When you think of your dream home, are you thinking about the size, layout, location, décor, and architecture? Or are you imagining a place that supports your most cherished values and reflects your highest aspirations—an instrument for realizing your dreams?

In the last few years, many of us have been forced to simplify and rethink what a dream home means to us. A dream home is no longer just about creating a home that contains everything we want in a space, but more so about everything we want in our life. More important, and more necessary, than the size or location is the desire to create a sanctuary where we feel inspired to be the most of who we are—a place that reflects and supports our dreams. This gives new meaning to the expression “dream home!”

“We shape our dwellings and afterwards, our dwellings shape us.”
Winston Churchill

Just think: If your home does indeed shape your life, it serves you to consciously create a space that reflects your dreams. You can do this by creating visual representations of your intentions, values, and aspirations in your surroundings. Your home will then become a source of inspiration and a place of transformation.

As we often say, our homes are a reflection of who we are. And when we change the reflection, we also change. Your home may support you, inspire you, and become the vehicle through which you manifest your goals. You can realize your dreams with the help of your home.

Here’s How It Works:

Step One: Create a life vision by writing down your goals.

This is a powerful first step. Many times, when our goals are not manifesting, it’s because we’re not entirely sure what it is we want. When we are clear with our intentions, often things just start to happen with little effort on our part.

Step Two: Bring your dreams into your home.

You can do this by placing visual affirmations in your home or by creating the experience of living as though your dreams were fulfilled. For example, if you desire a romantic relationship, place visual reminders of your ideal relationship in your home. This could be a work of art that symbolizes love, or it could be letters, photographs, or objects that represent your vision of an ideal relationship. You could also take your written intentions from step one and put them in a special place—perhaps on a table or shelf with some other special objects, under a plant or flowers, in a beautiful box, or under a book about love. Or you can create the experience of romance by designing a romantic bedroom for two—two bedside tables, two reading lamps, and soft, cozy linens.

If your goal is to attract more wealth, then create a home or room that looks expensive or feels wealthy. Decorate with objects or hang artwork and photographs that symbolize wealth. They don’t actually have to be expensive; they just need to represent wealth to you (for instance, a photograph of a place you’d like to vacation). You can also give yourself the experience of abundance—such as sleeping on high thread count sheets that feel luxurious or treating yourself to chocolate covered strawberries on a pretty tray. If you would like to improve or change careers, place reminders of your ideal career around your home. You get the idea!

Visual affirmations are very personal and individual—what represents ideal love, wealth, and career will be different for each person, so just be creative and trust your instincts. Creating these visual representations of your dreams will shift the energy in your space and within you, helping you remain focused on your intentions and attracting the people and circumstances to make your dreams a reality.

When you create a true dream home, your home is an extension of who you are and can embody what you want in your life. Your home becomes a solid foundation where you begin and end the day surrounded by your dreams. Not only will your words and thoughts shift, but your feelings and personal energy shift as well. You then carry the energy of your home with you out into the world, thereby attracting more of the same.

Sisters Laura and Alison Forbes are authors, speakers, bloggers, consultants, and co-founders of the home and lifestyle company Inspired Everyday Living. They write and speak about personal development through the home and believe that our homes are connected to all aspects of our well-being and influence all parts of our lives. Therefore, when you change your home, you change your life. They are the authors of The Peaceful Nursery: Preparing a Home for Your Baby and have recently developed three iPhone apps: Easy Feng Shui, Feng Shui for Love, and, as a companion to their book, The Peaceful Nursery App. To learn more about Laura and Alison, visit their website or follow them on Facebook and Twitter.