Slow Decorating (Cozy Living Series)

Many of us live fast. “To Do” Lists. Alarm Clocks. Time is going, going, gone. What if we slowed down? What if we paused. Today I wanted to talk about Slow Decorating.

It is time for our next installment of the Cozy Living Series organized by my good friend Jennifer over at Town and Country Living. Today, I wanted to share some thoughts on slowing down and why I think decorating is really very important to our well being.

“Once she stopped rushing through life, she was amazed at how much more life she had time for.” – Unknown

Three weeks ago my father passed away.

I knew this day would come, one day.

Although I had almost 41 years with him, I wanted more.

As I type this, a pit forms in my throat and tears stream down my face. Some moments I’m wonderful and doing fine and others I’m overcome with such grief and sadness. I shared more about what his life meant to me here.

Time and love are really the only constants in life. I feel like we’re always longing for more of each.

For three weeks, I sat next to my dad holding his hand with my mom. 8 hour or 10 hours a day. In those moments, time seemed to slow down. Almost like when you have a newborn baby. Time slowed. In this slow motion time, I started to think about choices in my life. My dreams, my goals. My family. Was I making busy work for myself just to feel like I was getting lots done? Was I rushing around, never able to enjoy special moments with my kids and dogs and husband?

The answer is yes.

I realized by having to slow down, that previously in life I wasn’t “stopping to smell the roses”. I was rushing and trying to cross things off my list. I was pinning, and Insta Story-ing. I was tweeting and scheduling but trying to be every where and do everything, actually I wasn’t accomplishing very much at all. I wasn’t being present in my own life.

At this point in spring, I would have already blogged a Spring Home Tour, done lots of craft projects and be in full swing prep for summer ideas. This table is the one we had before we got the couch (it is too big) and I’m still waiting for my husband to build me a new one.

Instead of complaining about it, I’m enjoying having this sturdy table. I know the the new one will be amazing, but for now I’m content with my imperfect one.

These flowers were  gift from my best friend from middle school, Kara. They are certainly the prettiest bouquet I’ve ever received or seen. The Casablanca Lilies smell amazing and I adore the white hydrangeas and the sprig of raspberries. Isn’t it amazing how such a beautiful arrangement can make  a space feel?

I’ve pondered a lot about design. I love decorating our home and making it feel cozy. Part of me was questioning the importance of design and decor while in the hospital. Then I would come home, exhausted, pour myself a glass of wine and sink into the house.

Decorating is essential.

I will never tell you that you should follow rules. Or that you should decorate like me.

BUT.

I will say that decorating your home in a way that is pleasing to you is essential. To come home after a long day and feel like you’re getting a big embrace. For your home to feel like a sanctuary. A place you can kick off your heels after work. Or you can get in your “comfy cozies” and sink into your couch or cozy up by the fire. That is essential.

Perfection is not essential.

In these photos. The slipcover desperately needs to be washed. I haven’t had time to strip it all off and wash it at the laundry mat. So instead I cover the seats in fur blankets. Max, our terrier mix, loves lounging up here and (it’s been raining A LOT). It’s okay.

It has taken me 5 years to decorate this room and still it’s not done.

The coffee table isn’t right yet.

But perhaps you wouldn’t have even noticed the coffee table or the slightly cream slipcover.

Perhaps, you just noticed the beautiful flowers on the coffee table instead.

“It’s not what we have in life, but who we have in our life that matters” – Unknown

Our lives and homes are so much more than things in them.

When I decorate I like to focus on things with meaning. My mom (and dad) gave us a beautiful lamp for Easter that I’d falling in love with at Boston Interiors. They’d planned to give it to us before my dad got sick. They both know how much I love sea glass and this color. My dad also loved this color too.

Every time I look at that lamp I think of both my parents. The love for the beach they instilled in me.

The table also has special meaning as Luke and I built it together.

The keys just in the distance, hanging on the wall, were my grandfather’s and my mom mounted them on that wood.

The only advice I’d give to you for decorating is take your time. It’s okay to go slow. It’s better than okay. Find special things with meaning and fill your home with them.

Life is short.

Spend time with your family.

Spend time with your friends.

Don’t worry if your slipcover isn’t crisp white.

Or if there are paw prints on things.

Those paw prints symbolize love. They show that life is lived and enjoyed in your home.

The best things come to those who wait.

Slow decorating is the way to go.

Be sure to check out all my friends’ blog posts for more Cozy Living this April:

Sincerely Marie Designs – Town and Country Living – Vinyet Etc.

Finding Silver Pennies – Home Made Lovely – Making It in the Mountains