What Makes a House A Home

So last night, I was thinking about all the things that make a house a home. This started when I was admiring my lamps in the master bedroom at our cabin. I was relentless in hunting down these lamps, which literally took weeks. I first saw them in a photo (above) of a Sarah Richardson bedroom.

Who remembers the television show, Sarah’s House back in 2014? Sarah Richardson is a Canadian designer and at that time, I was a big fan and loved her style. Rich in fabrics and textures, her bedrooms are dreamy and colorful. Both Sarah Richardson and Candice Olsen were all the rage before Joanna and Chip Gaines.

When the lamps arrived in 2 BIG boxes, I was so excited. So every time I turn on the lights by our bed, I am reminded of how determined I was to purchase these lights. Our master bedroom cabin is on the large size and the scale of these lamps is P.E.R.F.E.C.T!

Luckily, Paulo Bracket Light TOB2201 designed by Thomas O’Brien can still be found through Circa Lighting and through online searches.

The brass arm is articulating and therefore you can pull the light closer to you if needed. The barley twist leg side table is one I found at a thrift store. Someone had waxed and chalk painted over the beautiful wood. It took quite a while to get it back to its original patina, but it is definitely another special piece.

The basket below the table (since there are no drawers) holds my reading material, hand cream and other night time necessities.

Back to Sarah Richardson….So I haven’t seen her work in a few years and I do not believe she has a current television show. Thanks to the internet, I looked her up and boy, has her style changed. She is now more minimalistic and modern. Surprisingly, in one of her videos she is using lots of IKEA pieces. Though her spaces are beautifully orchestrated, I find them lacking the warmth and interest from her previous style. But to each’s own, right?

So what elements make a house a home? For me, it is furnishing my home with pieces I love. That there is a story behind each one. The pieces do not belong to a set, but have unique features and qualities. They vary in age and style but they work together for me.

Like this picture. My mother found this four poster bed on the side of the road for sale for $4.00. It was painted red and she and I stripped it back to its original wood. This was my childhood bed and now it is in my daughter’s bedroom at the cabin.

Or the quilt~which I found during a cross country driving trip. It was in an old antique store black with dirt. I carefully hand washed it in a bathtub of Ivory Snow before I finally saw the beautiful complex stitching. Or the Ralph Lauren sheets that I paid for with my first big promotion. The Laura Ashley rug is from my very first house in Connecticut ~back when Laura Ashley was a thing!

The painting of the pink roses is mine~done in my first year of taking art classes. So many memories in one small room!

There has only been two times in my life where I used an interior designer. When I was a corporate executive, I was traveling a great deal and depended on others to pull my home together. I can honestly say I have no connections with the items they purchased. There is no story to be told except my memory of paying them for their services. Finally, after many years, I have removed several of those pieces and replaced them with meaningful ones.

Maybe my home and cabin aren’t magazine worthy, but they are filled with antiques, vintage, unique pieces and glorious memories. I can recount with nearly every item, where I got it, the life stage I was in and how it touched my heart.

When you look around your home, what do you see? Cherished items and wonderful memories? Or a perfectly staged home that is magazine worthy? Or both (lucky you!)?

I know some people would say that you shouldn’t get so attached to “things”. But they are more than that to me. These items spark wonderful thoughts and memories of all the different phases of my life. When I see the houndstooth sofa in the above picture, I see my teenage daughter Elisabeth, giggling and plopping down on it.

Could I let go of all of them? Yes, because the feelings and memories remain in my heart. But these cherished items help tell the story of my life and my family. And that is worth clinging to.

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This post shared with Between Naps on the Porch Metamorphosis Monday #610