[ Friday Thoughts ] Surprisingly, but your Home is…Your Home! Authenticity over Approval.
In an era where Pinterest boards dictate design choices, and Instagram influencers set the tone for home decor, the pressure to conform to trends can stifle individual creativity. Now, during the Christmas time, it’s visible even more. Yet, the true essence of a home lies in its ability to tell the unique story of its inhabitants, embracing their quirks, preferences, and personal style. So, as a wrap-up blog post of 2023, I decided to write some thoughts on this topic that have been crawling in my mind the whole year…
The Identity of Home.
A home is more than just walls, ceilings, and floors; it's an extension of your identity. When you walk through your front door, you should feel a sense of belonging, surrounded by an environment that resonates with you and answers your practical needs. Designing and decorating your home based on your personal style and your way of living is the key to creating a space that is uniquely yours.
Navigating the Trendy Landscape.
Trends in interior design are as ever-changing as the seasons. Important to remember, that they come and go. What's in vogue today might be considered outdated tomorrow. Surrendering to trends can result in homes lacking character and depth. By avoiding the trap of trend-centric design, you liberate yourself from the cycle of constant change, cluttering, and spending lots of money buying things you do not need (or even like). Cultivating a timeless aesthetic that remains relevant throughout the constantly changing landscape - pays off in the long perspective. Observe the trends, but pick up only those you truly like. Adapt the trend and change details so that the trend becomes yours and timeless. A good example is “dark japandi“ interiors trend - when the japandi style just popped up, almost everyone was trying to recreate it at home with the lightest possible colors - light wood, white, light grey, and beige textiles. I liked the idea of japandi immediately, but at the same time, I knew that super-light interiors were not my thing. So I adapted it. Now I see so many more dark japandi homes in social media, magazines, etc. Dark japandi has become “a trend inside the trend”.
My DIY project - minimalist dark coffee table.
Escape the Homogeneity.
The danger of following trends blindly is that homes may become indistinguishable, lose their uniqueness in a sea of homogeneity. Striving for a personally styled space allows you to break free from the cookie-cutter mold, creating a home that stands out amid the crowd. It's an invitation to explore unconventional combinations, experiment with textures, colors, or patterns, and curate an environment that reflects your distinct personality. Seriously, you don’t even have to follow some particular “interior styles“ - mix them, adapt them. change them. One day, when I got tired a bit from waves of opinions like “If you want to have minimalism at home, then 2 kitchen towels are more than enough” - I “created” my own interior style: habitable minimalism, and even wrote a long blog post about it :)) it’s close to all these Layered, Soft, Warm, Relaxed Minimalism trends, but it’s more about how you live in your home, rather than how your home should look like.
Authenticity Over Approval.
In an era where social media often dictates design choices, it's easy to succumb to the pressure of external validation. However, the essence of a well-designed home should be driven by personal satisfaction rather than the fleeting approval of virtual onlookers, who even do not know you and do not live in this space. Authenticity in design brings a profound sense of fulfillment, transcending the ephemeral nature of social media likes and comments. Create your own rules (here is the list of my japandi rules), choose greens and flowers you like, not those that everyone puts in their vases on Instagram (as an example: I personally do not like flowers at home, I rarely use them, I mostly use only green branches of all sorts, here is my old post with some of my favorites).
Crafting a Narrative and Creating Lasting Memories.
A home filled with personal touches becomes a living story of its inhabitants. Each carefully chosen object contributes to the collective story, evoking memories and emotions that transform your living space into a canvas of experiences. Personal style is not just about aesthetics, right? It's about creating an environment that is not only visually pleasing but also emotionally resonant.
Enjoy your home! :)
