Joy Junket

One day I was looking for an accessory for this table.. hmmmm, a bowl here, some horns there, put it all together and Wow!  Looks great!  (at least I think so…) As much as I LOVE to complicate my life… I’ve started to learn that simple ideas really are best.  Design can appear complicated in as much as there are times it LOOKS downright complicated!  In particular, in rooms that have many layers, accessories and a lot of furnishings.  It seems overwhelming to pick a place to start.  We often ask our clients to gather “tear sheets” of things that inspire them.  These things often don’t have anything to do with room design.  They may show us a picture of a kiwi and tell us they like that color.  Or a picture of a dog lying on a sofa… letting us know that their environment should be kid and dog friendly.  Whatever your interests are, start out with something simple!

Here are 3 SIMPLE ideas to get you started…

1.  Clear out!  If you don’t love it, lose it.  In other words, take a hard look at the things in your room that you have been holding onto but don’t know why…. Really, someone at the second hand shop WILL LOVE IT!  Don’t keep them from discovering it one minute more.  Get rid of it.  Trust me, you will feel great after that physical and mental load has been dropped off.  To keep it simple, if you haven’t used it in a year, you don’t need it. 

2.  Clean Up.  Yep, you heard right, clean up!  Take everything out of your room, CLEAN and then carefully edit exactly what you want to put back in.  Okay, you don’t want to put ANYTHING back in??? Been there, done that.  Very few of us can redo a room all at once, but all of us can work to a PLAN.  And that’s what this is, a plan for simpifying your space and your home.  Transformation takes time… and all we’re talking about here is GETTING STARTED.

3.  Plan…. here’s where that “working to a plan” bit gets put to use.  As you’re putting your room back together note what things might make it more livable….Do you need surface area for a lamp and cup of coffee?  A place to store your favorite books???  A less “clunky” place to put your tv????  An area rug to get the colors spread around?  Now it’s time to go shopping.  I usually start in my own house,,, in fact, it’s my favorite place to browse!!!   I have stolen bedside tables from my son’s room, desks from my own office, benches from the garden and wood from the woodpile.  (really, it looks great all tied up with twine and gently placed on the hearth…) 

No need to haul things home from the store, spend a lot of money, or even hire a designer (but hey, we ARE AVAILABLE if you need us!!!).  Just clear our, clean up and make a plan.  Not  only are the best ideas simple, the best ideas are usually YOURS and YOURS alone!  So have fun expressing yourself!