What Stories Are Your Emotions Telling You at Home?
Before I can walk you through my living room re-design, I have to tell you a story.
I’ve lived in my current house for eleven years now, and I've finally gotten around to addressing my living room design (#kids, #life). I've also been dragging my feet a little. Remember my last post, What’s Holding You Back from a Home that Speaks Your Truth? Well, I finally realized what was holding me back.
My mother (my hero and influencer) passed away ten years ago. Therefore, shortly after we moved in I inherited almost all of her furniture and household items.
As a matter of fact, it was exactly like someone had picked up her living room and plopped it right down into mine. From wall color to rugs, curtains and artwork to furnishings, my home suddenly became a weird conglomeration of my mother’s design taste wrapped up in the old bones of my antique house.
Even beautiful memories can keep you stuck in time
Engulfed with beautiful, daily reminders of living in my childhood home: memories of old friends and lost loves; family events and holidays; good times, sad times. It’s like living with my teen years visually mushed up against my adult life. And just like those teen years, it’s been awkward.
Everywhere I look, I’m reminded of her. This isn’t a bad thing. My mother was a beautiful soul with great taste. But it has an underlying loneliness all it’s own. It’s been a subconscious metaphor keeping me from moving forward with my own ideas; instead playing it safe with what’s worked in the past.
It’s a lot of visual, albeit beautiful, baggage.
And when it’s pretty, or enticing or comfortable, it’s hard to picture anything else. And nearly impossible to envision myself as anyone other than who I once was: a shy, unconfident, teenager with a perfectionist complex and a fear of success. It’s been a safety net, one easy to cling to in its memories, and I’ve been loyal to a fault.
But I had to ask myself, were these the memories that I should surround myself with day in and day out?
Creating a space that makes room for your story
I realized that it wasn’t actually her “stuff” that would inspire me but the lessons she taught me along the way. This realization forced me to understand that in order to become my best version of me, I actually had to make some of my own choices.
That included removing her visual success story to make room for my own.
Simply making the decision to no longer live with her things has been freeing. And a little bit scary. But oh, so fun!
Emotions are excellent teachers…
So keep in mind when you do your own renovations, a wide variety of emotions will crop up. Seemingly odd and misplaced for the occasion of home decorating, but worth looking into all the same. You never know what stories are being told and the lessons you might learn!
Next time, I’ll be laying out my design plan for my living room and the reasons behind each choice I’ve made. If you’ve needed help digging into your home design, please reach out.
I’ve been there. I understand. And I’ve got you.
Yours,
Monique