Decorating Evolution

Starting in elementary school, I used to lock myself in my room for a few hours.  I would clean everything, roll up my rug, put my furniture on washcloths  and rearrange the furniture.  I would stand at my dresser and organize my creamer collection and other knickknacks until they were just so.  The process took two to three hours, and I would emerge out of my room, high on decorating and having my own space my own way.  For Christmases and birthdays I asked for things for my room.  Over the years, I received a desk, bookshelves, carpet, a stuffed chair and ottoman, mini TV, my own phone, a large mirror, and a white comforter.  {I remember shrieking when I opened the comforter.}  I had my little room and I liked making it my own.  Even if the combination didn't work just right, I loved the process of it learning myself in that space.  The change was good, even if it didn't last long and even if it I switched it back to the best way my little room worked.  And it most certainly had a best way.  It was 11 feet by 10 1/2 feet, and I crammed a lot of stuff in there.  I made it work. 

Now, I like to do the same things.  I don't change things just for change, but I do let things evolve.    I've figured out the best flow for some of my rooms: my master bed will always be where it is, my living room sofa can only fit on one wall, the dining room table will always be in the dining room, I think.  The living room (the first room in my house) is a great example of how things are evolving.  While some would say they are getting better, that's not accurate.  What's happening is that it's changing with me.

Below is a picture of our room the way that it was shortly after we moved into this house.  That was almost seven years ago.  The couches and chairs are in the same spots, but most everything else has changed.  Again, I would not call them improvements or bettering the room.  It's evolving.  It's becoming more me, and more us.  

This room has seen some changes.  While a few of them can be considered improvements, I would say that most of them are things that evolved to fit our needs and our wants.  Here's the list:

We scraped the popcorn off the ceiling

We sawed our bookshelves in half to fit on the half wall

We added a coat rack

We built a $20 computer desk and file cabinet

I spruced and I still spruce

I painted some wallpaper

Those things have transformed the room into what it is today.  It's a little more happenin'. There's more life, because there are more lives here.  Take a look below.

Here's the thing: it's not that different, but it's really different.  I've stayed true to the things that I know that I like: natural elements, bright, calm.  But, I've let it become more of who I am.  Less knickknacks, more pictures, little layers of color, plants.  I like doing that.  I do this because it's fun and it's how I've always lived in the space that I've had.  

It's not about styling.

It's not about striving.

It's not about making it better.

It's not about completion.  

It's not about getting it right.

It's about having fun and being free in our space.