Keep it simple. Take a moment and breathe deeply and try to think fresh for this New Year. Clear your mind of all the design places that make us swirl with so many ideas that we are paralyzed.
Get out of the Pinterest rabbit hole if you are over-obsessed with decorating. Forget any social media home DIY, pretty pictures, home make-over ideas or anything having to do with an “on trend home.” With so many design blogs and Instagram posts devoted to all things “homey,” we can easily be seduced. We’ll soon be overwhelmed into doing and spending, wasting time and money which can become frivolous and inauthentic. Did you know that Pinterest has eight billion pins about home décor? Overwhelming!
Design Simplified
Do you really want to convert a quaint, vintage dresser into a hand sink? Did you really need to repaint your front door a vibrant color? And to complete the look, four handmade door wreaths to take you through each season. Yikes, enough. Design Milk, Cococozy, and Addicted To Decorating can make you swoon and empower us to tackle projects beyond or abilities, but maybe this is the time to scale back. Relax and be happy with what we have. I still believe that “less is more.” Beware of design overload.
We might long to recharge in front of a brilliant fire in a majestic lodge with a polished wood floor and high, grandiose windows overlooking a silent, snow covered forest. Be thankful for any small favors that grace each day. The real treasures are our friends and family who walk in and out of our home each day, not all the stuff we pile up in our rooms.
Just for fun, I have created a silly quiz to keep us sane to remind us of the prizes that daily surprise us. Take the test below and you are a winner if you score low, not high, which means you have a normal admiration for décor and have a real life full of many interests.
Stay Simple
Design Junkie Test
1. I love crystal chandeliers and think they look great in bathrooms, kitchens and garages. (3)
2. I can name the new Pantone color of the year. (2)
3. A “pop of color” is not a bag of “gummy bears.” (1)
4. I like to remove all the book covers from my books and line them up by the spine colors. (4)
5. All of my appliances match in color in my kitchen. (3)
6. Every room in my house has a distinct design personality. (1)
7. Gray is the new white. (3)
8. I have no overhead lighting in my house. (5)
9. You can find me on Instagram daily. (4)
10. I get a shiver of delight when a new design magazine arrives in my mailbox. (3)
11. There are 1,867 Pantone color shades. (4)
12. Poufs are cushiony upholstered lounging objects and not boxes of tissues. I have at least one in my home. (2)
13. I have decanted all my pantry items into decorative containers. (6)
14. Venetian blinds were first made in Persia, not Venice, Italy. (3)
15. The most correct pronunciation of “Chaise Lounge” is “Shez Long” which is French for “long chair.” (3)
16. “Welting” is cording along cushion edges, not the lumps in the cushions. (2)
17. Paint sheens go from least sheen: eggshell, to satin, to semi-gloss and lacquer as the highest sheen. (2)
18. A “cachepot” is a small decorative container used to hold a potted plant to hide any unsightly plastic containers; hence the meaning in French, “to hide the pot.” (5)
19. I’m aware “Chintz” is a glazed, colorful printed fabric and does not mean cheap! (2)
20. ‘Feng Shui” is the Chinese art of arranging a space that harmonizes the energy in a room and is not a famous spicy Chinese noodle dish.
Now, add up your score…
0-20 points: You win as you are sane and rational and care about the style of your home, but you have a healthy outlook look on how design shapes your life.
21-50 points: You may have the chance to write the next “Be Home” Blog or any of the other 17,865 design blogs.
Over 50 points: You are a true design junkie and might need some rehab.
Just remember that home is where it all begins and where you get to decide what you love most and what you cannot live without. You are the author, so let your home tell your special story.
