Don’t Rush Your Home….

When we moved into this house, we could easily have gone shopping and bought everything we needed in one go. It would certainly have been quicker, and within a few weeks every room would probably have looked finished.

There would have been furniture in every corner, pictures on every wall and accessories on every shelf and although there’s absolutely nothing wrong with decorating like that, I don’t think our house would have felt like ours in the way it does if that’s what we’d done. 

 We’ve chosen to take our time decorating and furnishing our new house.

There are still shelves around the house that don’t have much on them. Sometimes they’ve got a candle or a plant on them, and sometimes they’re just empty. I’m perfectly happy with that because I’d rather leave a space waiting for the right thing than fill it with something I only half like. I’ve realised that an empty shelf doesn’t bother me anywhere near as much as buying something I’ll end up replacing a year later.

My office is probably the best example of that. Before we even moved in, I knew exactly how I wanted it to look. I could have gone shopping one weekend and bought matching furniture, accessories and artwork, and it would have looked lovely. It would have been perfectly coordinated and carefully curated, but it wouldn’t really have felt like me.

I didn’t want a perfect Pinterest worthy office, so instead, I’ve picked things up as I’ve found them. Nothing in there was bought just to fill a gap. Every piece has been chosen because I genuinely loved it, and although nothing really matches, it somehow all works together. I think some people might call it imperfectly perfect. 😉

The clock on the wall is a perfect example. I spent ages looking for one but couldn’t find anything that felt quite right. There were plenty that would have done the job, but none of them made me excited to bring them home. So I waited. Last weekend, we were wandering around the Festival of Thrift when I spotted exactly what I’d been looking for. It needed a good clean, but that was it. Now it’s hanging on the wall, and every time I look at it I’m glad I didn’t settle for one of the others I’d almost bought months ago. Not to mention the fact it only cost me £5! 

The artwork tells a similar story. I’d searched online for ages without finding anything that I really loved. Then I came across my giant navy and gold world map, and I knew straight away it was the one. If I’d rushed to fill that wall earlier, I’d never have ended up with something that suits the room so perfectly and again, the fact it was only £5 was just an added bonus.

Our dining room is another reminder that waiting is often worth it. The bay window needed something, but we couldn’t decide what. I considered a chest of drawers, a sideboard and even a chaise longue, but none of them ever felt quite right. Rather than buying something for the sake of filling the space, we left it alone until we stumbled across a random old storage bench for £10. We painted it, recovered the seat and now it looks as though it was made for that spot. I honestly can’t imagine anything else being there.

I think buying second-hand has changed more than the way we shop. It’s changed the way I think about our home. I’ve stopped feeling as though every room has to be finished immediately or that every empty corner is a job that needs ticking off. Our house is evolving slowly, and I actually love that. Every piece we bring in has a story, whether it’s from a charity shop, Facebook Marketplace, a vintage shop or a festival.

Social media can make it feel as though a home should be finished as quickly as possible, but I’m starting to think the opposite is true. The homes I love the most are the ones that have been put together over time, where every piece has been chosen because someone genuinely wanted it rather than because they needed to fill a space.

I’d much rather wait six months for the perfect piece than buy something this weekend that we’ll end up replacing next year. It might mean we have a few empty shelves for a while, but I think that’s a small price to pay for creating a home that feels completely ours.

I’d love you to follow me on Twitter and it would be amazing to see you over on my Facebook page and on Instagram. If you’re interested, you can find out more about me here and while I’ve got your attention, if you’re wondering why some of my posts lately are a little bit less frugal then have a read of this post. 😉

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