A CORNER OF OUR HOME

One of my favourite accounts to follow for home inspiration is Arrows & Bow, Ashley Petrone. Something she posted recently really resonated with me: “At the end of the day, it’s nobody else’s home but yours. What do you want it to say? Today I’m sharing a little look at a corner of our home, our bedroom, and what it says about me. Callum + I really try to put thought into what we bring into our home, and love making those decisions together.

Our bedroom furniture was among the first things we knew we’d have in our home, and I was SO happy. A matching dresser and chest of drawers. I remember showing my mom a picture on Pinterest of some vintage dressers and she told me they had my Grandma + Grandpa Gedlaman’s in storage. I love the colour, its gold detailing, and the straight lines. Solid wood, built and purchased in the 1940’s, and most importantly, it belonged to my Grandparents, which is so special to me. I recently re-read my Grandpa G’s life story, and that made this furniture feel even more sentimental to me lately. It’s a piece of both of them in our daily lives. It shows some aging, but my Grandma was a meticulous housekeeper and it’s in incredible condition, given its age. The little nicks and marks of imperfection are something I love, because I know who used and loved it.

I’ve had this print for a couple of years, and it has made its way around our home a little bit, but I like where it has settled in. I bought the print, which you may recognize from John Lennon’s song “Happy X-Mas (War is Over)”, when I was going through a difficult time. I wanted to wake up everyday and see these words. “War is over! If you want it.” I’d wake up and read it, and the melody of this song would enter my mind. While the song really speaks to political conflict and actual war, another reminder to me is one on a more personal level. That there are many things in our lives, conflicts and obstacles, that really can be over if we want them to be. If we choose for them to be over. This print is still a daily reminder to us that we can PICK our battles. There are enough of them that we can’t, and don’t have control over, so I like to pick the ones that I can – maybe something like holding a grudge, or getting hung up on what someone thinks about me, or focusing on my imperfections. Those can be over. They’re over if we want them to be over. Our minds have serious power, people! Making a conscious decision to let something go can seem easier said than done, but I’ve found it’s actually easier than I think.

One of the personal touches that I also added in this corner was to stack a few books that mean something to us. I love the classic works, and even though I haven’t read them all, I love them. Callum bought me Joanna Gaines’ Homebody to inspire me! I love a lot of her ideas and style. I also love the word homebody. I don’t know why, I guess it has to do with the fact that I think home is a nice place to be, and while I’m not a complete homebody (I love being out and about), I always love coming home and want to make it an inviting and comfortable place to be. I always felt that way growing up. In the middle of the stack is a collection of Frank McCourt’s books. I still haven’t read ‘Tis, but his memoirs are all about his childhood in Limerick, Ireland. Anything to do with Ireland makes me think of my dad, as he lived there for two years, and we traveled there together when I finished high school. (Funny enough, Callum’s from the UK and has never been there! So it’s on the list for us to go together!) I was always obsessed with Ireland growing up, writing reports on it in school, and I wanted to kiss the Blarney Stone. (I did! It was kind of gross and a bit scary hanging upside down off the side of a castle!)

Well, this post ended up being pretty sentimental, but that’s one of the things that makes this little house our home. I think it’s so important to add those personal touches that really tell something about who you are. Hope you enjoyed it! What does your home say?