Simply..if I ever had any doubt....

2/4/2017

..I was a minimalist at heart, I now know I am. I had the two bedrooms which had been damaged by a leak in the roof decorated this week (didn't do it myself this time - bliss!).

I just loved them bare and almost empty.

I am thinking very carefully about what goes back in..

Tables (I may paint them), lamps and plain white bedlinen - definitely.

White cotton curtains? I swithered for a bit as there is a blind, but I like the softness. I don't even mind that they are so old they have a few little holes - call it wabi sabi..

Rug, mirror and clock.

Yes.

Birds and writing lamp too.

Beautiful raku pot by Peter Sparrey

flowers by the bedside. Always.

Barry's side too.

22 Comments

Lucille link

2/4/2017 02:33:31 am

One of my favourite interiors books is Easy Living by Terence Conran which despite being published in 1999 has hardly dated. He does refer to the piling up of messages on an answerphone rather than the filling up of an inbox but he anticipated Kondoing in his introduction.
He says when approached for advice about interior design he usually answers that the first thing people should do is to take all of their possessions and pile them up outside their front door. Then, they should look at the basic shell that remains and only then, should they think about which of their belongings to bring back indoors, keeping only those things that contribute something positive to their lives, whether aesthetically, emotionally or practically. He adds that he is only half joking.. They did something similar in a series about helping hoarders to clear their homes with a skip and a crusher outside the house. That could sometimes seem a bit too drastic and was not lead sufficiently by an empowered home owner but more by a gung ho television team riding roughshod over them against a deadline.

Freda

2/4/2017 07:55:07 am

Ordered a 1p 1998 copy! He was a breathe of fresh air to the design world in Britain wasn't he? Don't care for the soun of those programmes though.

Linda

2/4/2017 02:59:38 am

What calm! This is how I would love my home to look, but I know myself. In would creep one thing, then an accent colour, then something I feel I need/have just used/am intending to use - soon.

I do manage to keep to colour themes in a room, but I seem to have so much stuff, much inherited that I've tried to pass on, and would feel guilty giving away. My sister and sister-in-law are in the same boat. Their kids don't want our stuff, but when things have been in the family for generations, it's easier to just not think about it too much!

Freda

2/4/2017 07:57:33 am

Inherited stuff can be a real problem for people. Good subject for a post soon Linda! A few things will creep back into my bedroom I know - but not yet..I am savouring it.

Lotta link

2/4/2017 01:27:00 pm

Hi Linda. When I was in my late teens we moved from a house that had been in the family for hundreds of years and was literally stuffed from cellar to attic with the junk of generations. A lot of it fascinating and some not so much... My parents let it all go - some to museums, some sold, some given away and some just binned. They felt released, and I'm so grateful to them that I don't have to inherit all that! Everyone's different I know but I thought I'd share that in case it's helpful to know that any guilt they felt was eclipsed by the feeling of freedom...

Linda

2/4/2017 03:00:40 pm

I think my sister and I are perhaps an unusual case. Both our parents died when I was very young. I don't remember my mother at all, although my sister does. We have china, some good stuff, some everyday, but things that my mother used and handled. If I get rid of this, my only links would be two photographs. After many, many years, I hold on to the china, even though it is far from my taste and never used.

Did I mention my grandmother's stuff?

Lotta

3/4/2017 12:19:05 am

Oh I can see why you choose to keep it Linda - it's so much more than china... It serves an important purpose even though it isn't used.

cath

2/4/2017 06:14:24 am

This is what I read this morning:
' It’s all good!
And it’s a fact: The more you clear what’s holding you back, the lighter you will be.
The lighter you are, the higher you will feel.
The higher you feel, the easier it is to clear the next thing or issue that is holding you back.
You see, it’s a journey that never ends.
It just gets better, easier, and a lot more fun!'
Stephanie Bennett Vogt

Looking at your photographs I was breathless with the first few. The stillness. So very beautiful.
Then you showed what you added and I had the same fleeting sensation as I had now that I gradually 'fill in' the space of my study. (The first space completely) finished. The feeling being a kind of sadness for having to let go of that stillness. Maybe I was a monk in a former life? A monk with a raku pot....

Freda

2/4/2017 08:00:20 am

I think you were Cath! It is fascinating how some of us crave that stillness but still go ahead and lose it. - Perhaps if you can keep the sense of calm on one shelf? One corner? One wall? It sounds like you are making lovely progress.

Cristiana link

2/4/2017 09:07:13 am

So calm and inviting. Enjoyed so much to see your process, Freda. A couple years ago, when we painted our house, I was very mindful of the things I choose to put back, and I realise I haven't add that much, but I have to monitor myself closely not to add stuff, there's usually a will to change this after a while or add just that something that I love...

Freda

2/4/2017 12:48:11 pm

I think homes should evolve with us, and I like if this happens in quite a slow, considered way. Not change for the sake of change and certainly not for the sake of fashion trends. But something that you love? What could be better!

Penny L

2/4/2017 09:53:49 am

It looks lovely Freda, light and airy. Much as I would love to be minimalist, I've come to accept that I'm not! I love looking at homes full of stuff too! Nevertheless, I am continuing to sort through things, and gradually edit. I still want the things I own to 'spark joy', even if I have three or four times as much stuff as a lot of people!!x

Freda

2/4/2017 12:53:54 pm

I can think of at least two friends whose homes are filled with stuff - I LOVE to visit (just couldn't live there!). The 'click point' is different for everyone thankfully and only you can know when it is just right for you. The fact that you do edit means you are in control of your stuff and not the other way around which is a problem for some...Lots of joy!

rusty duck link

2/4/2017 09:56:56 am

I still haven't put all the things back in the bedroom here that were there before we did the renovation. I love it too much as it is. I will need to get organised with blinds though.. getting light too early in the morning!

Freda

2/4/2017 12:55:19 pm

It is interesting to put it back slowly, if at all, isn't it!

cathy

2/4/2017 10:18:31 am

love the simplicity of this! my only change would be more blankets. I'm always so cold & if I'm cold, I can't sleep.

Freda

2/4/2017 12:56:15 pm

In the bottom long drawer is a white faux fur throw!

Mary

2/4/2017 12:22:00 pm

Probably the most peaceful bedroom I have ever seen. Lovely.

Freda

2/4/2017 12:56:56 pm

Thank you Mary :-)

Lotta link

2/4/2017 01:16:16 pm

Wonderful - I can feel the aliveness from here! I love wood and white - the wood grounds the airiness somehow without losing the sense of space and peace. Vibrant purity...

Freda

2/4/2017 02:06:59 pm

Fresh can be equated with alive - you're right Lotta. And that's a nice point about the wood...

julia

3/4/2017 03:32:12 am

stunningly beautiful! i love this look..and freda...the image of you, in the full-length mirror, taking the photo..my mind's eye initially interpreted it as a minimalist piece of art..:-)

Simply..if I ever had any doubt....

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