As I mentioned in my previous post, I’m embracing minimalism this year. I feel like it’s what I need at this point in my life, when things can be so very crazy around me. But where to start?
Surprisingly, this question wasn’t very hard for me to answer. {I’m going to be grateful for that because I’m guessing there may be parts of this journey that will be much harder. Eek.} I have flirted with the idea of minimizing in the past, and it all started with my wardrobe. So I decided to take one step outside the closet… to the master bedroom. There are many reasons this room feels like the right place to start. First, there’s nothing better than relaxing at the end of the day in a room that feels like a sanctuary. Secondly, and possibly more importantly, the kids don’t often make our room a playground so it seems to stay {a bit} tidier than other parts of the house, which makes it feel like a more manageable start point.
I have to admit that I was so keen to begin this journey that I didn’t even stop to think that I might like to take some “before” photos so that at some point I would be able to see how far we’ve come. Oops. Lesson learned. That being said, I’m also working on my photography skills, so these “after” photos of my bedroom will likely also serve as “before” photos for my photography abilities. So at least there’s that. I should also state that while I am calling these “after” photos, this room is sure to change with time. Items like the lamps and curtains are perfectly fine, but I’m on the lookout for ones that really speak to my soul. We have mini-blinds, which are useful since Sam has too work nights at times, and in turn has to sleep during the day, but they sure are unbecoming things. Eventually I would like to replace them, but other options tend to be quite costly. Some day!
Alright enough, here you go…
The wall-hanging above the bed is a DIY dip dye, using craft store wool and a stick from our yard. The headboard is also a DIY, using home improvement store lumber and some leftover stain.
The guitar is my father-in-law’s old Ovation. Sam has been learning to play it over the past year or so and he’s getting quite good. The mirror is a hand me down from Sam’s mom. I think it’s perfect in its simplicity. I do need to find a new way to hang it, though, as the hook is currently exposed and it’s driving me a bit mad.
There used to be a TV on the dresser, but after some discussion we decided to be rid of it. We also used to have an alarm clock on the dresser, but we were always complaining about how bright it was, and we never used it for its alarm anymore (because cell phones, obviously). I couldn’t even read it at night because my vision is terrible, so I would always check the time on my phone. I was trying to think of a new place to put it when Sam told me just to get rid of it. He decided if it bothered him not to have one then we would get one that wasn’t so dang bright. So far it’s been about a week and he doesn’t seem to mind. It’s one of those things that, if it weren’t for this little experiment we’re conducting, we probably would have kept forever even though neither of us really liked it. Funny how that happened.
The tree, which you can’t see all of here, is a tri-color hibiscus that Sam rescued off the side of the road during one of his runs. I highly approve. It has a twin currently residing in the garage by the window, until we find a good place for it.
Our bathroom is possibly the smallest bathroom I’ve ever seen (not an exaggeration in the least), so I use this old sewing machine (with the machine removed) for getting ready in the morning. I used to have containers with makeup brushes, bobby-pins, all kinds of random stuff sitting out, but I made room for the necessities in the drawers. It’s one of the many places that I removed clutter during this process. It’s amazing how much more clean everything looks. It’s feeding my minimalist fire for sure.
This is my little corner of our room. My favorite things live here… I love these photos. The top one if from our wedding, when we were just wee babes. The bottom one is from when I was pregnant with Piper. Still mostly wee babes. Then my favorite hat and collection of go-to scarves. I like these things being out in the open… It’s like making decor from the things I use every day anyways.
And of course I had to get a close up of this artwork. The photo really doesn’t do it justice. It’s currently residing on our dresser, awaiting its permanent home. I’m on the lookout for a large floating frame to show off the edges of this gorgeous paper. If you’re interested, it’s by Meredith Mejerle Rush (meremejerle.com, IG @meredithmejerle). Her work is absolutely stunning and she’s also just the sweetest soul.
Well that’s about it for the tour. How do I feel so far? Amazing isn’t a strong enough word. Let me put it this way… our bedroom has never been a place I really wanted to hang out. But suddenly I find myself being drawn into it because it’s so peaceful and clean and calm. I linger a little longer while walking through, and find myself peering in through the door just to look at it again. Even in its imperfection I’m in love. I also find that it is so much easier to keep clean now, not only because there is physically less stuff, but also because I have this desire to keep it that way. That’s kind of a miracle. Seriously, you can ask my parents… or anyone who has ever lived with me really.
If you made it to the end of this, congrats! Let me know what you think!
Cheers.
Thistle + Fig 