I’m in Rome right now. Surprisingly, the most striking thing isn’t the Colosseum or Vatican City—it’s the suburban area where we’re staying. It’s a quiet celebration of everyday beauty, a tribute to thoughtful, intentional day-to-day living. Given my recent post about optimizing life for a regular Tuesday, this shouldn’t be a big surprise to anyone that I pay more attention to these little things.
Actually, I should start with this: I’m in Rome, and I’m sick. It’s been brutal. Yet, just two days in this beautiful apartment, combined with quick walks through the neighborhood, have worked magic. I feel the healing, both physically and mentally, happening almost tangibly.
Beauty Can Heal
This reminded me of a strange yet powerful piece of advice I once heard from someone I admire. When asked what to do when feeling down, discouraged, or lost in life, she simply said:
“Start with aesthetics. Make something beautiful.”
At first, it struck me as odd. But over the years, I’ve tried it, and I can confirm: it works.
Pick a room. A closet. Or even a single drawer. And make it beautiful. Not clean. Not organized. B-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l. Put some oomph into it. It will require you to put your heart into it, not just the rational brain.
Why does this work? Because working with your hands always calms your mind. It also asks you to go deep and decide what is beautiful to you. Beauty always sparks joy. And when you see that you can create something beautiful, even in the smallest of spaces, you start feeling hopeful for the future. To fully grasp why this advice works, read the “Try to make one room in your home as beautiful as possible” chapter of Jordan Peterson’s book.
The ROI of Aesthetics
Beautiful places and objects are like investments—they keep giving back emotional dividends.
Take the apartment we’re staying in here in Rome. Despite feeling awful, this space has inspired me to sit down and write a blog post about beauty. If I were staying in some awful place, I would’ve felt even more miserable in my sickness, and no way I would’ve been writing something. It’s remarkable how the environment we’re in shapes our emotions, thoughts, and actions.
I’ve mentioned this concept before in my Sprint Retrospective video when discussing “The Cathedral effect”—the idea that certain spaces elevate our thinking and perspective. When you invest in creating a beautiful environment, you’re setting yourself up for ongoing returns. Every time you walk into that space, it uplifts you. A changed emotional state leads to different actions.
Sure, tastes evolve. In 5–10 years, you might want to refresh your space. But it’s always worth it.
Make Your Home Your Utopia
I’ve never understood the idea of playing it safe with home design. So many people decorate their homes with resale value in mind, prioritizing neutral walls and white kitchens, maybe throwing in a few “accent pillows” for personality. Why not go all-in on the personality? Why play it so small with just a few accent pillows?
Your home should be your haven. The world outside is harsh, draining, and smells bad most of the time. Why make your home feel like an extension of that? Instead, lean into creating your own utopia—a space that soothes, inspires, and energizes you.
Whatever calms you, lifts you, and makes you smile, dial it up to 200%. Your home should reflect your personality unapologetically. Here is a good example of someone doing just that.
A Personal Example
When we moved into our own house, the first thing I did was paint the walls. After years of renting neutral-toned city condos, I craved color. For example. I chose dark blue for our living room, paired with tan leather couches. I built a coffee table. One wall remained “chaotically” painted on purpose, giving the space a bold and unique character.
I mixed antique with modern and DIYed elements to create a home that feels unapologetically us. It’s moody in one room, light-hearted in another, zen in a third, and sarcastic in a fourth. You might be looking at this and disagreeing with my design choices. Some things might look ugly to you. But that’s the point. I didn’t make design choices based on what would get the most approval. I made those choices based on what would charge my and my husband’s batteries the most when we were home.
Last year, we decided to spend the winter in Europe and listed our home on Airbnb. To our surprise, it was booked for the entire time we were away—even chosen as a filming location for a movie. Why? Because it stood out. The production company, scouting for a unique home, found ours amidst a sea of beige AirBnB listings and immediately said, “This is the one.”
I’m not a designer. I spent only one sprint in each room while having a full-time job. On top of it, that was my first time doing it. So things are not professional around here. And you can probably some rookie design mistakes.
Nevertheless, it still worked. I think people do crave unique places, solutions, people, and opinions. Things look so painfully the same these days. So safe and so boring. Even cars, have you noticed? Websites. Homes. Products. Restaurants. Cafes. Here is my favourite article talking about this trend of everything converging towards a safe average.
A Holiday Challenge
As the holiday season approaches and life slows down, let me suggest a new tradition for you and your family: pick a space in your home and make it beautiful.
Eating and watching TV is fun but up to a point. Then it’s nice to have something else to do.
It doesn’t have to be a big project. Maybe it’s painting a room, hanging new curtains, or turning your linen closet into something you’ll be proud to show your friends. Put on some music, make hot chocolate, and enjoy the process together.
Each year, you can choose a new area of your home to transform. Slowly, your house will become a reflection of your personality—a space that recharges you better than any retreat ever could.
More importantly, it will teach your kids the valuable skill of making mundane things beautiful. This is always a good skill to have in any profession.
And please, I beg you, don’t play it safe. Make your home your own utopia.
P.S.: A little decoration lifehack I wish someone gave me
If you decide to decorate a room, choose the main painting for the room first and let it dictate the colour scheme for everything else. It’s much easier to match wall paint, fabrics, and even furniture to the painting you love than find a painting that (1) you love and (2) matches the colour scheme you’ve picked.
If you like the painting, you automatically like the colour combinations in that painting. You won’t need to play a guessing game with the colour scheme for the room. Win-win!
This was a deeper dive into one of my quick notes on cultivating a life of calm ambition. To see the full list of these ideas, click here.
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If you want to read my most recent posts, click here.
If you want to learn how to apply Agile to your personal goals and projects, click here (I’ve made it free for this holiday season).
