So it’s been a while. But that’s ok. At least I feel like it was ok. Life happens and I got busy and distracted with all things that come with working full time, raising a child and trying to have some semblance of a life. But, I’m here now and on the cusp of redecorating our house and building out our unfinished basement, I feel compelled to write again.
I stumbled upon a blog called Vintage Revivals oh probably about a year ago and fell in love with Mandi’s design and decorating prowess. I’m forever going back and looking in awe at this transformation that I want to use as inspiration for our front room re-do.
Anyways, Mandi has started a club. The Fearlessly Finding Awesome Club that I want to take part in. Because I love awesome things and also love taking part in a group activity. Makes me feel like I’m part of something bigger which some days I really feel I need. Also, nothing gets me motivated like seeing other people make pretty things. This is what I need!
FFA #1 is called “Catch A Dream” – the challenge is to write about our own personality traits and some of our favourite things about ourselves. We then need to connect that to how we want our home to feel. Not look, but feel! So here goes..
Personality traits – I can be crazy. Like not insane asylum crazy, just quirky, strange-crazy. I am also bold! Not offensively, just happy to be out there and happy to tell you what I think. I used to be painfully shy and life is so much better on the “bold” side! I’m also very warm and loving. I’d like to also add some of my husband’s best traits, since this is a space for both of us. He is warm and kind and insanely organized.
For our home I think striking a balance between random quirkiness and organization is key. I want the space to be unique and different but not feel like chaos (insanely difficult with a 1 year old!). It should feel warm and inviting and comfortable. And lived in. I don’t want it to feel stark or museum-like. It should feel like a warm hug from your best friend or wet sloppy toddler kisses. It needs to feel this way for all members of the family, not just me!
I don’t know if we are supposed to go this far but as I was thinking about this it helped to think about what sorts of things would help me achieve this feeling in our home, particularly in our front room space. Here is a brief list of a few items -
- Storage – and lots of it. Ottomans, bookshelves etc. This helps with the organization / less chaos factor
- Comfortable seating – I want the space to be inviting for guests and a spot we want to be in the weekday evenings.
- No useless knickknacks – don’t fill the space with meaningless junk. If it’s going in the room it has to have a reason. Don’t just put that ceramic pig on the shelf to fill a space, does it have meaning? Did you find it at a great thrift store? Get it from a dear friend?
- Something for everyone – for me it’s blankets and books, for the husband a spot to entertain friends, for the kid it’s toys and books. Figure out how to work each of these elements in.
That was a really fun exercise and it makes me look at the design process as so much more than just picking paint colours and finding couches. I’m looking forward to the next challenge!
