We then started painting and fixing things, as you do, and suddenly I realised that we should live in a nice house all the time, not just when we want to sell.
So we started painting and doing things around the house, just for us.
The strange thing is... because we looked around a bit, I suddenly love my house much more than before :)
I also love my really low bond balance and I shared before, this bond will be paid off this year.
How? I don't know but I'm not letting the details worry me.
Anyway, back to the pretty.
I am HUGELY affected by my environment which is why I keep raving about the gorgeous view outside my office window - when I am inspired and the environment is good, I'm happier and more productive.
And so, I love what a fresh coat of paint does for my soul.
Almost everything in this house has received a new coat of paint over the last year and I've just decided that my whole open-plan entrance hall/ lounge/ sunroom area is going grey.
If you did that thing with your mouth, trust me, it's going to be gorgeous - I saw a lovely grey on a blog. I'm too lazy to look it up and link to it but I have a mental image stored. (Am I the only one who makes mental notes and stores mental images?)
Small touches around the house that are currently done include:
- getting the canvases printed
- putting pictures in the gazillion frames I keep buying
- buying and displaying 3 of those wooden word things (from Home Etc) - family, friends, dream
- getting free prints on the internet printed in colour, framed and up on my walls
All this stuff is a mindset shift for me. I'm usually about the quick and easy but I decided that I need to honour my goals and dreams, and my workspace.
I usually type out my monthly goals on a template I designed and stick them up on my wall in front of my desk with a piece of prestik so I am focussed the entire month.
For Feb, I printed in A4, reduced the size to 51% and put it in a beautiful and happy photo frame right on my desk.
Still in my face but just prettier. It literally took about 2 minutes to copy and cut, and put in the frame.
Of course, my love affair with Etsy helps my new prettier mindset very easily.
I'm trying not to spend too much but unfortunately I don't have the crafty/ repurpose and make pretty gene so have to pay for pretty.
I'll take some pics one of these days and post them but tonight I had to prepare a talk that I'm giving tomorrow (can't wait!) so no time.
Do you have regular plans to pretty your environment, or do you generally live pretty? Or don't you really care? And if you have a favourite blog that inspires you, please share in the comments.
P.S. Today is my beautiful friend, Suzanne's birthday. Suzanne is a blog friend from Arizona (now a real friend) who met up with D & me in Scotland. It was as fantastic as it sounds - ice-cold and beautiful with a good friend - what more can you ask for? Anyway, Suzanne used to joke (I think?) and call herself the Goddess of All Things Beautiful so this post is inspired by her!
My brother lives in Tucson, Arizona. I am all about design and making things nice. At the moment our house is a building site which is hard for me to deal with but I know it will be worth it in the end. We would love to design (with the help of an architect) our own home one day but we also like living right near the beach and there are no plots going right next to the beach and it's a bit expensive buying a house for R3 million (if you're lucky) only to bash it all down so we have to be content with renovating to our style in 2 possibly 3 phases. Art is also very important to us but good art is always an investment and we use that as an excuse when we but new stuff. We started buying art soon after we got married and it is scary how much it's increased in value, not that we'd ever sell it because we love it so much but it's still a good way to spend money that looks good and appreciates as time goes by. When we've finished renovating our plan is to pay off our bond as quickly as possible and then I will seriously start tackling the interior decor of our house. It's not bad but I have my eye on some amazing lights and the curtains need doing as well as Ava's bedroom as she's still in the neutral nursery. Chris has very strong design/decorating ideas as well so we do sometimes struggle to agree on everything. Design/decor is definitely one of my passions.
ReplyDeleteOur bedroom is going grey! A cool, calm grey with white trim and doors. I need to find a reproduction or salvage an old door to match the house!
ReplyDeleteAs far as my home, I am always "working" to improve and revitalize but since it is so old the work tends to be more necessary before pretty. I have yet to define my style so I am horrible decorator. If I keep it clean and clutter free I am usually thrilled with how it looks! I really don't focus on the small things, I find beauty in the house itself. My big old windows, a glass front door, all the wood, even my radiators! I do have a lot of pictures but I rarely pay them any attention unless I am dusting.
You know what? This is exactly how I feel these days. We aren't home owners but how I make my home feel pretty again is to buy new curtains, carpets, bedding, tables ect. This make my home pretty again and it feels new.
ReplyDeleteGreat to read you feel in love again with your home :)
The grey is something like this
ReplyDeletehttp://pennypeople.blogspot.com/2008/09/weekend-project-ikea-rast-overhaul.html
I love pretty and am always moving things around and prettying up my home. I LOVE my home and my decor and I love that we are all so comfortable in it. Have just bought a tin of Grey (seashore i think) Plascon paint that i'm going to paint my bathroom and old victorian bath with. Can't wait to get it done. Then i'm going to make the blind and voila, my bathroom will finally be DONE!
ReplyDelete