Tripped on your kid’s chrome book yet? Have the conversation with your husband on his need to use a noisy pencil sharpener in a digital age? Taking Inventory of your spaces applies to all facets of living: home, mental, relationships, diet and health. Not to get overly existentialist, this is a forum that covers how to set a holiday table with gusto, but containment puts analysis into a deeper perspective. It’s an exercise on what works, worked but needs adjusting, or should be removed entirely. With more time at home, and the home becoming a tricky hybrid of work, family and even a classroom space, design needs to be as efficient as ever.
Editing rooms to its basic needs increases livability, especially when a house serves multiple functions during shelter-in-place.
From nagging friends to a closet erupting with board games with missing pieces, the solution is universal, if it’s not working let it go. During quarantine, we’ve moved through our house with thoughtful pauses, deciding upon those pieces that serve no function while others have proven dependable. This could be from their aesthetic value, like a jumble of art on the wall that is more manic than pleasing, to chairs that never feel your weight. Remove extraneous pieces, store temporarily, and if you find it’s missed you can always bring it back. Sometimes the process can be like a fantastic new haircut with a stye you’re not used to. At first it may not be in your comfort zone but once you get used to it, how easy it is to take care of and maintain a stylish look, you’ll find it was worth the cut.
Change up the design with simple additions, like flowers or small accessories.
In this room, we streamlined the coffee table, edited the color scheme and swopped out a few pillows. Easy tweaks involve fresh flowers picked from the garden, don’t you just love spring? As well as bringing in new accessories like a colorful chocolate box that can conceal scraps of unsightly notes. After years with a stunning above mantle painting, we added statement art to give the room’s subtle design some oomph. With a few minor edits, the space is refreshed without a pricey renovation.
Resources:
Rug: Safavieh
Pink chocolate box: Louis Sherry
Hand towel holder: JM Piers
Color block pillows: Jillian Rene Decor
Art: ducks goose
I’ve rearranged the flow of my kitchen and the kids’ rooms. I’ve also set up a little Zoom space in my home office where I can do calls that look half decent. Mostly, I’ve been gardening so I’ve rearranged the shed so it works better for me. So satisfying. Stay well! Xx