There’s this moment that sometimes comes when you walk into your home and, you know, it feels a little stale. Not bad, not broken, just … tired. Like your home has been wearing the same coat for years, and it’s beginning to sag from the shoulders. And then this small thought comes to me, almost shyly, what if I offer the place a new jacket? Not the entire renovation or anything grand, but a pivot. A refresh. A tiny bit of love that gives everything the exhaled glow.
1) Begin With What You Already Have
People are at once buying things. I get it. New things are fun. That said, the magical power is often also in your home already, poised to be put to a new angle or, perhaps, for a new reason. You even got your shelving rearranged in a little bit of a messy manner, conversationally, sort of conversing with them. Do you really belong here? Are you supposed to be lounging with the books instead? It seemed somewhat silly but also strangely grounding.
And really, it’s a slow process. It should be slow. You notice more that way. Like how moving a chair a few feet can pull a corner of the room open, you didn’t know it had been hiding. Big-picture changes you can have, but little ones that somehow shift the atmosphere of an entire room.
2) Let Color Do Some Lifting
Colour has great weight in a home. And you think sometimes you get stuck in the tones you settled on when you were being a slightly different person. You used to avoid warm colors. No idea why. But when you began bringing in some sunlight-baked shades, the home somehow felt warmer, in a way that surprised you.
Perhaps because color is emotional, and our homes also need to feel alive. Even swapping throw pillows or a different texture for your bedding can feel like slipping something tighter on the corners of your space. A new jacket, a new jacket at its simplest.
3) Allow The Home To Speak A Little
This is where it goes a little bit off track, but you believe it carries some weight. Your home has a personality. Not in a mystical way, just in the fact that every object and corner holds memory. Change things, and you get to check in with yourself. Does this feel lighter? Or heavier? When you recently rearranged things in your new room, it was like clearing an idea in my head that was not quite right.
The process can feel chaotic. And you’ll have piles, and it’s possible that you’ll regret taking things apart. But like trying on a bunch of different clothes, you eventually see when the best one fits.
4) Conclusion
Giving your home a new jacket ultimately has less to do with how it looks and more to do with how it is ordered. Let your space learn along with you. Re-awakening who you are now. As soon as the home gets the feeling that it can breathe again, you’re able to breathe again a little easier, too.
Feature image by Craig Adderley on pexels.com
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