Tag: beauty is imperfection

As the snow is piling up in my neck of the woods (it’s about 3′ + high) , as of late I’ve been spending a lot of time indoors.  As much as it feels suffocating at times, it’s also been enjoyable to take in the beauty of our home that is coveted by the surrounding walls & roof above.

I started out the year with a focus – not a goal because that is just too overwhelming for me – to live more with intention.  Living with purpose and meaning isn’t easy but with mindful thoughts, I’ve taken on less with more intentional focus.  Believe me, it hasn’t been easy and it’s not every day that I ‘live in the moment’, but I have gotten a wee-bit better and as long as I work on it, I feel like I am going in the right direction.

As I continue to strive towards living with intention, I am also working on accepting + embracing the beautiful of today. The beauty that lies within our 4 walls NOW.  I wrote an article recently for a local magazine and I was asked by a few friends to share it as it’s something many feel, but sometimes have difficulty expressing (as do I and admittedly it took me 2x longer than anything I’ve ever written before.  Tapping into my deeper, more meaningful side doesn’t come easy).

When decorating a home, it can often be difficult to accept the now because of the constant striving for better or more so, the striving for perfection. There is no such thing as the perfect home, the perfect furniture, or the perfectly decorated walls. A home is more than the roof above and the 4 walls that surround us, it’s a place memories are made with unpredictable messy moments and a place we should embrace today.

In our Pinterest-perfect world, it can often be debilitating to do your own thing because the bar has been set so high with the best holiday crafts, the gorgeous room makeovers, and the looks-to-go-to-eat desserts. The reality is though on any given day in my home, no room is magazine-ready or perfect for Pinterest. There are dishes in the sink, crumbs on the floor, and those pictures I’ve been wanting to hang are still sitting in the corner. A home shouldn’t be about striving for the ideal or the perfect, but instead should truly be filled with what is most meaningful and decorated how YOU want, which in turn will bring the most acceptance, happiness, and joy.

Admittedly as a Designer, I often feel it’s expected that my home look perfect, showroom ready when someone comes through the door, but the reality is like most, I live in a chaotic, busy home of 5, and perfect is impossible. As I’ve gotten older (and a little wiser), I have learned (and am still learning) to let go of every room looking photo-ready at all times. As much as I want my home to look perfect, it already IS perfect and that is beauty. The imperfections and the lived-in feel are what make a home beautiful and meaningful. Even though I have a list of changes and updates, I accept and embrace the NOW which means slowing down and enjoying what we have today. This is our life; the home we’ve created. For others, it means accepting the imperfect, unfinished space instead of putting off doing things because perfect is too hard or too much work. Letting go of the Pinterest-perfect ideal will open up the opportunity to take risks to create a home that’s always been desired. Like the old saying, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”.

I recently received the book, It Doesn’t Have to be Perfect to be Beautiful by MyQuillyn Smith, a.k.a. The Nester, and cover to cover, it was eye opening and freeing. Even though I live and breathe design every day, it allowed me to accept our now home and confirmed that embracing what I already have created, is beautiful. Photo-ready with everything picture-perfect isn’t welcoming and it isn’t relatable. What is inviting about not being able to put a coffee cup on a table or move a pillow to sit on the sofa?

We all have different styles and there is no one size fits all. Decorating a home is a process that is ever-evolving and what’s most meaningful is the intangible beauty that resonates with love and laughter. A perfect home is what you make of it and its beauty is already there. A home is most meaningful when it is unique, personal, and authentic. And that is beautiful…

– Live with Intention –