The beauty of becoming: discovering that after all these years, you're also a curator, not just a designer. And oh how that describes me to the very core of who I am!
Curator: one who organizes a collection of found items.
I. Could. Cry.
For THAT is what my purpose is.
THAT is who God created me to be when He knit me together in my mother's womb.
THAT is where I find joy.
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I love being home. I could stay home for weeks + weeks + be ok with it.
(sorry everyone; I'm one of the few that enjoyed that part of 2020...)
I am also a firm believer that your home has the opportunity to reflect who you are + what you want to feel. As of late, I have been craving simplicity, calmness, peace. And with a hobby like mine (ahem, garbage picking) it's easy for each room in my house to fill up with lots of found things + start to resemble a beautifully curated thrift store.
Cue the garage sale last month.
Cue the 47 trips to the thrift store donation drive-thru.
Cue the dump.
So in an effort to take my home through it's own rebirth, I'm going room by room + simplifying everything. It sounds harder than it is, but if you follow these 3 rules, you'll be golden:
Rule #1: remove everything from the room.
Rule #2: only put back what you LOVE + use.
Rule #3: now take out 50% of what you just put in the room.
You think I'm kidding. It's hard to let stuff go + to retrain your brain for what brings you joy. Let's start with my office. I began by taking a picture of the room as-is. Then I took everything out, stood back + took a deep breath. It felt GREAT to see it clean + empty. It was so refreshing; like a new start. Next I put back the non-negotiables (usually the bigger items): the rug, desk, chair, piano, armoire. All of these items I needed in the space. That said, sometimes there are items you have to keep. I wouldn't choose to have a piano in my office, but there's no other room in our house for it. So she stays + I'll work around her.
After the big items were in, I took a picture of the room. That helped me see it from a different perspective. Next I went through everything that I took out + only put back what I LOVED + USED. For me it was a bookcase with books, my computer, ring light, a plant + a couple pieces of decor.
What's next? You already know.
I took another picture + asked myself if it was creating the feelings that I wanted to feel. Had the anxiety been replaced with peace? I was almost there. I flipped to the original picture I took + CRAZY! I literally wanted to barf when I looked at the original picture with 473 small decor items placed EVERYWHERE.
Tip: If the peace isn't there (or whatever feeling you're after) edit your space again. Remove items that even though you might love them, you might not need them in that space.
And finally, ahem, I TOOK ANOTHER PICTURE.
And you know what? Peace, calmness, simplicity were dripping all over my camera.
You guys, I've been doing sooooo much work on the inside of my heart this past year + all I wanted was to LIVE in that beauty as well. I wanted my surroundings to echo the condition of my heart/soul. Oh the beauty of becoming.
You know, I could share all the design details of how we applied board/batten or how I space planned everything. But I won't. I'll just leave you with a couple before/after pictures because we're all a before/after, aren't we?
And so… on this journey of a rebirth of sorts, I will continue to collect + organize all my "found" things… my heart included.
Let's do the living room next :)
Love, Audra
