Over a year ago, I told you all the things that needed to be done to my townhouse. At the time, I didn’t know what the long-term plan was but I knew I needed some guidelines in completing my home improvement projects.
This time around Beau & I are lucky enough to have a new house that doesn’t require much, if any, work. Having been re-built just a few short years ago, the paint is new, the floors are clean, and the structure is sound. Since we moved in, it’s been a slow process of injecting our own personality in each room. Now I feel we’ve hit a stumbling block. I don’t know where to go from here. Beau has everything he needs: TV – check, comfy couch – check, comfy bed – check, clean shower – check, and little enthusiasm or desire to actively decorate. I could come up with a million projects for the to-do list, but the money tree in our backyard hasn’t sprouted yet & it’s definitely not bearing fruit.
The “roadmap” at the townhouse helped simplify the project list, maybe that’s what we need here. We can attach a budget to it and perhaps chip away at what feels like the never-ending task of decorating a home.
Don’t you just hate when the cliché’s are right?
So yesterday, on a dreary Sunday (can you believe it’s dreary in Florida?), I spent some time planning. I pulled out my design books – specifically The Meghan Method – and I’m going to think about what we want in our home. How should it feel? What should it say? & how do we actualize that?
If you’re anything like me, you don’t want the cookie cutter house. Sure the designer show rooms and furniture stores have beautiful ensembles but nothing whispers my name when I walk by – and I don’t mean literally.
I think decorating should be a lot like getting dressed in the morning – a reflection of you: your values & personality. I’m not going to put on a micro-mini & low-cut blouse just because it’s trendy. In my mind, that’s sending a message I don’t care to send (just say no to the Ho – right Mumma?). I might pair that trendy micro with a more conservative and classic blouse. It’s not an all or nothing. You don’t have to be traditional or modern. You don’t have to be classic or contemporary.
I think we need to remind ourselves that decorating IS all about us. What do you love? How do you live? What message do you want to hear when you walk in the door?
The first time Pickle house-sat for me in VA she immediately called Mumma to tell her “It’s so Gretchen.” Yup – that’s the message I want to send.
