Taking Your Time

Around here we take our time with a project. Some of our spaces have taken years to evolve and likely will never be quite finished. There is always something to improve or tweak, new ways to use an old space and taste that evolves as our lives do. I heartily believe the best spaces take time. They are collected and thought out, gathered and personal. I know on the rare occasions when I have tried to force a project, I always live to regret it. I mean in the grand scheme of things, these regrets are not earth shattering but I'd still rather forgo them. 

Sometimes the process is so slow because I get absolutely mired in the minutiae of finding the right piece of furniture, fabric, light fixture or choosing the right paint color. And make no mistake...I must see EVERY option before deciding. Also, though overall our house is a nice for us size, the spaces within this warren of rooms are mostly quite small themselves, and therefore require very specific sized pieces. I am the queen of overthinking but also I have learned to be okay with living in the in-between. 

Which happens to be where I have been sitting with the finishing of our snug formerly known as the downstairs guest room/Emma's vacation cottage/Maddie's bedroom. This room, just off the living room has taken on a starring role as our family has grown and increased in number. It's a sitting room, a playroom and soon, a place to do a bit of yoga. I've been collecting the pieces for this room for a year and a half, mostly secondhand and from other rooms in my house. I think the only new things I've bought have been the curtains and ottoman.

I have learned in my life that I would rather wait for what I really want than to settle and this philosophy  has served me well and has ushered in an era of slow design. Upon occasion it requires a monumental amount of patience which can be especially challenging when I can picture the end result so clearly in my mind. Often my vision requires my handy husband to drag out his saw and take numerous trips to the lumber yard. With his work schedule that process is often the slowest part of any project, but his skills and are always worth the wait and the cost fits nicely into our budget. I am not just sucking up because I want him to start the trim work in our bedroom. But also, I'm not, NOT sucking up for that reason. It is safe to say that being married to me also requires a monumental amount of patience.

In February 2025 we took a  trip to England and I returned with an almost frantically inspired spirit, whilst also feeling a deep need to cocoon myself in a home that felt like the coziest, calming escape from the frantic chaos of the world. That perfect storm kicked off some of my favorite projects we've done in this house aside from our very large renovations of 2021. As is typical I still have a few things to finish up in these spaces but I don't let that stop me from enjoying the spaces and also from moving on to the next thing. No, I have never been diagnosed with ADHD. Why do you ask? 

So here is a peek of some of the lingering projects- though that artwork finally got hung and that snug finally got painted last week after such a long time of fretting about the color. I couldn't be more delighted with the result. I'll share more of it very soon.