Feel good at home: how to get started
What do you want to commit to this year? What’s your plan? How about FEELING GOOD at home? Are there areas in your home that cause you to look away and say I’ll do that later?!
In the late 1980’s, David Laurence Roth was my boss. I loved him, we all did. He would raise his voice and command, “I said DO IT NOW!” in a fit of frustration if we weren’t moving fast enough. Sounds awful, but we joked around and made it fun.
Giving yourself a deadline is a good thing. Being committed to a task like redesigning a space in your home may have you relaxing more often in that space. I’m not saying DO IT NOW, I’m saying consider the task of taking a space in your home, one that annoys you and transforming it!
How do we do that?
Take time to dream a little. Allow yourself to think about how that space might FEEL when you’re done. I recently walked through a client’s home we completed. We touched just about every room on the first floor, some more so than others. We addressed all the little pain points, those pesky spaces that call out to you that they need a change, and created a wonderful new space. She told me how relaxed she feels in her home now.
Where to start?
You can scour the internet for photos if you want. Sometimes that’s enough. It depends on what you’re looking to do. I do like to fill my eyes with curated images. I go right to The World of Interiors and Cabana magazine. What I see in each of those magazines are so extraordinarily beautiful and magnificent they always deliver.
I have an old picture file. Back in the 80’s there was no internet to search images for and so I’d flip through magazines and tear them apart separating out a ‘great floor idea’ or ‘furniture arrangements’ and make separate files. I still have this collection of images! And of course, my books! Those, too, I’ve had for many years and there is always something new and fabulous that inspires. To really drill down what you want to do is to find images that cause you say out loud, “I love this, yes, this is me”!
What’s Next?
Once you’ve done that you’re ready to meet with me and show me what you’ve gathered. What you may not realize is that I will see a continuity thread. I’ll see what you’re drawn to.
Recently a client saw a kitchen countertop image and thought she wanted to change her countertop from something light (Taj Mahal) to something dark (Blue Pearl granite) and I reminded her that we planned on creating a space that was soothing and calm. To have a dark countertop would interrupt that plan. She agreed to keep the Taj Mahal and is very happy with her new kitchen and calming pallet.
I’ll keep you moving in the direction you want to go and remind you of what you’re drawn to. Your home is about you and I’m excited to hear about it!
Leave a comment and tell me what you are planning this year.
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Gretchen Reinheimer Design
Creating extraordinary spaces together
#interiordesign #loveyourhome #homedesigninspiration #designinspiration #transformation #transformyourhome #designforliving
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