The Decorated Life

We are having the family over for Mother's Day.  We see this side of the family often, so sprucing up is not necessary other than making them feel welcome with a hug and a kiss, some drink and good food and laughter.

But....

It is spring and spring calls to us to make tidy that which was ignored during the dark months.  Spring calls to us to renew and replenish and repurpose and redecorate.  Does all animalkind do this or just humans? Why do we feel the need to place a pillow or hang a picture or put a pretty placemat down?

John is feeling it too.  He has transplanted a few plants that we decided were not in the proper place. He has given the back door to the garage a fresh coat of red paint.  He has cleaned up the top of his desk. Insert a feminine gasp here.

We humans like to decorate our lives.  We do it in so many ways without realizing it.  It makes us feel happy.  It makes a space a home.  It gives us comfort.  We need it.

We decorate our spaces inside and out with flowers and paint and furnishings and art.  Don't forget the art!    We decorate with people, too.  We surround ourselves with family and friends and co-workers and teammates and others who make us happy and comfortable and feel loved and appreciated. We especially like the ones who reflect who we think we are back at us. I don't think one can survive long or at least, well, without people.

I am sure there are people who live happily in sparse impersonal spaces.  Not me.  Not my friends and acquaintances. We add and add more stuff.  We decorate.

We look at a corner and think a chair would be nice...and a table...and a lamp.  Maybe we should add some books to the table and a plant would be nice.  How about a piece of whimsey and a mirror and some art? And so it goes.  Decorating our space.

Clothes.  Do I even need to go there?  Necklaces, cool necklaces and earrings and how about shoes?  Not just any clothes or shoes or jewelry.  No, it must reflect who we are.  So we decorate ourselves.

Whoever began the concept of blank books, had all of us in mind.  Does anyone ever leave it blank?  Maybe none of us are artists.  Maybe we are all decorators of life.

Edited in answer to Amy's comment:

Decorating can be overwhelming.  I do it one corner at a time.  Somehow it works for me.

The other thing I do is randomly tear out any magazine room or item that appeals to me.  When I have a pile I edit them.  It is funny to see that I always pick white kitchens cabinets, red and white bedrooms, etc.

It reveals what I really want.  Some clippings I put in my house wish book.  It may be years and several house later that the idea has a place in my own home.

It use to be that I spent so little time at home that I needed to come home to my own cozy nest.  Now it is the opposite.  We spend so much time at home that it is important to me that it I am surrounded by just what I like to look at.

Shallow perhaps, but it seems to be very important to me. 

Comments

[Amy]

Interesting post today, Ginny. Hit a spot with me because as much as I love seeing how other people decorate their spaces, my house is as plain as can be--especially on the inside. I've always felt I can be creative on a A2 piece of cardstock, but I look at a big room and think--I don't know where to start. And what if I don't like what I did? If I make my husband paint the 22-foot ceilings (which requires scaffolding) and I decide 2 weeks later I don't like it, things are not going to be pleasant at home. There's something about the side and 3D nature of decorating my home that intimidates the bejeebers out of me.

[Randi]

I love to decorate and redecorate and embellish my home! The minimalist or Zen look is not for me! Great post, Ginny!

[Aimee]

Some of us even like to decorate our bodies!