I've Given Up Decorating

Last night I found myself sitting in a Barnes and Nobles book store with my husband. He was in a homework session with another student (translated - hours of gruelling mind numbingly complex stuff like this... only worse) and it was getting late. So I decided it was the perfect opportunity to indulge in those adorable magazines I always want to read, but never want to buy. (Translated - that's a lot of $$$ for pages of advertisements. Plus, I've got Pinterest.)

There are scores of amazing magazines at Barnes and Nobles. If you find yourself bored of looking at all the books, which is impossible, go check out the magazines! I loaded myself down with an eclectic stack. Craft magazines, wedding magazines, UK magazines, and of course, beautifully photographed home decorating magazines. The shabby chic homes are my favourite. But the contemporary trend for bright colours and bohemian inspired pattern mixtures is growing on me. I love the magazines that pour plenty of light into the pictures; homes with natural lighting transport me to otherworldly places!

But, to get to the point of this post, I have come to the conclusion that I should not decorate my home. I should not look at beautiful pictures and head to the nearest craft store - intent on decorating my home "just so". Not that I don't have experience with this, I do. The first month after we moved into our wee one room efficiency apartment I went a little berserk. (Ask the Physicist.) I literally could not stop thinking about my brilliant ideas for transforming the place! It was a fever! I gobbled up ideas off the internet (pinterest, duh) faster than I could digest them. I snatched every decorating magazine I saw and inhaled their contents like the smell of chocolate chip cookies. I was just naturally excited with getting my little nest in order. Which is fine, and normal. I wanted to make a fantastical perfect adorable picturesque nice  home for my dearie and I. But still, after the surge was over, I felt a little overwhelmed. I mean, there are only so many cans of spray paint one can go through before they take an effect, was the end product more important than the process?

For better or worse, a new philosophy is emerging from my experiences. Don't decorate your home, live in your home. Let your inspiration come from more than just pictures - let it come from who you are, who you were created to be, and the niche you fill. I think in the long run the homes with the most character will be those that reflect the lives of their inhabitants. I want to use my things. In fact, I am in love with the idea of consuming the things I have to their fullest. Not owning a bunch of stuff I never use, or decorating with a bunch of stuff I never look at.

Of course, let's not belabour under the delusion that I'm never going to go through nesting crazies again. I will. And there are all sorts of great ideas that will contribute to it. But hopefully, when the ideas become an oppressive list of to do's, when the end product is more important than the process of enjoying what I have day by day, I will remember to be to be thankful for the little things and details. I don't want a "look", I want memories. I don't want someone else's house, I want my own home. And homes take time to build.