How to Style Your Home for the Life You Want in 2026

Every January, my husband happens to find me sitting in our room, looks around, and takes it in. I’ve been doing this every January for the past three years or so, and the first time my husband caught me, he stopped. He looked around the room too, then came back to me with a quizzical look on his face and asked, “What are you doing?!” Truth be told, I was dreaming of new ways to design spaces. January is one of the best times to reset your home, but more than that, the new year can be a time to refresh your home in the new year with intentional design, or goals.

Environment plays a big role in forming new habits and habits and making dreams come true. Would you like to style your home to match the lifestyle you want? Being able to nurture my goals at home has made a huge difference for me personally. We’re excited to share that a New Year’s home refresh is about so much more than just cleaning up clutter. Let’s dive in!

start with a plan

In Marie Kondo’s book, The life-changing magic of tidying up, The first step in her process has nothing to do with decluttering. In fact, you don’t even have to take the first step at home. All you have to do is decide on your ideal lifestyle. How do you want to live in your home? Outside the house? What do you imagine yourself doing more? Is it less? How do you want your home to feel? What daily rhythm do you want?

This doesn’t necessarily mean you can just clean it up, but Kondo’s first step is ideal. When deciding on the style of your home to match the lifestyle you want, you first need to know what kind of lifestyle you want. These make great journal prompts and clarify next steps.

Letting go of items that have outgrown them

Once you’ve decided on your ideal lifestyle, it’s time to create your space. If possible, I always like to edit before adding spaces. Identifying what isn’t appropriate for the current season is a powerful way to intentionally declutter. Spend a weekend afternoon walking through your home, room by room. I like to do this with a notebook in hand. Make notes of things you want to organize and any design inspiration you come up with.

One of my big goals last year was to invite friends over once a month. I was inspired to use cabinets I already owned to store supplies. I had a lot of thoughts on my mind, so I took some time to do a major decluttering. I donated many items and moved what I was storing to other parts of the house.

Suddenly, I had a big, beautiful cabinet full of things. We moved dishes, glassware, and linens. As I looked at my cabinets every day, I felt inspired to fill them slowly as the year progressed. Now in 2026, the venue is full and we hosted it 10 times last year.

Rearrange your spaces to achieve your goals

After tidying up properly, I think you’ll have more space to play. When you style your home to match the lifestyle you want, you can have specific areas dedicated to what you want to accomplish. This can be as simple as dedicating a corner of your living room to your morning routine, or creating a reading area with your TBR pile nearby. Maybe you’ll organize your closet to make new space for your workout clothes and shoes. One of my goals for 2026 is to spend more time on hobbies that don’t require me to use my phone. So I’m looking forward to creating a space for my hobby cabinet. Needlepoint is my current obsession!

If you think of your home as a supportive partner, you’ll feel like small changes are encouraging you. An organized, beautiful, and intentional design should make your life easier, not harder. Once your home can support your new habits, living the life you want will be as easy as waking up at home and starting your day.

Use your home as a vision board

Keeping your goals in front of you is a powerful way to stay on track. Displaying a vision board is of course a great idea, but there are other ways to display images around your home to stay inspired. Framed photos, coffee table books, and everyday objects you use can be intentionally aligned with your goals.

Are you dreaming of a beach vacation? Frame beautiful images of the beach you want to travel to. Or you can find a coffee table book of beautiful places you’d like to visit and keep it in your living room. Training for a marathon? Pick up a mug that says 26.2 and drink your morning coffee from it every day. Write words of encouragement on sticky notes and post them in a prominent place. A lot of expression is sensory and it’s important to feel good and appreciate everything you have. Surrounding yourself with beautiful things lifts your mood. Be aware of everything you see and be grateful for it every day.

Small upgrades with big impact

Subtle upgrades like cozy lighting, new scented candles in the entryway, and flowers on the dining room table are all important in making your dreams a reality. The role of comfort and beauty should not be ignored. Elevating everyday moments can help you feel grounded and valued. Both of these are necessary to stay focused on your goals. Think about your future self, your fixation on 2026 goals, and all the things that helped them keep their eyes on the prize, then rearrange your home to support them.

Let your home evolve with you

When you walk around your house with a notepad or sit on the couch and imagine what you want your space to look like, you realize that it takes time to make that vision a reality. My list of projects is year-round, not just for January. Goals and priorities change, and so does your home. Let go of the pressure to rush and let go of the idea of ​​a “finished” home. Just as we humans are constantly evolving, our homes are never finished. Enjoy the process of deciding who you want your home to be, how you want your home to support you, and taking action to make it a reality.

A world of possibilities opens up when you shift your perspective and start seeing your home as a partner in becoming the person you want to be. As you begin to style your home for the life you want, take the time to put a lot of thought and intention into your space and the items you fill it with. And remember to trust yourself. Everything is unfolding as it should. Cheers to refreshing your home in the new year!