How has your home or your art been a healing place for you?

Kaysie Strickland, founder and president of Homes & Havens, is an interior designer who has mastered the art of creating healing home environments for wounded women. Last time, she shared her philosophy of home as a healing place, and where she gets her decorating ideas.

How do you create? Say something about your creative process.

Kaysie: I love everything about the process of creating a space or piece of furniture, from the research, to developing a vision, searching for the perfect items or colors, rearranging/repurposing, setting everything up, while also giving each project the room to become its own unique thing. Sometimes I will have a specific vision in mind, but as the process moves forward I will hit little “bumps in the road” that end up becoming really fun opportunities to get even more creative.

What surprises a lot of people is that I still get nervous each time I create something, whether that’s a home or painting furniture.

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To me, the nerves are just part of the creative process.
It proves to me that I’m being vulnerable — and I think my best work
is done when I really pour my soul into something.
Creativity is a risk. It’s opening yourself up to the world
in hopes that they find it beautiful.
–Kaysie Strickland

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How do you bring creativity into your daily life?

Kaysie: I don’t think I realized how vital creativity is to my personal wellbeing until after I had my first child. After he was born, I felt like I was trying to fit into the idea that being a mom was supposed to mean absolutely everything to me. The mom-culture around me said that being a good mom meant focusing all your time and energy into your kids, and that it was selfish to invest in anything else apart from your babies. When I tried to follow this advice, my soul felt strangled. Even though I was giving everything I could to my baby, I never felt like I was a good mom or that life was in focus. It was actually a really dark season for me.

God offered me such grace during that time through wise counsel, a caring husband, painting furniture, and using nap times for creativity. For me, it’s about making room to create. The inspiration is usually already there… it’s just giving it some space to come alive.

If I’m in a slump, I always rearrange my furniture. I don’t know why, but that is always a reset button for me. I feel more peaceful and alive when my space feels fresh. And I’m (hopefully) a better wife, mother, and believer when I’ve made room to create things.

Any tips for others who want to create?

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I believe our passions were meant to serve a purpose.
When I allowed myself to see the brokenness in the world,
I also discovered a small portion that I could actually do something about.
Seeing those glimpses of restoration served as fuel for my creativity.
It became less about my work, skills, and insecurities,
and more about helping heal a broken part of the world.
It gave my creativity some courage.
Make room for your passions.
They might just help someone else begin to heal.
–Kaysie Strickland

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Would you like to support Kaysie’s ministry?

If you’re in or close to Chattanooga, furniture donations are welcome. If you’re farther away, you can   send a financial donation through her website.

Visit Homes & Havens here…….

www.homesandhavens.com
www.facebook.com/homesandhavens
www.instagram.com/homesandhavens

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Which features in your home help to serve its purpose for you?
Which features make it a place of rest and rejuvenation?
Which features foster hospitality and friendship?

I’d love to hear from you!

Ever musing,

Laura

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