Interior design and decorating your home are wonderful passions to have. I have always loved creating a lovely home. It was not uncommon for me to be found creating zones in my bedroom as a child! Interior Decorating is an art, a hobby, a pleasure, and part of creating your little place in the world. Our homes are so important and feeling happy within them is vital. I am a big believer in creating a space you want to be in, want to share with others and feel good about.
Yet, I also see people developing what I call “Home Anxiety Disorder” (HAD) or the “I really want what I don’t have” syndrome! Owning a beautiful home is a wonderful dream, but it is getting harder and harder for people to own their own home, and many people go way above their heads when it comes to home debt trying to achieve it.
We are bombarded with products and perfect images of homes everywhere we look. And after a while it is easy to look around your home and think something needs changing, adding, taking away. It is easy to start thinking “this is the thing that will make me happy” and without it? Without it you think you will be unhappy.
People watch colour trends and think they need to change their couch, or get a new dining setting. The latest outdoor setting becomes a must. Not satisfied with a new paint job, or cushion, the whole room is thrown out and all new things come in. This throw away attitude is not only bad for the environment, but it is also bad for your health.
If you find yourself pining for things you can not really afford and then getting down, depressed, or even worse, maxing the credit card so you can get all of these pretty things and then getting more depressed about your credit card debt, you may be suffering with HAD.
I don’t see wanting to make changes in your home as a problem. I am a huge home decorator, project maker and person who loves constantly making changes around my home. But how you do this can make big difference to your wellbeing, your pocket and the environment.! Many people are starting to turn back to more old fashioned ways of living and decorating. People are baking, making, creating, upcycling, crafting, sewing and growing backyard vegie gardens and fruit trees.
An awareness of the environment, a need to do more with less and a sense of disconnectedness in the busyness of life, is meaning we are turning back to an era where we were more hands on, had a slower pace of living and much more consideration and preservation of what we already have and how to reuse it, rather than throwing it out and starting again.
Part of this relates to our search for happiness. Yet our happiness does not depend on what we have, how much we own, or whether we have the “right” sofa. It does relate to how you feel about yourself and your opportunities in life. It also relates to having something to contribute to the world, something to do each day and someone to love and be loved by. Decorating, improving and transforming your home is important because it makes you feel good. It is even better for you when you have done this in a mindful way, and you will be much happier with the results. Take time to consider what you have, rather than what you want, and get back to loving your home and your life more.
Read more of Helen’s wisdom online at www.recycledinteriors.org
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