Listening to your House

Design Confidently, Live Comfortably

Nora loves lots of beautiful, old things, but because she wanted her home to be spare, she had to play favorites. Selecting only a few pieces meant letting go of things that had been around for a long time. She did it by being honest with herself and keeping only the things she truly loved.

Some of Nora's favorite
things: the painting her
son made for her (top);
a 150-year-old bee skep
from France (bottom); and
an embroidered pillow
(center) that reminds her
to think creatively
at all times.

She advises you to do the same: Look around your own home and be truthful. Are you holding on to anything you don't particularly like just because it's been in your family for years? Or because it's valuable? Or because it was a bargain?

Take a deep breath...and edit yourself, says Nora.

And remember: The more you love something, the more important it is to find a place for it in your home. When you display the things you're emotionally attached to, your home takes on a warmth and personality that's unique to you. That's why Nora framed a painting her son made for her when she returned from a business trip last year. The bold poster -- red tempera on butcher paper -- may seem out of place in this refined home, but it's Nora's single most treasured possession.

"Of all the things I own," she says, "that's the one piece that's going to the 'home' with me."

NEXT: Lesson 6: Get Away From It All

BACK: Lesson 4: Do the Unexpected

	IN THIS ARTICLE:

		Introduction

		Lesson 1: Be Still & Listen

		Lesson 2: Think Big

		Lesson 3: Think Small

		Lesson 4: Do the Unexpected

		Lesson 5: Use Your Treasures

		Lesson 6: Get Away From It All