Making Room for Your Life Now
Flex space in new construction means a room dedicated to whatever purpose you need it for now. And right now, you may need a room in your house that you don’t have.
Like a dance studio or a gym. Which is exactly what our dining room has turned into this past year. There are no giant mirrors or ballet bars, no balance beams or vaults, just furniture moved to the walls and the light fixture lifted. And a spot for an iPad. No budget, no planning.
It works.
For now.
In our previous house, when my girls were pre-school age, we had a 7’x15′ porch (read: tiny space) behind our garage that we enclosed to make a sitting room, office, and playroom. It was very, very cozy. Coats and hats were starting to overtake our also tiny dining area, so we took a chunk of our two car garage to enclose a mudroom with a bench and cubbies. Now we had changed how we entered the house, and so a corner in the dining area was freed up for a banquette. It was a sweet, comfortable space to eat and craft (and the benches provided storage for out of season stuff). That in turn, freed up space in front of the sliding glass doors for an artists easel and tea party table.
It worked well.
Our daughters shared a room and I sewed curtains around each of their beds to give them a little visual privacy, and put a little wall sconce in each of their areas to light it up for reading and playing- since their bedtimes didn’t always jive.
These changes required space planning and a budget. But they added a great deal of value to us in the enjoyment of our home and provided the spaces we needed for our lives at the time. Sometimes you have a budget to make changes, sometimes you don’t. The first step in either case is of course editing out what you don’t need anymore.
What is with all the cowboy boots?
As a closet designer, I can’t tell you many pairs of cowboy boots I came across, buried in the depths of the master closets. These were not on ranches, but in the cities and suburbs. Apparently the Urban Cowboy movement? Where was I in the 80’s? If those boots fit you, wear them. If you are hanging on to them because they represent some fabulous time in your life, then clean’em up and put’em on display. If they are buried in your closet for some other reason, then maybe it’s time to move them along. Which can be really, really hard, I know. If there is something you don’t necessarily love, but feel like you should hang on to, this mantra has been helpful for me: “The vase is not your mother. Your mother was your mother”. The things you are hanging onto from your past can be a stumbling block to you. Home is a place for beauty, grace and order to manifest in your life, if you make space for them. Deal with your boots and your vases, and look at what’s left. Because the clarity of what’s important now, and ideas of better ways to make your space work for you will bubble to the surface through this process.
So where are you now?
Every few years, we need to rethink how we live in our homes- redefine them. Because our life changes and sometimes we need to rearrange. Maybe you are in a new chapter of your life. Maybe you need to make room for something (or someone) that requires more of you right now. Or less, if your kids have left the nest. Or more again if they have once yet returned. Maybe you have toddlers and it’s all about the toys. Or a new puppy and it’s all about the toys- and training. Maybe someone is sick and you are caring for them. Maybe there is a pandemic and you need to create space for everyone to work and study at home now.
To truly create order in your home, your space has to work with how you live now. Honor where you are, what you need, and use your space in ways that work for you and support your life. Celebrate the chapter you’re in with your home. Think of it all as party decorations- the photos, the kids toys, the books and iPads, the hockey sticks and ballet shoes, the extra work binders and computers, even hospice care equipment if that is what’s going on for you right now. All party decorations. Because even if things don’t exactly feel celebratory now, you will undoubtedly look back and realize the immense value and the beauty of this time. Whatever stage you’re in, make room for it and celebrate it, because it won’t last long.
Do you have something you need to make room for in your home right now? Do you have a space in your house that could be better used for something other than what it is used for? Do you have a space that you could make some small changes to, to make it more beautiful and work better for you? Is there something you would really love to spend time doing, but you don’t because there isn’t a place for it? Where in your house can you steal some flex space to make it happen?
To help make your home work for you, create the space in your home for your life now. Here’s a tool to help clarify needs and uncover possible solutions!
I love this and thank you for the reminder that this too shall pass and to count it all as precious. Thank you for helping to find ways to make it more livable, enjoyable and beautiful.
Thank you Robin. Well said!!