When my live-in boyfriend decided to end our relationship of three years, it happened suddenly and traumatically. It was easily one of the most painful times in my life. We had shared a home with my five-year-old daughter and she adored him. After he left, all of the memories and pictures stayed hung on the walls, reminding us both; of a life that was no longer ours.

Finally, we decided to take action. I took all of our old family pictures off the walls, went the store and bought fresh paint. Over the next couple of days, we would go to our favorite stores and each pick out wall art, lamps, and shelves. I was determined to have a home where she felt she belonged. I wanted our home to reflect our strength and our love. I wanted to heal and for us to move forward in a positive way. Life may not always be fair, but we have a choice to make it beautiful, regardless of the circumstances. Changing the décor in our home was symbolic for me and it reflected how we were changing our lives.

By the end of the week, our home had a different feel. It was ours. The new décor gave the both of us a sense of power and control. It was our fresh start and gave us a new sense of life. This was now space, which would be special for just my daughter and me; a space to build our lives together and fill with new memories. I think the décor that we chose to fill our home with, does just that. My hope is that when we walk through the front door of our house, she can see and feel the love that we share, as we continue to build our home, together.

Decor matters in my life because I am surrounded by it everywhere I go in life. My mom is where I first learned about decorating things. I like to think of my mom as an interior decorator even though that is not her official job title. My mom has been obsessed with decor and area rugs for as long as I can remember. We are mostly going to Home Goods and other home stores looking for new things and even items for future parties that we will host. I could never pick one piece of decor that means a lot to me because they all mean so much. I have watched my mom make so many flower arrangements and take items that might be meant for Christmas tree decorations and use them to make a beautiful centerpiece. The way that my mother can tell a story through decorating our house, to decorating parties, she can transform a room and make it beautiful.

Decor is another way that we can express ourselves. When choosing how you want to have your bedroom you want things that portray your personality. Some like a room that is aesthetically pleasing, while others like camouflage everywhere. Decor lets us tell a story without opening our mouths to speak. Decor has been important over the course of our history as well. From the Statue of Liberty, Mount Rushmore, The Effie’s Tower, and every important landmark around the world. Decor lets individuals stand out and separate ourselves from each other.…

They say clothes make the man. For buildings, the decor is the cloth that gives the building its character, over and above its form.

I work in a space where I’ve consciously made an effort to decorate. To make my space more comfortable to spend time in, more visually pleasing – more mine.  From time to time, I change this to suit the season, my current needs, interests, and even my mood. Why? I spend ten hours a day in this space. I need to feel that it is mine, and reflects who I am. It makes me happy and even gives a jolt to my creative output.

It’s true that the world is obsessed with personality. The whys of the things we do, and whether we can influence them to go our way. However, the nature versus nurture debate has never been conclusively answered. Therefore, parents will continue to surround their children with images of what they could become – what they would like them to be – whenever possible. A blue room for boys, and a pink room for girls… This is nurturing them – through decor – to make them ultra feminine, or ultra masculine, God forbid anything else… Stuffing a room full of toy soldiers and train sets,  and girls’ rooms with tiny utensils is a common manifestation of this. Of course, this gender stereotyping – though persistent – does not always work. Some of the most celebrated chefs in the world are men. Let the children choose what facets of their personality they wish to emphasize.

Since space, no matter how little, is a reflection of ourselves, workers will continue to add “imprints of themselves” on their spaces. Whether in the form of posters, potted plants, stickers what in essence would be knickknacks. They add no material value to space, but they do add an emotional and mental well-being component to it. Employees who are allowed to modify their workspaces are happier at work.

A number of studies have shown that something as simple as color can affect productivity, appetite and even peace of mind. Restaurants and eateries, for the most part, are aware of this. Therefore, you will frequently find red in their decor, in an effort to rouse and sustain your appetite. Hospitals, on the other hand, avoid red. It is not a restful color to be around. In fact, they actively favor hospital gardens to help speed up the healing process, because it has been scientifically proven to work. Many hospitals around the world are actively investing in gardens, in order to help their patients recover.

Employers also know this. This is why companies such giant companies as Google, and Amazon go out of their way to create a comfortable working space for their employees. The benefit is two way. If the employees are happy being there, their productivity and creativity will increase greatly. Some scientists in Psychology today have attempted to quantify this, and the figures they are throwing out 20%, 50% increased output is nothing to sniff at. Decor matters greatly. Don’t let anyone tell you differently.…

Western Home Decor Basics

We stood in front of the door. Finally. We’d started at the Student enter, then gone to the dorm, where we were told we had to go to the housing office, which, as it happened, was locked. Eventually, frustrating adventure completed, we arrived back at what was going to be my home for the next two semesters. I fumbled with the key for a minute before managing to slide it into the lock, then grabbed the door handle. It didn’t turn. Fighting down my rising embarrassment and irritation, I tried turning it the other direction. Still no luck. Everyone knows that college is different from high school, but I had assumed that doors would still work the same. The riddle was soon solved however, and the door opened.

 

Southwest and Western Style Are One in The Same

Southwest and western style have long been intertwined. The foundations of the two are very similar. You can’t really have good western decor without having southwest rugs in your home. And vice versa, you can’t have good southwest home decor without a few western rugs.

 

My parents followed me inside, and my elation at mastering the door went to war against a sudden feeling of dread. The room looked like a jail cell. Beige block walls, two bare beds, and a few drab items of furniture greeted us silently. Even after we started unpacking, the place still felt uninviting and vaguely hostile.

The change came an hour or two after arrival. My mother and I pulled the bedding from the mountain of boxes and empty bags on my not-yet-arrived roommate’s bed. As soon as the brightly patterned comforter was spread out and in place, something about the room changed. I remember looking around and thinking, “I can live here.” Four and a half pillows and a rug later, the jail cell was transformed into a warm, inviting haven from the as yet unknown terrors of college.

 

The final, most meaningful touch came from my mother. With a mysterious smile, she handed me a gift bag that she had somehow managed to keep hidden and un-squished through the chaos of the day. When I opened the bag, I could barely speak. Inside was a framed drawing of me and my roommate, the artistic style instantly recognizable as that of our best friend Kate. The three of us had been best friends for years, but a little before my roommate and I went to school, Kate had moved out of the country. Having her art on our wall was like having a little bit of her with us, and made the room truly feel like home.

 

Since then, our room has been home to food fights, sleepovers, impromptu jam sessions, and countless late nights of homework. And through it all, it’s never once resembled the jail cell of those first few hours, thanks to a few pieces of color and cloth that became so much more.

…