These words! WOW! They couldn’t be more true right now! Who would have ever thought we would still be here, almost 1 year later??? Pollyanna in me sees light at the end of the tunnel.
It is important and fulfilling work we are doing ya’ll! Not only are we charged with the rewarding work of being a parent, a friend, a spouse, a child, a family, our homes over the past year are now the spaces for the added roles of teacher and/or employee.
Our homes need to WORK for us now more than ever!
I have always believed to my core that our homes should be our happy place, our shelter from the storms, the soft place to land for our family, a place that makes us feel content and cozy, a place we are proud of and love to be in. If we are supposed to do all of this “work” inside our homes, our homes need to work for us too! What works for me, may not work for you.
Our homes and the way they work are as UNIQUE as we are as people.
Personally, the pandemic made me go into Planning and Doing mode. The spaces that hadn’t been working for our family for a while became suffocating! I’m quite sure I am not the only one! Now that the New Year has begun, and we are starting to bring our heads out of the fog…Remodeling and building have gone through the roof! (no pun intended!) Now that we are almost finished with the bathrooms (yes, it took way more time than originally planned, everything has slowed down during the pandemic!) Anyway, I’ve been in reflection mode. We had been talking about doing these renovations for over 5 years. 5 YEARS! And we finally pulled the trigger during a pandemic! Timing wasn't ideal, but If I am being frank and honest, it wasn’t as much about the cost of it all,
I was just STUCK actually moving forward.
A combination of shear laziness, paralyzed & over-whelmed by the decisions, scared of the mess and chaos it was bound to create.
Can you relate?
Seriously, the work of making your house the way you want it to be, is a lot of, well…WORK!
We are almost finished (3 months past original deadline) and I am happy to say it hasn’t been nearly as awful (definitely not without its temper tantrums) as I had imagined it would be. BONUS: The whole family is excited by what an extra bathroom and tiny little office nook will do for the way our family works…and our home will work a bit better for us!
“But Gretchen, you know how to do all of this stuff, so it is easy for you to make it happen”. My answer, “YES and NO”.
Yes, I have many of the tools and background, but NO to the laziness, lack of time, indecision, fear of making a mistake, etc.
Guess what? I have ALL of those beliefs too.
As my mother always says, sometimes you just have to make the decision to start, to take the first step. You know where you will be if you don’t start at all. Will it start with a big renovation? Maybe. Maybe it starts with clearing a table and adding flowers so that you can think and feel good. Maybe it starts with moving some furniture around and filling in with a new piece. Maybe you paint a room or many rooms. Maybe you start planning a garden. (spring is on the way!)
It might start with making a spot in your home that just makes YOU feel good so that you can go about the WORK of ALL. THE. THINGS.
Our homes should not feel suffocating! In this world where everything feels a bit overwhelming, the last place that needs to feel that way is our homes! It will take a little time and effort, maybe it’s a few hours, maybe 6 months, but I promise it will be rewarding in the end and you WILL feel sooooo good.
Ya’ll I’m over here cheering for you!
If you are starting to feel motivated to make a move on the design of your own home, I have a new “Ask the Designer Jumpstart” service. It allows you to to dip your toes into working with a designer on a small project to get the ball rolling.
I’ll GUIDE you on the journey of Designing your OWN home, because I truly believe ya’ll are capable of doing the work of creating a home you LOVE and want to LIVE in.
You may only need a someone to help get you started and keep you going. I’m here for you as you start on your journey! And if you need a little more than a jumpstart, I’ve got you there too!
All the best my friends! Have a great weekend!
