The Lost Art of Living Richly: A Guide to Bringing Soul Back to Your Space

Veronica S. Restrepo
Sep 25
5 min read

What if your home could tell your story?

There's a quiet revolution happening in how we think about our spaces. Many people are moving away from the stark minimalism that dominated the last decade, embracing rooms that feel genuinely personal. This shift isn't about rejecting good design—it's about expanding what good design can be.

When Rooms Had Stories to Tell

A delightfully theatrical late 19th century Victorian parlor scene - complete with dramatic poses and elaborate period romance - showcases the ornate wallpaper patterns, rich fabrics, and warm lighting that made these spaces perfect for lingering conversations and genuine human connection.

Look at the Victorian parlor, rich with patterns and textures. Every surface told a story: hand-carved moldings, wallpapers layered with botanical narratives, fabrics chosen not just for beauty but for the way they caught afternoon light. These weren't spaces designed for rapid consumption on small screens—they were environments built for actual living, where people spent hours in conversation, reading, and relaxing.

Building Character: The Art of Noticing

Layered vintage finds create visual storytelling - notice how the mid-century portrait, woven baskets, classical sculpture, and contemporary art work together to build an eclectic, personality-rich interior design.

Developing your visual instinct requires exposure to different aesthetics. Take yourself on regular reconnaissance missions to:

Estate sales and antique shops
Local boutiques and artisan fairs
International markets or import stores
Garage sales and thrift stores
Vintage shops and consignment stores

Shopping at these places exposes you to objects with patina and story, textures and patterns beyond your everyday, pieces with soul that mass retail often lacks. If you can't get out regularly, online secondhand vintage shops like 1stDibs and Chairish, or platforms like Etsy and Facebook Marketplace, offer similar discoveries from your couch.

Travel collecting creates something unique. Pieces gathered during trips—ceramics from a small pottery studio, textiles from a local market, art from a street vendor—create an eclectic, worldly feel while serving as daily reminders of meaningful experiences.

*Classical sculpture bust adds timeless elegance and artistic gravitas - an example of how architectural and historical pieces can anchor a space with sophistication and cultural depth*

Use Pinterest strategically. When searching for inspiration, cast a wide net beyond literal translations. A landscape painting might inspire an entire color palette for your living room, or architectural details from a historic building could influence how you arrange objects on a mantel.

Collect a few meaningful pieces throughout your home that make the space feel like yours—personal, like your home.

Thoughtfully curated ceramic vessels in soft pastels and rich terracotta demonstrate the magic of mixing different shapes, sizes, and finishes - illustrating how diverse pottery pieces can harmonize to create compelling visual storytelling in interior design

Small Changes, Big Transformation

You don't need a renovation budget to shift the entire mood of a space. The most impactful changes often happen in the details:

Create an Art Collection Collect anything that speaks to you: vintage postcards, beautiful product packaging, photos you've taken, interesting pages from old books. The magic happens in the framing. Find secondhand frames at thrift stores—mismatched often looks more interesting than perfectly matched. Paint simple mats in colors that complement your space, or cover mats in fabric for a pop of color that helps tie in textiles from elsewhere in the room. A thrift store frame with a hand-painted or fabric-covered mat can make a free vintage postcard look gallery-worthy.

Interior designer Vero Restrepo curating original artwork and prints at an antique gallery - demonstrating how to build a personal art collection that reflects individual taste and creates meaningful focal points

Build on What You Love See a tile pattern in a restaurant or a fabric design that captivates you? Take a photo and translate that pattern somewhere in your home—onto a lampshade, as inspiration for arranging books by color, or as a guide for a painted accent.

Vintage bamboo display case showcasing green glass vessels - perfect example of how natural materials and collected objects can create organized beauty while adding texture and visual interest to interior spaces.

The Alchemy of Light and Scent

Lighting shapes everything. The same room can feel clinical or cozy depending entirely on how it's lit.

Ask yourself: What do you want to feel when you walk into this room?

For cozy intimacy: Use primarily table lamps and floor lamps with warm bulbs. Keep overhead lighting minimal in living spaces.
For creative energy: Layer different light sources at various heights—desk lamps, string lights, candles—creating pools of light and shadow.
For calm focus: Choose soft, diffused light that doesn't create harsh shadows.

Don't overlook fragrance. Scent speaks directly to memory and emotion. Fresh flowers, a favorite candle, or the smell of wood polish on vintage furniture—good smells make spaces feel inhabited and welcoming.

Vintage pottery collection with natural textures and warm glazes creates visual coziness while the glass cloche candle adds ambient lighting and fragrance - showing how handcrafted ceramics and scented candles work together to create atmosphere through both visual warmth and sensory appeal

The Art of Balance

The magic lives in thoughtful mixing:

Styles: Pair clean-lined furniture with vintage accessories
Materials: Balance smooth surfaces with textured ones, hard with soft
Colors: Choose a base palette but add unexpected accents
Eras: Mix contemporary pieces with inherited or vintage finds
Finishes: Combine matte and glossy, rough and polished

The goal is creating visual conversation—spaces where different elements complement rather than compete, where your eye can travel around discovering new details without feeling overwhelmed.

Designing for Life

Original artwork with bold, expressive brushwork represents the kind of meaningful pieces that bring emotional richness to homes - art that speaks to you personally creates spaces with genuine personality and warmth

The most compelling spaces today marry the clarity of modern thinking with an understanding that homes need personality. They embrace both the efficiency we've learned to value and the emotional richness that makes a space feel like home.

Start small. Add one meaningful object. Change one lampshade. Light one candle. Notice how small acts of intention can shift the entire energy of a space.

The goal isn't perfection—it's creating environments that support the life you actually want to live, spaces that feel both thoughtfully composed and genuinely inhabited.

Because the best rooms don't just look good—they make you feel good to be there.