Why Tablecloths Are Not Optional

How to decorate your home & why it matters

I lived in a private women’s residence that was managed by a prelature of the Catholic Church for a year while I was in college. It was the best experience of my life—not only was the quality of daily living unbelievably amazing, it also refined my philosophy on what it means to feel deep joy and contentment.

Nothing makes me feel more fulfilled than having a beautiful and well-kept home. It doesn’t have to be big or located in a certain part of town, it just has to be given mindfulness. It just has to have life breathed into it, because a house becomes a home when it is alive.

That’s why cleaning your room simultaneously declutters your head. That’s why snooping around someone else’s room gives you a hint of their personality (are they neurotic? Calm? Adventurous? Scrappy? You can just feel it).

How you treat your home is the best demonstration of your lifestyle. In a nutshell:

Empty living = focused on convenience and shortcuts

Full living = focused on intention and elevation

For example, being cheap is not the same as being frugal, spending less is not the same as saving more. Being minimal is not the same as being ascetic. Being lazy is not the same as being efficient. Being quiet is not the same as being humble. Being rich is not the same as being wealthy. What’s expensive isn’t always what’s good, and abundance doesn’t always lead to fulfillment.

Wealth, therefore, is the density of precious and meaningful experiences. It’s not just what you have, but how well you can use what you have.

I love setting tables (my favorite part: making shapes out of napkins)

The residence

I had to complete three rounds of interviews before I was offered one of the 23 rooms. It was a close-knit community, and, as you’ll see shortly, they had every right to be that exclusive.