When And Why Do You Redecorate?

February 10, 2017

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The other day I received a lovely email from a company who wanted to offer me some new bedding in exchange for a post. My initial thought was,"Wow! How exciting and what a wonderful surprise!" While I didn't really need new bedding, it's always nice to get new stuff, right? Of course, before I answered them, I checked out their site and starting thinking.

While it was gorgeous and very cutting edge, it wasn't really my style. Hmm. The wheels started spinning. Did I need new stuff? Free or not, would I have picked this particular bedding out if I were in a store? Would it go with what I already had in the room?

Would I have to make changes to accommodate it and, most importantly, did I really need to redecorate right now?

The short answer to all of these questions was no. So I politely declined.

I am sure there are people out there who think I'm crazy, that despite the fact that they were very, very expensive and didn't really fit my home or my audience, I should've accepted the items and given them away or used them in the future.

I get that, but it meant that I would still have had to stage the room with them, perhaps make some changes in decor to showcase them and that's not real life.

And I'm all about real life here.

Sometimes, a little too real.

You see, even as someone who writes about home decor on a regular basis, I don't redecorate all that often. I just don't see the need.

My feeling is that if things are not broken and they function well, there is no need to redecorate every few years.

Unless of course you want to.

If you love what surrounds you, however, let it be.

Forget the trends. The fads. The marketing and the magazines.

Besides everything old is new again eventually.

And the classics never go out of style.

Almost every room in my house looks much the way it did when we first painted the walls and settled in over a decade ago.

Oh sure, I may add a few new decor items each season, update small accessories and the occasional piece of furniture, but overall, it takes a lot to get me to redecorate a room.

Time and money are too precious to me and like my dad always said, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

My bedroom is a perfect example.

I bought these lamps at Ikea when we moved in. They were supposed to be temporary. Over the last ten years, I have seen tons of lamp fads from crystal and mercury glass to wood and hobnail come and go. All were enticing choices and I could have replaced them, but didn't.

They still fit.

It's the same story with the drapes. They are cheap sheers I picked up on a whim.

Again. I thought temporary.

I could have swapped them out since with burlap or drop cloth versions, but I like them. When I walk in the room, they make me smile.

So I stick.

When we renovated this house, I wanted to make sure that whatever we added respected the character of the original home, built in 1920. This light fixture fit.

Glamorous? Not really. Did I have the urge to replace it with a chandelier over the years? Yup. I just never got around to and now I am back in love with this simple charmer again.

It's the same story with my old antique rock maple furniture. We bought it at a yard sale for our first apartment. We were sure that once we bought a house it would be relegated to a guest or kids' bedroom. Well, our first house was so teeny, we're lucky these pieces fit and when we moved in here, there was so much work to be done, a master bedroom set was not in the budget.

As the years passed, we became more and more attached to our first set, especially when we saw the inferior furniture that was for sale in shops today. We began to appreciate the craftsmanship and since we had adopted a simpler lifestyle, we didn't need any more drawers...so no redecorating.

One of the last items on the "we should do this" list, was replacing the original closet doors. They are old sliders and still have that silly little scallop moulding that was so popular back then. My husband wanted raised panel doors. I thought that barn doors would be cool.

We have yet to do anything to them. I have become kind of attached to the scallops and he's set on the panels. So we talk about it and then we end up walking on the beach, going for a long drive with hot coffees and the kids or visit my mom at the nursing home instead.

Way more fun.

Maybe someday we'll replace them, but not right now.

Cottage Style Scallop Moulding Sliding Closet Doors

Oh, it's easy to get caught up in fads and fashion. I get it. I am guilty myself. It's no different than when I go shopping and try on those stylish, sleek dresses and sky high stilettos, but then come home and put on my worn and faded jeans, fuzzy socks and oversized sweater.