. Thank you Saint Valentine for the inspiration!