Moving is not a pass time that I usually like to engage in. Packing up spaces that I have worked on creating is always somewhat sad to me. As I am packing up the first home Ryan and I have lived in together, I am shocked as I open some of the drawers. Where the heck did this come from? I have often found myself saying. This month we are packing our 4-bedroom, 1940’s corky home and moving across the state. I am gloomy as we pack up the memories and begin the trek, but overly thankful for this time in this home.
To be honest with you though, this post is not about the space I am currently in as much as the space I am getting ready to move into. I’ve always dreaded the moving process but look forward to the end results of new spaces. New decorating ideas, color schemes, furniture placement and fresh starts are all things that are set on the horizon of a move. Whether it’s moving bedrooms or across the country, there is something refreshing to creating new areas to call home. This time, the move is rather interesting. We are currently in an odd “limbo land” of where we are moving. Our home is not quite ready for us to move in, so we are having to move into a smaller space to start. One might call it “a pain” but rather, I am choosing to have a positive outlook on it. Learning how to create home in a smaller space. I have lived in smaller spaces before, college dorms, apartments and sharing homes with roommates. But since I have been married, we have always been blessed with areas that allow a little more wiggle room with the amount of furniture Ryan and I have. Sometimes I wish I was one of those minimalist shows that takes small areas, or buses and creates a home or someone who can have 6 shirts in their closest or even a family who can pack up their house in a few totes. To be honest, I think those types of individuals are extremely talented and inspiring. You see, I grew up in the furniture industry. There are few items that I am “attached” to per say, but I am always giddy with refreshing pieces or new finds that freshen up a room.
I talked to my mom today about what to pack in storage and what to take to our “limbo” home. She made a valid point. She said to me, “could you live without it for a year?”. Now that got me thinking, not so much about the time, but about the area. What pieces mean something to me that make that space feel like home? How could I take an interim period of living and make it feel like a long-term home in a short period time? What pieces do I want to put into the place that still bring comfort, warmth and peace?
My mother is one of the most inspiring people of all to me. She can change a whole scene of a room with a simple change of flowers on a table, new pillows on a couch and possibly a few tweaks and turns in a bookshelf and add a pop of color. I have watched this woman live in large spaces to small spaces and somehow always seem to make them beautiful, warm and inviting. I have watched my dad play Jenga with their furniture to make all the pieces fit in the space and still make it feel open and inviting. You see, I don’t think that just because you live in an area for a few months doesn’t mean you can’t make that just as homey as a forever home would be. I remember in high school my teammates and I would take magazines and tape pictures them on the wall of hotels we were staying at longer than a few days. We would rip out pictures of athletes or beautiful sceneries or Vouge images and tape them on the wall like a mural. For some reason we always did this. Maybe to make it feel homier? Or maybe we were crazy teenage girls. Who knows, but I do know that those times were fun because WE got to create our space a little better then when we got there.
As Ry and I pack up our home and move, I am excited at the new decorating pieces we get to work with. I married an amazing man who always goes above and beyond to ensure that where we live in everything and more. There is something about coming home to a place whether it be a studio apartment or a 4000 square foot house, you can experience the same feelings of “home”.
So, cheers to new adventure, fresh decorating ideas, different areas to call home. Stay tuned for how the heck we will make this “limbo” season work.
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