Remember, your space should reflect your personality

“Year’s end is neither an end nor a beginning, but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us.” — Hal Borland (1900-1978), American author and naturalist

As another year has ended and a new one is here, I once again want to take this opportunity to thank you for reading Inside Spaces and for sharing your decorating issues. Enriching lives through our home environment is foreign to some, but not to me and not to you our readers. I know how important it is to have just the right lamp, the perfect color in the floor tile, the most luxurious throw on the sofa and exactly how high to hang those pictures.

And while making sure the traffic pattern works in the public spaces of your home may not contribute to world peace, it will surely help those in your household achieve harmony. Being organized in your domain will add so much clarity and ease in your life.

Never underestimate the value and impact of a beautiful home. And that’s whatever “beautiful” means to you. We may not share the same views on that, but we all agree that it’s very personal. And thank goodness we don’t all like the same thing.

It’s not about the things, it’s about the comfort and serenity our special belongings bring to us.

In my past first-of-the-year columns, I have written a list of things you can do to “spice up” your home. Today, rather than a list, let’s just talk about a few things.

One of the first on my former lists was “make your space look like your space.” Well, I’m still totally in favor of that. I have been fortunate to stage a lot of homes here in Las Vegas and sometimes I hear homeowners say, “Well, you know this is the way my parents (sister, husband, cousin) had their house decorated.”

Well, that’s all well and good; however, you live there.

I’ve also talked a lot about having things that others have, but make it work for you. In some of the past columns I’ve mentioned having very modern furniture but including a piece of your family’s or friends’ older furniture — and that’s OK. Just make it fit into your world.

As an example, just last year I wrote a column about inherited furniture, and I mentioned that I had inherited my grandmother’s sewing machine. It will always be a part of my life and living space.

So, one of the biggest issues seems to be when you get that stuff from your family or friends. Recently I have heard several friends and family say, “You know nobody wants grandma’s furniture.”

And I’ve had friends say, “Well, I have to get rid of all of this stuff because I know my family won’t want it if something happens to me.”

Quite a few years ago I remember staging a home for a client and she wanted an entire room decorated with her inherited furniture and accessories. It was beautiful.

So, as we move into this new year, please consider options for things you may inherit from friends or family or things you have that you may want to pass on. Our homes are just that and could very easily have memories.

Carolyn Muse Grant is a design consultant and creator of beautiful spaces. Questions can be sent to her at creativemuse@cox.net.