Friday 28 October 2011

Make Mine... Imperfection....


Oh, I'm so sick of perfection.... aren't you? We've had years of it, quite frankly and the stress of keeping up with it all really is doing my head in! Oh, for the joy of a lived in house... Newspapers piled up on the floor, tele on, a kitchen that gets some use, a bathroom with accoutrements at your fingertips... I mean, at the end of the day, isn't that what a house is for? To live in? Not to sit in, back upright, knees in tight... Too scared to move for fear of ruffling the ruffles... Really all, don't you find that the art of decorating is meant to create a beautiful support system upon which we can live? I mean, really live... kick off your shoes, get the floor a little muddy and all that... Sometimes I think we have it all back to front? Why oh why would one decorate the house with a fear of enjoying the fruits of the decoration? Are we just so busy these days, that the art of making mess is seen as more work, rather than it be a reflection of a well lived life... Are we so bound up in the 9 to 5 - that we can't allow ourselves even a second to exhale? To make a cup of tea? To nibble on a bicky without worrying about the crumbs!
Oh please do forgive me all - I know it's Friday and all, and Fridays are for joy not for grumbles... But really... I've had enough... I'm marching as we speak... Placard raised... Loudspeaker on... Enjoy thy house is my message... Whatever shape in which it comes... Love it, tend it but most of all, be at peace in it... It is, after all, a temple within which to be you...
Happy Weekend all...
p.s I promise I'll be less grumpy next week!

pics from Country Living

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Shannon - I needed that today!!! I have been grumpy and stressed that the house is a mess and toys lay strewn from one end to another and that their is sand on the polished concrete floor from the boys running in from the sandpit. I need to not worry about it and just enjoy the beauty of having a lovely home that my husband has made so wonderful for us and enjoy being with my family - the sand can wait!!!! Thank you
Paula x

Deb Ford said...

Thankyou Shannnon for this post. Just this morning as I set up a vase of flowers on our dining table my six year old asked why I always want things to be pretty.I said it makes us feel better to be surrounded by beautiful things,but something in the way she said it unsettled me. We live in a beautiful home and yes we have papers lying around, kids artwork to be hung , toys etc... but i do feel some pressure to keep things looking like a picture in a magazine which i know is un realistic and hard to achieve all the time. I feel I need to lower my expectations a lot! Relax a little, enjoy just hanging out and appreciate that a happy home is one thats freely lived in, not on show . I am always saying to my girls I dont mind you making a mess as long as you clean it up!So this weekend i am going to encourage them to get creative,make a mess, be free and enjoy themselves. ( That goes for hubby too )

beachvintage.com said...

You are speaking my mind Shannon.This is how life IS meant to be at home. xx

hong kong property said...

that bathroom looks so relaxing:)

AJ said...

classic - have just finished having a conversation with a family member about her kitchen renovations.. she was debating whether to put in a second kitchen so that the mess would be confined to the hidden area... I asked her what was the point of the main kitchen then??? when did it get so important for things to look gorgeous that you wouldn't use your kitchen? I think we may be losing the point of decorating our homes - what is for us and what is just to impress others? your post really hit the spot today...

Jennywren said...

My favourite post this year Shannon! Bring on the grumpiness if it wakes us up to enjoy our homes rather than scrub them!!!!

Leslie said...

Here here....nice to hear a refreshing opinion on here that you really never see on many of the blogs out there. I often feel fed up, dissatisfied or generally rubbish that I 'live' in my house and we have stuff lying around.
No probs with the grumpy....grumpy works for me now and again! ;-)

Flotsam Friends said...

Totally get it Shannon. That's why I love this blog. http://ilaymyhatandwishtostay.blogspot.com/ Pruxxx

Carla said...

HI Shannon, I am with you.. So hard to live with perfection. Sooner or later we crack!! Better to enjoy the ride.. love these images.. Carla xx

Mummaducka said...

I hear you too!! But sooner or lster you cant find something you need and its more frustrating.