Have you ever noticed that once you start thinking about something, you start seeing it everywhere you look? An example is when you buy a new, “new to you” car and then see it everywhere.
Well, I’ve been thinking about the everydayness of household chores that can seem boring and dreary ~ if you let it. Finding beauty in the ordinary is, in essence, a game of mindsets and, in practice, a simple concept to rewrite.
The truth is that beauty is all around us, we simply need to retrain our thinking so that we can see and create everyday beauty. There are two sides to finding beauty in our daily lives. One is to seek beauty and the other is to create beauty. The first step is to train yourself to look for the beauty that surrounds you and no one is better at this than a child. Children naturally observe and enjoy beauty, since many things are still “new” to them. Follow the example of a child and choose to see the world with new eyes.
The beauty around us can be seen in a sunrise, flowers blooming, a hot, fluffy quiche cooling on the stove, or clean linens neatly stacked in the closet.
In my kitchen there are several common and ordinary things that I enjoy every day. The creamy white ironstone soap dish with the French milled soap block and the small wooden bristle brush make a charming trio and brighten up the daily task of washing dishes. Ordinary things/tasks are beautiful.
Maximize beauty
As we’ve talked about before, the function of your home can bring luxury and beauty to everyday life. On that note, I have a fabric stash that’s out of control…
Have you found that once word gets out that you collect this or that, or that you enjoy this craft or hobby, those things can appear in quantities? That has been my case. I love to sew and have experience in garment making that has transitioned into quilting. This means I have been given my grandmother’s lifelong stash of fabrics. What memories! This was years ago and I used some of her fabric and reduced the rest. But still, the fabric comes… The fabric has been stored in a beautiful old closet, which looks beautiful from the outside but is not functional since only the center panel opens. Today is the day to remove, reassess and relocate the fabric so you can get to it and use it.
Now the closet is empty and all the best fabrics I have a plan for are organized and in one place ~ where I can access them!
Oh this is delicious! It’s a relief to get rid of fabrics that weren’t my style/color palette or aren’t the 100% cotton fabric my quilts are made from. Now this stash of fabric is just what I want to sew and it’s within arm’s reach. Today’s fabric designers create such beautiful fabrics that even simply saving them is a way to maximize the beauty of the designs. Seeing the fabrics organized by project is nice and inspiring to start with!
create beauty
The plants and pots are normal. But when combined and displayed, they provide everyday beauty. A friend of mine made me this macrame planter, isn’t she very kind of her? I have just the place and the plant for it. I also have a blue and white chinoiserie planter on hand, so let’s add both to the hall bathroom. Our hallway bathroom gets a lot of natural light, so an English ivy would be perfect. English ivy does well with this amount of lighting and also enjoys the steam from the shower.
Let’s soften the pure white by tea dyeing it to a soft cream to give it a more vintage feel. I’ve never done this before and I heard that the longer you leave something in the tea, the darker it will become. I’m looking for a soft creamy brown color, so a quick dip will do the trick.
This tea dip dyed macrame project turned out well and added freshness to this corner of the bathroom. It makes me smile every time I see it! Now I’m considering rearranging the art…
Friend, I hope this post and this video have inspired you to look for and add beauty to the daily life of your home.
Affectionately, Rachel.
