Italian Cottage Sitting Room

As I try to embrace everything new 2023 may have to offer me, I’m attempting to stay open to any ideas that come to mind. I’ve been reading The Surrender Experiment by Michael Singer and while the notion of completely letting go and accepting what the universe has to offer us is horrifying, I think it may be completely necessary. On some degree it makes a great deal of sense… if you’re holding onto something that doesn’t serve you, there won’t be any room in your life for something that does.

This is a scary concept in and of itself, but it turns into a straight up horror novel when I consider it from a business point of view. My business is my only source of income. Student loans are eventually going to come back (I could probably buy a small private island with the amount of money I owe the government), and I haven’t exactly been great at saving for the future. The powers that be are predicting a recession, which could be especially bad for the home renovation market.

These are the thoughts that used to keep me up at night. But lately I’ve been trying to reframe it all. The honest truth is that I have no control over any of this. Nothing I can do or say will change what’s about to happen in the world. And that’s kind of freeing. We all just have to roll with the punches. And the less I resist, the less terrible I feel.

So instead of descending into a deep depression and awaiting the imminent failure of my life’s pursuits (oh, the melodrama), I’m looking for ways to coast through any tough times ahead. It’s time to remove the pressure we put on ourselves to always be moving forward. 2023 is the year that I will chill. I hope that you’ll join me! We all deserve peace.

ANYWAY, the point of this post was to share something I created with all of you. Often I’ll be struck by inspiration that isn’t tethered to an existing project, and I just need to get it out on paper. It’s a way for me to hone my design skills and also make room in my head for more new ideas. This one was born out of me seeing this wallpaper on a random Google search. For me it recalled warm summers in the Italian countryside, time in the garden, and excellent company.

Have I ever even been to Italy? No. Call it artistic freedom. I think in a past life I may have lived there, so that counts for something.

This design woke something up inside of me. Since I started my interior design journey, I’ve had this battle going on in my head about whether I was a color person or a neutrals person. I am, arguably, both. A year ago I NEVER would have paired blue, orange, and red together. Not because it isn’t a good combination, but because my mind wasn’t really open to it.

The other issue I have with myself is that I love patina, rough textures, and earthy things, but I also love traditional furniture, elegant lines, and soft textiles. To be honest, until now, I really did not think I’d ever figure out how to combine them. It feels like I have a whole new world to explore now!

So this is my message for you: no matter what you’re pursuing right now, try to let go of the end result. Put your feet in the water, try things out, and see where you end up. Chances are it isn’t the same place you expected, but I’m willing to bet it will be better than you could have imagined.

Until next time,

Nicki

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