Thursday, October 16, 2014

Day Sixteen: The Nesting Place

It has been one month exactly since we moved in to our new home. When I say "moved in", I don't mean "since the movers brought all of our stuff", but rather, one month since we unpacked the pets, the kids, our suitcases, and some mattresses that we brought in the trailer. The movers arrived a couple days later.

You know what got accidentally left at the Navy Lodge though? The stack of books that I'd been reading during the move. Seriously. And when I called after everything was unpacked and I realized what I'd done, the Lodge informed me there was nothing to be found. Sure there wasn't…

Before I lost the book.

Among said books was Myquillin Smith's The Nesting Place, which was my moving gift to myself. I'm really sad to not have it on display in our new home because the pictures were beautiful, but thankfully I'd read all the way through the book and taken a few notes so that I could put into practice the encouragement she provided.

Okay, true confession: I may have cried (just a little) when I discovered that this book (and my collection of Peter Wimsey stories and my copy of The Hardest Thing To Do by Penelope Wilcock) didn't make it. I just thought I should be honest before I continued.

Reading The Nesting Place during our move was really great timing on my part. It helped me think through our household goods while I was away from them, and then when they were returned to me, I could approach them in different ways, having thought through more thoroughly what the Man and I wanted our home to feel like. Myquillin Smith had lots of practical suggestions and jumping off points to help engage your creativity, and I've seen how her writing has affected my take on our home this time around (contrasts! focal points! white space!).

I know I've mentioned this before, but when I'm in transition, it's nice to hold onto the idea that I can revamp certain areas of my life that I think could use a little work. My home is one of these areas. Since we moved, I finally bought a lampshade for the standing lamp that's been shade-less for over a year. Thanks, Myquillin Smith. I couldn't have done it without you. Next stop, finally replacing the shedding, fringed throw pillows on the couch.

So, if you're struggling with how you want your home to feel or what you want it to look like, get the book. Not only will it challenge and encourage you aesthetically, but it might just help you see "home" in an whole different light.

Incidentally, after yesterday's post, I had a friend tell me how clean my house looked. Sweeter words have never been said, but the truth is I'm just following the Nester's advise and clearing some spaces. Also, I cleaned the house before I took those pictures because I'm vain. Vain but honest!

more of this series

1 comment:

Dangdut said...

The Nesting Place sounds like Pintrest in book form, i.e. everything that makes me want to take a quaint door wreathe made of recycled bottle caps, set it on fire with a flame thrower, throw on a can of gasoline, and create a beautiful explosion--out of nothing but what I have in my own house already.