Essentially EmmaMarie

Frankly I’ve been feeling a bit bored with my home…Our house projects have been focused on the outside this year, and looking around I realize that a lot of my decor has been the same for some time. Yes, I’ve changed out my vignettes, and centerpieces but overall… the same. This is not to say that over that past year I haven’t bought a new thing or two for my home; I have purchased several prints of original art… but haven’t gotten them framed and on display yet! 

As I looked around I realized that I don’t feel inspired by my home… I like my home’s decor but it’s missing something! I’ve felt like this for a while and, while some people ruminate on trying to find a solution for world peace, I have been dwelling for a while on why I feel bored and a little stilted by my home. 

I am not a minimalist (see my post Who Told You) but I do prefer a less cluttered home. I identify as a Creative and as such I also crave color, and pattern, and some bright, playful splashes in my home’s decor. I’ve always thought of myself as a little bit of a daisy. Let me explain: 

I love the pulled together refinement of a really tight color palette- and I think it’s important to have a tight color palette- however I need a pop with my refinement or else I find it too uptight for me. For my friend’s wedding she had a tight color palette of a few shades of dusty blue and purples… I love that! It was gorgeous and very elegant! For my wedding? I had a dusty sky blue for my bridesmaids dresses, and sunflowers and daisies in our bouquets. I tend a little more to the fun pops of color, with a very neutral base for my style. That is true for my home decor, as well as how I dress! 

Often when you are creating your signature style it can, and many times should, reflect who you are as a person. If you are a relaxed person you probably won’t have a very formal home. In just about all areas of my life I like a neutral, classic base, and then I add pops of color and personality from there. I’m not overly maximalist when I dress, but neither am I super sleek and sophisticated. Our homes are an extension of us and should reflect our personalities accordingly! 

For a while I had been pursuing magazines and books, wondering if I needed to change my decor at a more fundamental level, but I still Liked my home.  It’s just that I was just a little bored. I had taken time ( 3+ years!) to get the base of my home how I liked it and now it just didn’t sit right with me to change it. 

First takeaway: If you took time and thoughtfully designed your home to reflect you, you probably don’t need to change everything the instant you get bored with

I also am not one who wants to rush out and buy things, especially things that don’t enthrall me, just because I am bored. I want to love the things I am bringing into my home and I want them to have a purpose! 

This discovery made me realize that 1) I don’t need to change up the core of my home’s style, and 2) I needed to indulge my creative side a little bit more than I had been. 

So what tangible steps do I need to take to bring more personality into my home? I started noticing what things made me feel excited, inspired, or just like curling up with a good book! These things are what make my house feel like a hoe to me so I took note and decided to start incorporating more of these things into my home.  

When I look at vintage floral fabric, with pops of fun color, I smile. When I see a cool vintage item and bring it into my home, my home starts to have a little more weight, a little more of that warm, lived in feel. And when I look at some of the art I have collected over the years, I think of the fun place; a gettysburg vacation, the city’s arts festival, and lucky yard sales where I found these treasures. These are what I want more of in my life. 

The vintage things. The things that evoke that collected feel.  Timeless elements.  And the pieces that bring that inspirational/ artsy feel from some of these pieces. 

We will talk more about the importance of naming your unique style in an upcoming blog post, but until then if you are feeling less than infatuated with your home I hope you spend some time thinking about what feeling you think your home is missing; what do you want more of in your life? What do you want to feel more often in your life? And think about what things evoke these feelings for you! 

Other Posts You May Enjoy:

What to Do When You Are Feeling Bored with Your Home

Capsule Decor

How to Create a Cohesive Color Palette