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

Every January, my husband will stumble upon me sitting in a room in our home, looking around and taking it in. I’ve done this every January for the past three years or so, but the first time he caught me, he stopped in his tracks. He looked around the room as well, then back to me with a quizzical look on his face before asking, “What are you doing?!” The truth is, I was dreaming up new ways to design the space. January is one of the best times to do a home reset, but even more than that, the new year can usher in intentional design—a new year home refresh aligned with your goals. 

Your environment plays a major role in forming new habits and routines, and in achieving your dreams. Why not style your home for the life you want? Allowing my home to nurture my goals has been a personal game-changer. I’m excited to share how a new-year home refresh can be so much more than just clearing away clutter. Let’s dive in!

Start With A Plan

In Marie Kondo’s book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, the first step of her process has nothing to do with de-cluttering. In fact, you don’t even have to do the first step at home. All you need to do is decide what your ideal lifestyle is. How do you want to live in your home? Outside of your home? What do you envision yourself doing more of? Less of? How do you want your home to feel? What daily rhythms are you craving? 

While this isn’t necessarily about simply decluttering, Kondo’s first step is ideal. When you decide to style your home for the life you want, you first have to know what kind of life you want. These make fantastic journal prompts and will bring you clarity for your next steps. 

Let Go of Items You’ve Outgrown

Once you have your ideal lifestyle set, it’s time to create some space. You always want to edit your space before adding to it if you can, and identifying what doesn’t support your current season is a powerful way to declutter with intention. Take a weekend afternoon and go through your home room by room. I like to do this with a notebook in hand. I’ll jot down notes on what I’d like to declutter, as well as any design inspiration that comes to mind.

One of my big goals last year was to host my friends once a month. I was inspired to use a cabinet I already owned for hosting supplies. It was filled with different odds and ends, and I took the time to do a major declutter. I donated many of the items and moved the ones I kept to other spots in my home. 

All of a sudden, I had a big, beautiful cabinet ready to be filled. I moved my servingware, glassware, and linens in! Seeing the cabinet every day urged me to slowly fill it as the year progressed. Now in 2026, it’s filled to the brim—and I hosted 10 times last year!

Rearrange Spaces to Support Your Goals

After you’ve done a good declutter, you hopefully have some additional space to play with. If you style the home for the life you want, you can have specific areas dedicated to what you’d like to achieve. This can be as simple as dedicating a corner of your living room to your morning routine, or as simple as a spot to read with your TBR pile nearby. Perhaps you rearrange your closet and create new space for your workout clothes and shoes. One of my goals for 2026 is to dedicate more time to hobbies that get me off my phone. So I’m excited to create space for a hobby cabinet. Needlepoint is my current obsession!

If you think of your home as a supportive partner, small shifts can make it feel like it’s encouraging you. Organized, beautiful, and intentional design should make your life easier, not harder. Once you allow your home to support new habits, living the life you want will be as easy as waking up and getting your day started at home. 

Use Your Home as a Vision Board

Keeping your goals in front of you is a powerful way to stay on track. While displaying a vision board is, of course, a fantastic idea, there are additional ways to display images in your home to keep you inspired. Framed photos, coffee table books, and the everyday items you use can be intentional and in alignment with your goals.

Dreaming of a beach vacay? Frame beautiful images of the exact beach you’d like to travel to. Or find a coffee table book of beautiful places you’d like to visit and keep it in your living room. Training for a marathon? Grab a mug with 26.2 on it and drink your morning coffee out of it every day. Write words of encouragement on sticky notes and display them prominently. So much of manifestation is sensory—it’s about feeling good and being grateful for everything you have. Surrounding yourself with beautiful things will help keep your vibes high. Be intentional with everything you keep within view, and have gratitude for it all each day. 

Small Upgrades With Big Impact

Subtle upgrades like cozier lighting, a new scented candle in your entryway, or flowers on your dining room table all count toward making your dreams a reality. The role of comfort and beauty shouldn’t be ignored—elevating everyday moments will make you feel grounded and cared for. Both of these are needed for staying focused on your goals. Think of your future self, the you that’s stuck with their 2026 intentions, 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 I walk around my home with a notepad, or as I sit on the sofa to visualize what I’d like a space to be, I know these visions will take time. My list of projects is for the entire year, not just January. Goals and priorities will shift, and so will your home. Release any pressure to rush, and let go of the idea of a “finished” home. A home is truly never finished, just like we as humans are constantly evolving. Enjoy the process of deciding who you want to be, how your home can support you, and taking action to make it a reality. 

Once you shift your perspective and start to see your home as a partner in becoming who you want to be, a whole world of possibilities can open up for you. As you start to style your home for the life you want, take your time, give your space and the items you fill it with lots of thought and intention—and remember to trust yourself. Everything is unfolding exactly as it should. Cheers to your new year home refresh!