Creating a Happy Home
Some thoughts on interior design. I love it. I love seeing how other people, companies, etc. put together pieces. But I immediately tell myself "I’m not good at it.” Can you relate?
I was thinking that design is a lot like photography or art. It shouldn’t be looked as good vs. bad. Everyone is different with a different perspective, different story, different eye. Instead design should be looked as “what’s right for MY house vs what’s wrong for my house.” My photography is light and airy. It always will be. But I can just as much have all the heart eyes for photography that is dark and moody. Same goes with design. My style is a tinybit of farmhouse, all the natural light and comfy chairs that you want to nap in on a Sunday afternoon. I can’t slap a super sleek modern coffee table in the middle of it. And that’s okay! But I can “ooh and ahh” over my friend's new sleek coffee table. Does that make sense?
Just be cool with who you are. Let your design come from that place. If your design comes from a happy place, you create a much happier home.
Ways to create your happy home:
Know the purpose of your home: I want my home to be beautiful. To me, beautiful isn't just how it looks, it's how it feels. I want my home to feel safe. I want it to be warm and welcoming, a place where friends can come in, sink into the couch and feel like they can stay a while. I want it to be peaceful.
Do you know the purpose of your home? Here's a little exercise. List at least 10 words describing what "home" means to you. Some of my words are Airy, Family-oriented, Peaceful and Comfortable. The words that describe my home blend with my purpose.
Here are some other words that might ring true to you to get you started: Rustic, Charming, Minimal, Clean lines, Vibrant, Funky, Glamorous, Timeworn, Spacious, Formal, Timeless, Eclectic
Be real with yo' true self: I love rugs. Would I love to walk the streets of Sante Fe and bring home a magnificent handmade Kilim rug from Turkey? Why, yes. Yes I would. I also love my children. What I don't want is to spend their childhood saying "Don't eat on the rug. Don't walk on the rug. Don't color near the rug ." So I purchase my rugs on sale at Rugs USA. That way, when the living room rug has taken enough beating from my little people I can roll it up and drop it at the curb for the garbage men without mourning its loss.
Or let's look at my sweet little coffee table (bless it's heart.) We bought it over 10 years ago. It used to be a dark colored wood. And then it chipped a bit and saw a few water glass stains. So I painted it with an off-white chalk paint (FYI in my case, chalk paint is not successful in high traffic zones.) It got dingy fast. So then I painted it white. With time it saw a few more chipped corners, toddler fingers, crayon tips, so I repainted it again with the white. Looking at it now I'm thinking it could use another coat. Would a new shiny coffee table look better in that spot? Probably. But the reality is I have 3 messy kids that like to eat snacks around it. So I'll stick with the one I got.
You have a lifetime to create: The problem with our generation...(bare with me while I sound like a grumpy grandma). The problem with our generation is that we want it all and we want it now. I find myself struggling with this when it come to our home. We bought our house 5 year ago and since then have decided that we'll be setting up camp here for a long, long time. That means I have a long list of to-do's I'd like to see done to this home. It would be really cool to see it all come to fruition today, but the reality is we've got plenty of time to turn it into our dream home.
The grass in our backyard has withered away. This is extra sad as we had just laid sod a few years ago. But the reality is we are about to add on to our house so the grass would probably be torn up anyway and 2. even if I wanted to do something, we are in the middle of an Oklahoma Summer. That means really hot temperatures and very little rain. Just this morning I was longingly looking out our window and dramatically told my husband, "I just wish our yard was beautiful." He looked at me and in a serious voice said, "You know what they say. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder." and then we laughed. Because we know there is no human on the planet that would behold our backyard as beautiful. I think it will be someday. However, it would be foolish to invest the resources in it right now. But for now, its okay to dream.
Don't compare: This one is the hardest. Thanks to social media we can easily be surrounded with images and ideas and begin to think "Awww. Her dining room is prettier than mine." It's an easy pit to fall into. But rather than compare, let's lift each other up so that we don't fall into the temptation that is only going to steal our joy. Therefore rather than think you need to repaint all your walls and go on a spending spree at West Elm stop and think "Would that dining room even fit the purpose of my home? Is it realistic? Do I need it right now?" If the answer is yes - then go for it. If not, double tap that pic on Instagram, give the girl a digital high-five on her beautiful dining room, and keep scrolling...or better yet, put that away and pick up something that will make you feel like you're flourishing in your home.
