Get a pink chair.
Seriously.
Ok, so maybe it doesn't have to be a pink chair, exactly, but the point is - bring something into your space that is quirky, playful and unexpected.
Let me share my little story about this pink chair and how it's not only reminded me how to decorate, but also how to live.
I've been working on our home lately. Painting, buying stuff, moving furniture around - trying to visualize how all the pieces can fit together. What to keep, what to get rid of, what to re-furbish. And, of course, agonizing over color decisions. We've got some stuff, but not a lot...and it really is a mish-mash. Don't get me wrong - I love a good mish-mash! But it can definitely be a challenge to pull together.
After purchasing a sofa, and painting the living room (with the help of my wonderful friend Rachel at Hue Consulting), I started to get a pretty clear vision of the space. With walls the deep yet translucent green hue of wine bottles, accents of turquoise and rich, velvety red, and dark brown and black wood furniture, I knew I wanted to create a a moody, victorian-esque space. A space with deep, rich colors perfect for dinner parties - and even more perfect for a Halloween-themed dinner party. Moody and dramatic and sophisticated. It was time to be grown up in my space, once and for all. Yes - that's it! A real grown-up space for a real grown-up girl.
Then I found the pink chair.
It was sitting quietly in the corner of the living room at an estate sale, minding its own business, when it caught my eye. Then I heard it calling my name. I mean, really calling me. Especially with its $60 price tag. I sat in it for about five seconds and that was long enough for me to decide that it was seriously one of the most comfortable chairs I've ever sat in. Sold.
With sheer determination (well, and a whole lot of adrenaline from my shopper's high) I hoisted that chair out of the living room by myself, only narrowly missing the Lladros, Hummels and other shoppers, and dragged it to the car. When I ventured out yesterday morning, was I looking for a pink velvet wingback chair? No. Not at all. But on a subconscious level, I must have been. Because it found me.
When I brought the chair home and placed it in the living room I loved it immediately. It looked like a piece of candy. It made me happy. Not just because it was a great find (although that helped), but because of its color and shape and what it did to the room. It made it playful.
But wait - I wasn't going for playful. I was going for grown-up and sophisticated and moody! Well, that chair had different plans for me. And, you know what? It's a smart little chair with really good plans.
You see, that chair makes me smile. And, quite honestly, before I brought it into the space, nothing made me smile. I was trying so hard to create a space that felt a certain way that I forgot about joy. We get so much out of our spaces. They help to make us feel one way or another. The colors, textures, shapes, sizes, and smells, all create an experience. Without something - or many things - that make us smile, it becomes very difficult to experience joy in a space. The pink chair was just what the space needed - just what I needed.
As I look at the pink chair in the morning light, I am reminded not just to bring more joy into the physical space of home, but to remember to bring more joy into everything, every day. Because, ultimately, it's really up to us to create our own joy.
With a little help from a pink chair, of course.
What brings you joy in your space?
If you need help bringing joy into your home, please call me at 650.867.3896 or shoot me an email at kelly@artestyling.com to discuss your project.