Still Love It Now? Use My Simple Furniture Checklist

You know how it’s beneficial every so often to take stock of your goals, habits, and life/work balance? 

A bit of reflection helps to see if you’re still on track, or if you need to course-correct.

The same is true of your decor and furniture. Taking stock of these items every once in a while lets you reevaluate their function and beauty in your life.

People usually buy furniture with longevity in mind. Redecorating every year is costly, and hopefully unnecessary if you bought good pieces to begin with. And once these purchases are made, it’s so easy to get on with life and eventually take the furniture for granted. The daily hustle-and-bustle quickly accelerates until it’s been 14 years since you got that bed, chair, rug or dresser, and by now you can’t recall what you were thinking back then.

While you’re getting on with life, you will change physically, mentally and emotionally. Over time, you’re bound to encounter situations that alter you in certain ways. You’re really not the same person you were fourteen years ago. 

So, has your sofa kept up with you? Is it still relevant to your life and tastes today?

When it’s time to take stock of your furniture (or even just one piece), evaluate things with my checklist. It’ll help you determine if they’re still useful, beautiful and worth keeping:

  • Does the sofa (or whatever) still ‘fit’ your body properly?

  • Is the size appropriate for your lifestyle today?

  • Does the design style suit your taste right now? 

  • How about the color or pattern?

  • Does it still function well? 

  • Is the upholstery (finish, etc.) in good shape? 

  • If not, can it be cleaned/repaired and reused?

  • Most of all, do you still love this piece? 

The fact is, t’s easy to lose touch with our own desires and preferences while we’re multi-tasking a dozen other things, quite often for decades at a time. Lots of us turn around one day and wonder: who am I now, and what do I love today?

To answer that question, start at home. Look around your house. Do you love what you see all the time? 

Do you really love what you live with?

Go through the checklist and see if your furnishings still have a place in your home and in your heart. Then you’ll know for sure if keeping them is right for you.

If it’s time to let go, pass the items along and let them be loved by someone else. Sometimes we need permission to let things go, even when they’re in good shape. It’s ok to decide that your present-day self no longer likes or connects with certain possessions anymore. Life is short, so why live with things that you really don’t need?

When you have the choice, make it mindfully. Intentionally surround yourself with furnishings that light you up and bring you joy.

This 1880 quotation from William Morris bears repeating: “Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.”

Right on.

Until Next Time,

Nan

Still Love It Now? Use My Simple Furniture Checklist



About Nan

I’m an interior designer who helps people turn their homes into their sanctuaries without the pain of renovating. I’ve been working as a professional designer since 1995 and one thing I love about interior design is how it can evoke a mood and create whatever feeling you want in your space. In that way, it’s kind of magical.

Book a free call with me here.


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