This week, I want to address Designer Phobia.
Believe me, it’s a real thing.
Common symptoms include: the fear a decorator is judging
your house the minute they come inside, the desire to hide your house from a decorator, and the need to repeatedly apologize to your decorator for “the
state of your house”.
But here’s the truth of it…I’m not judging your house. I’m
not judging you. I’m not judging your choices. So there’s no need to apologize.
Would you go to a doctor and apologize for being sick? No. (Not unless you
accidently sneezed on them!)
The first thing I do when I walk into a house is observe.
I’m taking in the space, looking at everything from the basic layout of the
room to the furniture. And I’ll let you in on a little secret. I would be disappointed to walk into a room that’s already beautiful! The truth is, I’d rather go into a home that hasn’t been decorated, or a home
that needs help fixing a project gone wrong. I want to make an impact. I want
to help. Yes, it is my job to view things aesthetically, but that doesn’t mean
I’m criticizing. Don’t obsess over worrying you don’t have enough money, or
your house isn’t big enough or fancy enough. The only time I’ll look down my nose is to scribble notes
about my ideas.
It’s all about living comfortably and living well in your
own house. Don’t let Designer Phobia, or fear of judgment stop you from
enjoying your house and sharing it with others. It may sound silly, but I’ve known people who didn’t want to invite family and friends
to visit because they believed their house wasn’t good enough.
I remember when I was a first time homeowner and newly married, and my furniture was a collection of mismatched pieces. (We’ve all been there.) Over time, I was able to afford better furniture and a bigger house, but I still have a few pieces of that furniture I bought almost thirty years ago.
The trick is to prioritize, and the rule is to decorate your home for you, not to impress the occasional visitor. You’re the one living there, after all! With a little creativity and smart shopping, you can get the most impact for the best price. My point is: don’t be afraid to share your home. Decorating is a continual process, but you don’t have to wait until that process is done to love your home.
I remember when I was a first time homeowner and newly married, and my furniture was a collection of mismatched pieces. (We’ve all been there.) Over time, I was able to afford better furniture and a bigger house, but I still have a few pieces of that furniture I bought almost thirty years ago.
The trick is to prioritize, and the rule is to decorate your home for you, not to impress the occasional visitor. You’re the one living there, after all! With a little creativity and smart shopping, you can get the most impact for the best price. My point is: don’t be afraid to share your home. Decorating is a continual process, but you don’t have to wait until that process is done to love your home.
So put down the vacuum. Stop fluffing the pillows. Don’t
apologize. I’ll say it again— I’m not judging you or your house. I’m here to
help. Let’s create something new.
A LITTLE FLUFF. . .
I recently returned from a trip to the Blue Ridge Mountains. It is an area of the country that I absolutely love. My husband, my children and I have been visiting this area every summer for about 15 years. It is the one place on earth that I love to be and never grow tired of. My husband and I purchased a summer home in eastern Tennesse seven years ago. It was an old farmhouse, built in 1918, which we bought, along with two acres of land, from a man who grew up there and still lives on and owns the land that surrounds it. I could sit on my front porch and see his old barn and his cows grazing in the field. I loved sitting on that front porch in the summertime, feeling a soft breeze, smelling freshly mown hay, hearing the buzz of the hummingbirds at the feeder. That old house in the beautiful Tennessee mountains was my happy place.
But things change and children grow up and my husband (who loves to play golf) really wanted to live in a nearby golf community. My grown kids weren't as willing to spend large parts of their summer "in the middle of nowhere" playing Ping-Pong in my leaky basement or Cornhole in the front yard. So, last year, we put the farmhouse up for sale and bought a house just a few miles away in North Carolina in a summer community with all the amenities. We spent six months remodeling the house and this summer will be the first one that we spend in our new mountain home. I am hoping that soon, this house will feel as right as that old farmhouse did.
I will know if we made the right decision when the new house is filled with family and friends and I can sit on the deck and watch birds at the feeder, get to know my new neighbors and hear the sound of Ping-Pong on the back porch.
To be continued....
I recently returned from a trip to the Blue Ridge Mountains. It is an area of the country that I absolutely love. My husband, my children and I have been visiting this area every summer for about 15 years. It is the one place on earth that I love to be and never grow tired of. My husband and I purchased a summer home in eastern Tennesse seven years ago. It was an old farmhouse, built in 1918, which we bought, along with two acres of land, from a man who grew up there and still lives on and owns the land that surrounds it. I could sit on my front porch and see his old barn and his cows grazing in the field. I loved sitting on that front porch in the summertime, feeling a soft breeze, smelling freshly mown hay, hearing the buzz of the hummingbirds at the feeder. That old house in the beautiful Tennessee mountains was my happy place.
But things change and children grow up and my husband (who loves to play golf) really wanted to live in a nearby golf community. My grown kids weren't as willing to spend large parts of their summer "in the middle of nowhere" playing Ping-Pong in my leaky basement or Cornhole in the front yard. So, last year, we put the farmhouse up for sale and bought a house just a few miles away in North Carolina in a summer community with all the amenities. We spent six months remodeling the house and this summer will be the first one that we spend in our new mountain home. I am hoping that soon, this house will feel as right as that old farmhouse did.
I will know if we made the right decision when the new house is filled with family and friends and I can sit on the deck and watch birds at the feeder, get to know my new neighbors and hear the sound of Ping-Pong on the back porch.
To be continued....
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