Laurie Is Correct

One thing I've really "zoned" in on recently is a particular look I LIKE and one that I do NOT like. As far as this "stage" in my life...I am becoming more and more restless in a room filled with clutter.

I call it "visual clutter."

My eye needs space to rest and guess what? So does yours! 

Sit in different chairs (or sofas or beds) in your rooms and check this out. Are there "things" on every surface? (Including walls.) Move about and see the room from different vantage points. Is one vantage point more pleasing than another? Why?

I have arrived at this conclusion....we all have too much stuff to just fill space.

I began asking myself this question..."Is this item really necessary? Does it have a purpose? Or is it strictly aesthetic?" There is nothing wrong with having something pretty displayed just because...but when every surface is covered with pretties "just because"..your home becomes a museum and not very liveable.

Enter Laurie Smith and her first book, Discovering Home with Laurie Smith.

You remember Laurie from TLC's Trading Spaces.

By far, she was the most talented designer on the program, and this book which takes the reader through her renovation of a mid century home in Jackson, Mississippi is proof of that.

One statement that she made has really made me stop and think.

Here it is...

This statement seems like a paradox to my statement above concerning your home being liveable rather than museum-like. After all a curator is in charge of a museum or a collection of things.

Examine the statement more closely.

She is making the point about furniture, not necessarily "collectibles". (But it could apply to collectibles.)

Furniture (and collectibles) should be the best quality and most pleasing you can afford.

So much of today's furniture is particle board...

fine for a college dorm maybe, but NOT fine for the long haul.

Smith advises "waiting" on the right piece. She covers a table with a floorlength cloth until she can find the right chest in her living room...

uh, oh....WAITING?!

That word seems to have gone the way of the dinosaur.

We live in such a fast paced world that we expect to have a room furnished and lovely in a matter of days, certainly NOT months.

I have found that purchasing something for the sake of filling space almost always results in becoming bored with that piece because it really wasn't EXACTLY what I wanted.

Times change and so do tastes. Updating is easier to do today.

But if a room is curated with good pieces that don't go out of style over time AND THAT SERVE A PURPOSE...you will find yourself more at ease and more satisfied with your choices.