Beauty and order

I’ve been thinking a lot recently about why home is important.

Why do we bother investing time, energy, effort, money and creativity to our homes?
Why not just live in a minimal box, with minimal furniture, and get on with life?

It’s not about filling home with stuff, because the minimal approach can be as inspiring as the throw pillow obsession!

I think the thing I love about design is that it is an opportunity for me to act in the image of God, and create!
He created our first home - in the garden!
It was a place of perfect beauty, filled with nature, light, air and order.

I think we underestimate the importance of order in our lives, it’s become very trendy for us to be able to juggle a million things, and to allow chaos to rule. I know for me, anything chaotic makes me stressed.
Whether it’s loud and unruly decor, dishes left in the sink, clutter, or spaces that haven’t been thought through and just don’t work.

Something in me just needs to bring beauty to the chaos!

I have recently been inspired by two very different designers.
One regularly seems to capture what feel like snapshots of my soul, while the other captures something I often feel like my soul is longing for!

The thing I love about Bess’s photography and home account is that it is so simple, so intentional, but it doesn’t feel bare, or unwelcoming.
It proved to me that we don’t need ‘stuff’ to be comfortable, to create beauty, and to find those moments around us.

There is a huge cultural drive around us to always be buying more, to be filling our spaces with more and more. I know I’m guilty of falling for this sometimes! But it’s not true! We don’t need more, we just need it to be right.

I just love how these images, these little moments that Bess has captured, speak to life choices, as well as a design aesthetic, and a commitment to keeping it simple, pared-back, and intentional.

The thing I love the most about Bess’s account, home, and choices is that it is in keeping with the style and features of her home. Her aesthetic simply wouldn’t work in my more modern, middle eastern, flat-roofed house! Much as I would KILL for some character!

But on the flip side, another of my favourite designers that I have stumbled upon more recently is Patti Roberts.

This girl gets me. Her designs and choices are the epitome of comfort, welcome and invitation to rest a while, without being cluttered, overpowering or loud.

What I love about Patti’s style is the depth and texture that she brings to her designs, without over powering it!

She plays with fabrics, materials, and patterns to create an inviting, warm, cozy look that is still classic, smart and luxe.

She is one to watch, you’ll find so much inspiration in her designs, her photography and what she shares of her home!

I love to highlight other designers that inspire me and challenge me to think differently, better, bigger, and more creatively.
But I also love to bring my own ideas and aesthetic into my clients homes, as well as my own.

Sometimes it’s the little things that make a place inviting, cozy and welcoming, but sometimes it’s the lack of things.

I must admit, the thing I struggle with with super modern, or minimalist styles is the lack of the ‘soft’ to design, be that pillows, rugs, mugs, or nature elements. I keep going back to that garden, our first ‘home’, and noticing the detail, the thought, the intentionality that went into each choice, and thinking - we weren’t designed to live in a naked box!

So I will continue to strive towards an intentional life, decor wise, and otherwise. A life that doesn’t build up clutter and chaos that being stress and distraction, but rather one that welcomes the little things that mean something, that invite you into the story, and that give you permission to rest.

‘Cause let’s make one thing really clear… we were made to rest!