It matters if your home reflects you.
Are we so evolved that we let corporations dictate to us what we should have in our own homes [our nest]? I say, YOU decide!
Crate and Barrel, Marshall’s, and other big box corporate companies tell you what you should put in your home by how they advertise and what they stock on their shelves. Think about this though, even in nature, birds select each and every piece that goes into their nests. So why aren’t you doing that for your home?
It matters if your home reflects you.
When your space reflects you and is somewhere you want to BE, you become comfortable and actually relax in your space! You need more rest, we all do in our current busy-ness culture. Your home should be adapted to YOUR wants and needs, not what you think it SHOULD look like based on what you see on social media, through advertisements, or that lady down the street that decorates for every season and posts it on her FB feed.
If you’re like most people I know, you already have too much sh*t in your house. Make it stop! Take some time to figure out what YOU like, so you can invest in pieces you truly love. For now, try these tips to help personalize your space - simply, easily, and affordably.
Hot home decor tips to make your style reflect YOU!
→ Try painting your space white-ish. Your favorite things will pop against the bright backdrop. Think white will be too stark? Make sure you have warm-feeling elements in the room like natural wood and plush fabrics to soften the space.
→ Have a collection you love? Design a room around your collection! Use colors and textures from your objects to accent with other items like pillows, throws, or wall art, or paint in the room with an accent color from your collection for a unified look... Want to be bold? Play with contrast. If your collection is shiny glassware, use softer non-reflective surfaces throughout the space.
→ Pick a favorite photo and design around it. Pull colors and textures from the photo to use in other places in your space. Display the photo in a modest frame or blow it up and have it professionally printed.
→ Love to travel? Try taking photos of similar objects when you travel. Ex. sculpture, bridges, or vegetation. Combine photos to form a collage or place them in coordinating frames. You will have a greater connection to these photos than you would from something off the shelf at a retailer.
→ My personal design philosophy is that homes should be a reflection of the inhabitants. One of the ways I maintain that philosophy is to try to CREATE simple, easy art around my home. You can, too! Instead of searching for your next piece of wall decor at a retail store, you could search for some things you already have in memory boxes or in storage that represent YOU. Create a “gallery,” changing our items monthly or seasonally- a good place to do this on a mantle, floating shelves, or entry table. Plus, having personal items integrated throughout your home can offer cherished memories of loved ones, and reminders of good times. Awwwe!
→ It’s ok to get weird with a rotating collection, after all, it is only a temporary thing! Maybe you’re a 36-year-old grown woman that needs to get rid of her naked barbies from her mom’s basement. No? Just me? Ok, haha. This might be a good opportunity to do some purging in your home. Enjoy your collections for a bit [one last time perhaps], and decide if really adds meaning to your life. If not, you gave it one last look and it is ok to let the collection go now. Really, it’s ok to let it go. If it has been in a box this long, will actually miss it?
Some of the best design advice I ever received was —
“It doesn't have to match, it just has to go.”
You are now free to create your own flow to reflect YOU! Major retailers offer new products from season to season to keep you buying. New is not always better. Also, consider the actual quality of these trendy items, how they’re made, and what they’re made of. Are they made to last? What is the long-term impact on your wallet and the environment?
What have you done to personalize your space?
