Post-Holiday Serenity and Declutter Mode Now!

Noticed how design blogging continues to evolve? The bar keeps getting raised where transformation/dramatic DIYs are concerned. What was once blogworthy may be scroll-right-by-worthy now. It’s not just attention span shrinkage either. Content consumers seem to expect more because…influencers are willing to hustle and produce more with the potential for great wealth within reach. Where does that leave me, quite thrilled by subtle moves, subtraction, and simple shifts? In post-holiday serenity and declutter mode, of course.

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Post-Holiday Serenity and Declutter Mode Now

Serenity and Declutter Mode With Smaller, Simpler Changes?

So often, supplies of our time, energy, and funds are depleted. Especially after the holidays! So instead of waiting until I feel full of creative energy or physical strength, I’m thinking small.

Small because there are matters far more important than pretty rooms sparkling with order and creativity.

Small because whenever I approach a project of any kind with a spirit of calm, quieted mindfulness, both the process and the outcome are more satisfying.

Often, when we’re after an orderly, less fussy, balanced space, it’s about making small thoughtful changes. Before I added this 1950s telephone stand and sconce to this teeny area outside of our bath, it was one more dark corner.

Now, it’s a cozily lit moment: a perch for this sweet portable humidifier from Hey Dewy for easier breathing and relief while I sleep.

Steering Clear of Comparison

A few years back, the laundry room in our former home needed TLC. Instead of a gut job, I quieted it with low cost modifications that worked perfectly for us rather than for instagram clicks. Believe it or not, there were followers who voiced disappointment and criticism of my personal decisions.

This is where we’re at in social media culture land. Followers express strong opinions about how a space (that I, the owner, utilize to wash clothes) could and should have changed. Even my voiceover was criticized (which I anticipated since my Chicago accent is apparently a disappointment for some outside the Midwest.) Could I have delivered an over the top laundry room, invested more money and scored new fans and sponsors? Sure. Hustling is profitable. But I’m unwilling to grab at money or dopamine surges to a degree where I’m not myself.

We didn’t even upgrade the washer and dryer. (Both still work perfectly in a tiny home they moved into when we moved.) What’s fascinating is how today (years later!), the image above is trending on Pinterest. I’m asked daily about the little table between washer and dryer that was a gamechanger in the wee space.

A little table found at Homegoods for $50 is having its moment, AS IT SHOULD. The small moves still matter. As more folks awaken to the beauty of the slow and the simple, maybe more hustlers will calm too.

Simplicity & Understatement

While I was after simple and understated, I still had to mix the right updates to that utility space. Out went a ceiling light and in came something sparkly to highlight a new polished marble mosaic tile backsplash.

This hushed blue-grey for walls added contrast for white. Simple elements brought no headaches, diy meltdowns or second mortgages.

Have some small moves to make in this post-holiday, post-hustle, post-chaotic-early-2020s chapter yourself?

Table Talkin’

It’s what I do when I am itching to change the feel of the kitchen. I swap our 7′ harvest table for a smallish round dining table.

Sometimes I will add a rug or subtract a rug.

If you own more than one table, have you considered swapping kitchen/dining/game tables in your home?

It’s a small thing, but a room’s mood and function may shift.

And I’m not one for following design rules about how big is too big for a space. I loved having a great big table in that smallish breakfast nook of our former home because I needed the space for folding laundry. (Little laundry room was steps away.) If it works for YOUR eye and YOUR needs, do you truly need more data?

Little Becomes Much

Another small change for a kitchen to add charm, character, and big impact? Petite work tables.

A vintage industrial steel cart scored for $10 became a hardworking kitchen cart with paint and the leftover quartz sink cut out I salavaged.

Here’s a petite model with clean lines and a similar scale:

Life With Less Visual Noise

How many times over the years have I mentioned some version of STUFF CARRIES ENERGY AND NOISE and THIS ENERGY AFFECTS THE REGULATION OF YOUR NERVOUS SYSTEM?

Deleting the excess can sometimes be more beneficial than adding anything at all. Living without clutter and fussy “decor” is easier to maintain. Slow living (or slower living) in a serene atmosphere is a balm for hectic lifestyles.

Prioritize What Works

If yours is a smallish home, I know it is more challenging to keep surfaces clutter-free.

So it helps to creatively make all your decorative items work hard…embellishments that just sit there should be minimal. For example, I love ironstone pitchers, and they can be pulled into service for multiple tasks.

They can be vases, hold utensils, and even serve to water plants.

Can the item be used in multiple rooms and outdoors? Even better.

I also love wooden rustic stools for seating, tables, step stools and beyond. They even work as a tub-side perch:

or a vanity stool:

or at the piano:

as well as a little outdoor table:

Petite wood stools can even become bedside tables where space is tight!

Are you seeing the beauty of what I mean by making pretty things earn their keep?

Small & Serene Shifts in the Kitchen

Do your kitchen countertops threaten to spoil the potential for serenity? While it may not make sense to invest in stone or quartz if cabinetry will be replaced anytime soon, maybe swapping dark laminate for butcher block or a marble-look laminate will help.

Have you seen readymade laminate countertops mimicking marble with thick edging lately?

Should you decide to invest in stone or quartz, plenty of options will feel calm and not too energetic. Nine years after install, I am still hearing from folks who find my posts about our kitchen renovation and choose Viatera Minuet quartz for their own design.

HERE’S THE BEAUTY OF NEW COUNTERS (whether laminate or high end stone) FOR A SERENE LOOK IF THE BUDGET IS THERE: Little to no DIY. For me, this equates to SIMPLE!

Small Shifts to Mindset

Looking at inspo on social media is not always helpful for feeling optimistic about your own project. However, little homes, teeny budgets, and even time crunches are relative. Small footprints and budgets can be beautiful. There are plenty of thrifty makeovers and tiny living ideas!

If you aren’t already cozy with the idea that you can be a slow decorator. try it!

Hi There, I’m a Slow Decorator

I have a special talent for being a slowwwww renovator and decorator when it comes to our homes. Chronic illness means I have very real physical limitations and can’t tackle projects quickly.

Who knows? Maybe all of the serenity around me also slows my pace – not the worst side effect of tranquil timeless environments.

Serene Neutral Palettes

White paint is maybe one of the more trustworthy strategies for quieting the noise of an interior.

Most walls in our former home were painted BENJAMIN MOORE White OC-151. We needed this crisp cool white to counter the strength of the yellow natural light.

Not sure what whites to sample? For a bright, cool, gallery-like white try OC-151, and for a soft white in a room you want to feel freshly modern, try BM Chantilly Lace. If the white is for a vintage home or space where you want the mood to feel traditional or timeless, sample Benjamin Moore White Dove.

Changes With Softened Texture

Serene moods often call for cool colors and minimal decor. The drawback is how the look may turn too cool. Layering with warmth and natural textures helps. The window seat in our former breakfast nook was okay in its before…

but cozier and more functional AFTER:

The handpainted FLOWER MARKET sign above the windowseat is from Urban Farmgirl. Find a few options HERE.

Sometimes just a little warmth from a wood candleholder will contrast softly in a field of white:

See more resources from my homes here, and find more sources for the decor here.

Peace to you right where you are.

-michele

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