How to Make Your Apartment More Homey - Part 2

Welcome to Part 2 of my mini series "How to Make Your Apartment More Homey". I'm glad you're back because today we have a great topic that most people just don't get. We try and try only to find that we've failed again. Failed at what?  

Today's topic is - Less is More.

I closed out yesterday's post with this short but piercing quote. In all honesty it took me longer to figure this quote out than it should have. That's how badly I misunderstood the concept. And as I look around me I realize I'm not the only one who misunderstands this concept. Or at least doesn't care to understand it. We've failed at applying it to our lives. We spend much, buy much, consume much. But the more we have the more we desire. 

So how does this principle work within our homes? If you have 900 sq. ft. to work with in your home and you ask for and receive for Christmas a blender, salad spinner, microwave, coffee pot, and a new skillet would you get rid of anything to make room for those new items or would you squeeze them in? The correct answer would not be to get rid of something to make room for the new items but to not ask for some many items to begin with. You have to get to the root of the problem. It's the wanting problem not the I don't have enough room problem. 

I've heard many times, and even seen really cute signs on Pinterest about how a messy home is happy home. Well, to an extent I agree whole hardly, but I also think that we create a bigger mess than is necessary sometimes. What does that mess consist of? Us digging through items looking for something in particular? Most likely. Do you think you need all of that stuff? Or maybe a bigger house where you can organize it correctly? Well, if you don't organize it now, and if you don't use it now, you certainly won't later. 

When it comes to decorating your home the same concept applies. Not only do you want your house free of clutter so you can see your decorations ...and furniture for that matter... but you also want your   decorations to be simple and meaningful so you can enjoy the love and happiness of your family. Does it bother your husband that he has to move the doily, picture, book, and candle from the coffee table before he can put his feet up? Consider moving all but one easily movable item or clearing the whole thing. Life isn't about the beauty of things but about the beauty of life. 

An example... one large picture hanging on the wall could make your room look bigger, and more expensive than a collage of many smaller things. A picture in a large, bulky frame could make more of a statement than a normal frame. Think simple, buy large - scale it to fit your apartment and curve it to suit your taste.

In my living room I chose to fill one wall with a large window I refurbished. It gives a great statement  as you walk in the door and helps keep the room open and light without looking bare.

If you are looking for ways to spice up your apartment, try taking down some old pictures and replacing them with one large object. Consider pushing several small end tables together to create the look of one. Life calls for creativity wherever you are. Creativity doesn't mean it has to be beautiful by the way. It just means... well let me reference Webster:

Creativity [n]

the ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns, relationships, or the like, and to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods, interpretations, etc; originality, progressiveness, or imagination.

So there you have it straight from the lips of Webster. You won't know if looks bad unless you try it, you have no idea that it for sure won't work unless you try it. Do your best to keep things clean and simple. And I mean that rather vaguely because it really depends on your style. As you can see in my apartment I have plenty of decorations and small items, but I've tried to follow these rules to counteract the visual problem of too much. It really can be very overwhelming to have a lot of things. It starts to take over your life and causes chaos where chaos was never invited.

Tomorrow we will be delving into "half movers". Tune in tomorrow to see if you are a half mover and how it can affect your life.

Sarah