'I love this chair so much (followed by and emoji heart).
That hole deserves to be the subject of poems and odes to the many heads
that have rested there; to the dreams that have swirled above it.' - and just like that I fell in love all over again.
I'm back in my blogging saddle; maybe I'm feeling inspired by a new year. Maybe watching re-runs of Sex and the City has inadvertently made me fancy myself as an interior styling, country living Carrie Bradshaw, or maybe it's because I feel the need to find a COVID lockdown focus. Whatever the reason I am back, with the aim of posting regular posts about interior styling and my own personal elegantly knackered interior style.
Today I want to chat about reframing how to think about negative feelings we have about items in our home. Often in the home it's easy to fall out of love with something for no obvious reason. Whether it's an item of clothing, an old chair or a inoffensive plant pot occasionally an item can pop up in our consciousness as an item to dislike, distain or dispose of. Possibly the reason there are so many unwanted homewares dropped off at charity shops - they've simply become unloved.
This happened to me recently. I have an old leather club chair which is gorgeous but very heavy. It's also too big and bulky to move around from room to room. Nor does it fit the carefully considered and thought out brief of the room it’s in; the entrance/cinema room has specifically been designed for my girls and their friends to enjoy. It's a room where everything must easily be moved around to meet the ever changing needs of teenagers. Not only is this leather club chair too big and bulky it also has a big gaping hole in the leather after years of wear. I'd tried a leather patch with no success and that was really frustrating me. With a hole in the leather along with it being so cumbersome and weighty I’d begun to fall out of love with this old faithful tired and very elegantly knackered leather club chair. As far as I was concerned it was the elephant in the room, the guest who had outstayed it's welcome. These feeling were irrationally magnified by Coronavirus restrictions and cabin fever. Despite my husband's protests I photographed the chair and offered it up for sale just before Christmas without a care or thought for what we were going to sit on. When it didn't sell at an absolute give away price I convinced myself that everyone else despised it as much as I did.
A month on and my feeling have now completely changed - I'm once again in love. Recently I posted an image on Instagram featuring my chair, gaping hole and all. My change in attitude started with this delightful, thought provoking and romanticised comment - 'I love this chair so much (followed by and emoji heart). That hole deserves to be the subject of poems and odes to the many heads that have rested there; to the dreams that have swirled above it.' Wow! That really made me sit up an think. Someone loved my chair as much as I once had. No wait - just as much as I do! This is when I started to really think about my lovely old leather club chair and consider my objections rationally; what was the problem and how could I resolve it? Yes it's heavy, so I put castors on it. As for the hole rather than giving it the furniture version of plastic surgery a simple hessian patch makes it look a little less unsightly but retaining it's elegantly knackered charm.
I really should know better and I'm thankful my irregular throwaway mood didn't come to fruition. My more rational interior styling side manages things in a far more methodical and practical manner and before disposing with something I generally tend to move it around, repurpose it or enhance it. It's all about overcoming objections.
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