- Courtesy of Inspire Bohemia
It’s that time of year. Again. I’m here to remind you about the de-cluttering, decorating or fixing of things that you put off because the holidays were coming and you didn’t have the time, money or energy to see it through.
I get it. However, I see your lips moving but I don’t hear you.
Let’s be real here. When are you ever going to have time? Do you really have time to allow that horrible Wild West lookin’ light fixture to exist in your entryway? Do you have time to actually touch those ugly ass handles that haunt you from the badly painted kitchen cupboards? You don’t. Trust me. Life’s too short.
I love the idea of finally creating the room/house you can’t bear to leave. I am super excited about the idea of “Clean Eclectic” or “Modern Bohemian”. The images in this post are some of what’s on my inspiration board at the moment.
Listen, I’m definitely not a domestic goddess. I’ve got a really long list of things that have to be done and a super finite amount of time. I tackle the horrible in order of disgustingness. For instance, I have to strip, sand, repaint and put new pulls on my dining room built-in drawers. That’s going to be hideous but it has to be done. But first, I have to patch and repaint my very old living room ceiling, which has begun to crack. Just take it one thing at a time.
At the end of every year my daughter and I get serious about clearing our home of unloved and unused clothing and objects that don’t belong in our space. We actually do this every couple of months so the end-of-the-year-purge isn’t really that traumatic for us. I don’t know how it happens but things creep into our house all the time that shouldn’t be there. We can’t ring in the New Year without wringing out the mop. Seriously. I can’t start a fresh new year in a dirty, cluttered and unhappy space. To me, it’s kind of insulting for the universe to come into a life/space that hasn’t been cleaned up in its honor.
It doesn’t take a lot of time, money or new things to make some pretty significant changes. One of the best things you can do for yourself is clear the clutter. When you start with a clean slate you have a much better chance of allowing good design to happen. If it’s something that overwhelms you, consider hiring an organizer for a day. It will be worth the expense. Some folks just respond better to boot camp style cleanup.
Once you’ve gotten rid of the detritus you can look at your space with a more objective eye. If you don’t really have a clear idea of what you want or how to get there, it’s time to enlist a really amazing friend, or a professional, (or an amazing friend that’s a professional), to help you design a space plan.
A space plan is a fancy way of saying, “arranging your sh#$”. It can be very hard to visualize a new way of living when you’ve been in your space a long time. Often, it takes a second set of eyes to get things right. Many designers will do a space plan for you (for a fee), even if you won’t be able to hire them to execute on the design. I’ve seen some fantastic offers for online design consults as well. You snap pics of your world and send it to a designer who then makes suggestions and sends you back an inspiration board. It just may be the push you need to make 2012 THE year you finally fix that broken chair, paint the inside of that fireplace or…wait for it…totally love your space!
Wishing you and yours the very best of everything always.
Melisa
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