How to Make a House Feel Like a Home (Safety, Beauty, Evoking Feelings, and More) | Tim Ferriss

TL;DR

A house feels like a home when it provides safety, simplicity, natural beauty, and objects that support the emotional state you want to experience. Tim Ferriss prioritizes living 10–15 minutes from downtown, keeping at least two weeks of backup water, arranging indoor-outdoor spaces, and surrounding himself with plants, nature photography, and reminders of his year in Japan. Read on for his practical approach to choosing a location, preparing for disruptions, and designing restorative rooms.

Transcript

hey folks tim ferriss here and i have a question from a viewer i'm going to answer and explore that i don't think i've really explored before and that is living environment considerations how do you think about your living environment what do you look for in a home and how do you decorate okay so this is going to be a combination of like one part f... Read More

Key Insights

• 💦 Safety should be a top priority when considering a living environment, including factors like proximity to essential services and the availability of backup power and water supply.
• 🤣 Creating an indoor-outdoor feel can be achieved through thoughtful design choices, such as incorporating large windows or utilizing open floor plans with multiple levels.
• 👹 Biophilic design, which encourages a connection with nature, and the combination of Japanese and Northern Californian architectural styles can contribute to a serene and calming atmosphere.
• 💟 Mindfully selecting artwork and decorations can greatly impact emotional well-being, with choices like greenery, nature-themed photography, and nostalgic pieces.

Questions & Answers

Q: How does Tim Ferriss make a house feel like a home?

Ferriss begins with safety, then considers beauty, simplicity, and the emotional effect of the space. He favors practical preparedness, indoor-outdoor areas, open layouts, plants, nature photography, and nostalgic objects that evoke meaningful experiences.

Q: What location does Tim Ferriss prefer for a home?

He generally prefers a home located 10–15 minutes by car from downtown rather than in its center. He also ideally wants to be within a 30-minute drive of an airport with international capabilities, an arrangement he says he has maintained for roughly 20 years.

Q: Why does Ferriss prefer not to live in the center of downtown?

He believes protests, riots, or other catastrophes could severely limit options in a downtown center. However, he likes having an office downtown because its power and water may be more reliable and it can serve as a backup location if he must leave his primary home.

Q: How much emergency water does Ferriss recommend keeping at home?

Ferriss considers at least two weeks of backup water mandatory. This can include stored containers or a suitable filter that may allow water from a pool or hot tub to be used, depending on the chemicals and treatments involved.

Q: What backup power setup does Ferriss use?

He has two natural-gas generators capable of providing full-home backup power because he dislikes single points of failure. With basic maintenance, he says they could power the house for several weeks and help his household support other people during an emergency.

Q: How can a home create an indoor-outdoor feeling?

Ferriss recommends indoor-outdoor areas when possible, including large or floor-to-ceiling windows. He acknowledges that these features are not available to everyone but considers them part of his ideal living environment.

Q: How can different floor levels make a room feel larger?

Ferriss likes horizontally expansive rooms with steps leading to a separate level, particularly in kitchens. He says even one step creating a distinct dining or seating area can make a space of about 200 square feet feel twice as large.

Q: How does Ferriss choose artwork, plants, and decorations for his home?

He selects most items to produce a particular emotional state, an approach shaped by his extended bouts of depression and awareness of what affects his mood. His home includes easy-care plants, photographs of landscapes and animals, and nostalgic Japanese calligraphy and artifacts connected to his year in Japan as an exchange student.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Tim Ferriss emphasizes the importance of safety in a living environment, considering factors like proximity to downtown for emergencies and the availability of backup power and water supply.

• Aesthetically, he suggests incorporating indoor-outdoor areas, open floor plans with multiple levels, and exploring biophilic design for a calming atmosphere.

• Ferriss selects artwork, furniture, and decorations based on their ability to evoke a particular emotional state, with a focus on greenery, nature-themed photography, and nostalgic pieces.