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I consider myself a homemaker. I work from home, I’m raising kids, I take care of the home, and I clean it and make sure it’s filled with all the stuff that my family needs. But, honestly, I feel like I lack at the homemaking part. I mean, my house doesn’t look anything like a house in any magazine, or on Facebook (you know the posts where there’s a picture of someone’s awesome crawl space or something with the comment “BEAUTIFUL!” above it). No one’s going to come in here and be like “Wow, this is amazing.” But do I really need a house like that? When I peruse the real estate websites, I see these incredibly designed homes and I think I don’t know if that’s ever been me, or frankly anyone in my family. And that’s going back generations.
So, this morning I sit in my living room listening to Dave Brubeck, the song Take Five specifically, wondering about homemaking and the such. Why Take Five? I think writing a post about homemaking requires some good jazz.
My thoughts turn to a summer afternoon in 1974, sitting in the livingroom of my grandparent's rooming house, the Wherwood, that happened to sit one block west of the ocean in Asbury Park, New Jersey. While my father put his martini down on a side table, I sat cross-legged on the deep red rug-covered floor and played jacks or maybe a card game. I watched him walk over to the wooden cabinet that held his record player and lower the needle on to his favorite Dave Brubeck album.
When you or I really think about it, what made the Wherwood rooming house or makes any house a home? Well, I think you could say "The people (and pets) in it”. My grandparents had the task of making a home-away-from-home for soldiers during the war. They did a good job, everyone loved it there.
I don’t remember if the furniture matched, or what color paint covered the walls. The kitchen was small and old, with a tiny red counter (to prepare food for all of those soldiers!) and had a door to the horror-movie basement downstairs. On the salt and sand stained front porch there was a metal glider sofa that my sister and I would try to break because we rocked it so fast. When you walked inside, you saw the old, yet comfy furniture, the simple wallpaper, a cool hidden pantry between the dining room and the kitchen, and a second and third floor that were off limits. But when I went back into the house one evening in 1987, when everyone that lived and thrived there at one time had moved on or was dead, I remember walking up the stairs to the secretive second floor to grab something for my dad. In the dim light, I felt the loneliness that permeated the old place. Or maybe it was the longing for the familiar that I missed. It wasn’t a home anymore without the people in it; it was just a building.
I’ll bet that you, too, are a home-maker. Whether you live in a house, apartment, or townhouse. Whether you live alone or with a brood. Whether you rent or own. You manage it and you make it a nice place to live. So consider yourself a home maker-whether it's full or part time (or no-time like me).
So, as many of you know, my husband and I moved from New Jersey to South Carolina just about a year ago. We bought a house and made it a home, but now that I've been here almost a year, I think it might be a big jumbled mess.
Define a jumbled mess? Well, we are starting a small addition in the fall, so I haven’t improved on anything because I’m waiting for the construction to begin (and end). I originally started this post with this:
Trigger warning: This story contains descriptions of untidy rooms, random things all out of place, cat hair, unkempt wires, miss-matched socks, dusty microbes, stacks of old bills, jammed up drawers and dirty windows. If you are at all bothered by any of these things, can you please comment below or
email me to explain how I can be bothered by them too? Please?
That sums up my idea of a jumbled mess.
I think I have to add the title of amateur interior designer to my current position of un-paid CEO.
Just to clarify that my husband is the CEO. I'm more like the Chief financial officer, Chief Marketing Officer in Charge of Events, Vice President of Digital,
Chief Cheerleader, Employee Trainer, and Executive chef.
Just imagine the size of that business card.
I have a very good friend who is a genius at all things homemaking, which makes me feel like I should be doing more. She has expertly decorated her home with pre-owned stuff effortlessly, making it look like something out of Home Design Monthly. Her house would definitely end up in one of those Facebook posts. The woman has amazing vision, and she is the master of how to have a magnificently decorated home on a budget.
Me? Not so much. Just hanging one picture fills me with a sense of accomplishment that will linger for weeks. I convince myself that it was all I needed to do to make my house ready for the latest home design magazine.
But we all know that it’s not true. You can’t hang one cool, thrift store picture and make everything beautiful. I know that… sort of. 😬
Side note: This past weekend I hung my first set of curtains. Every time I gaze at how nice they are, I forget the rest of the house exists. One of my kids had to poke me to get me out of my design euphoria. True Story.
This morning, instead of immediately taking action, I decided I would investigate some interior design trends on the internet and share them with you!
Here are a few things I've learned from the all-knowing internet just in the past hour. And if you’re thinking what I’m thinking about the fact that being trendy doesn’t seem to be my thing, well… I just might prove us both wrong.
Trend #1
Blue stuff.
The Blue Period of design is upon us! Yes, that's right, it's time to make everything er…ah I mean something blue. Blue is very calming and is associated with the sky and the sea (I had to look that up to make sure that it was true 🧐). It also promotes freedom, intuition, imagination, inspiration, and sensitivity. Apparently, blue does it all. Wait, a second. You mean I could have all that by painting something blue? 🟦 If it’s good enough for the early Egyptians, it’s good enough for me.
Trend #2
Quiet Luxury.
Of course, with two teenagers, being from New Jersey, and sharing my house with a new kitten: (See description below)
I can’t possibly participate in this trend. After further exploration, Quiet Luxury uses words like old money, understated opulence, sophistication, and indulgence. I’ve got vision, but I don’t see a way to have anything close to those big words. There is no way you can have quiet anything with two teenagers, and the luxury part? Oh, Kiwi takes care of that. And as for old money, if there’s any of that lying around, I’m getting myself a Starbucks. A cup of luxury coffee in the morning before the not-so-quiet kids are up. That’s Quiet Luxury.
Trend #3
Hold on to your horses. I think I've found my trend. 🐎 Please let your horses go free now in celebration! 🐎
Maximalism. This is it! I can feel it! (See, I told you.) Maximalism (if I can pronounce it) is a reaction against minimalism and is an aesthetic of… wait for it… Excess. And I’m so good at reacting to things and I’m all about excess!
It's summarized as MORE is More. And I'm told it's easy to achieve in one's home. Apparently Maximalism has been around for centuries, and is all about showing people what you have! 😀.
So, see? Me not diligently putting things away has always been a design trend. If I had only known this in high school…my parents and I could've had endless design discussions.
I know what you’re thinking: Is Maximalism even a word?
Oh, hang on. I just researched the Bible verses associated with excess, and whoa, there are quite a few of them like Luke 12:15: And He said to them, “Watch out! Guard yourselves against every form of greed, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”
Maybe Maximalism isn’t for me, but I promise you I’ll find something.
I'm glad I chose to look stuff up today instead of actually doing something. This sets my day in a whole different direction. I'm sure my husband will be so excited to see that I've researched a new design trend for the house when he returns from work tonight.
So, Hubby just got home from work and mentioned that he’d like the house to look — and I quote — “Carolina”. Carolina? North or South? Beach or mountain? Hilton Head or Myrtle?
Back to the old drawing board. 👩🏼💻
And as one of my kids is rollerblading through the living room, Kiwi is frantically pawing at the door to get to the toad out on the patio, my other kid is telling us something ridiculous that their friend did, Hubby is staring into the refrigerator for sustenance because his lunch melted in the heat and I’m trying to keep the microwave door from falling off so I can heat up some spaghetti sauce, I, again, forget all about the jammed-up drawers, stacks of old bills, and dirty windows.
I guess that’s it, right?
The people (and pets) in it.
Have any design trends you’d like to share with me? Something that you love about your home? I’d love to hear (or see) more about it in the comments! ❤️
If you’ve never heard Take Five, or you just want to listen again (because who doesn’t?) watch and listen here.
Have a great day and happy homemaking!
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