Ever since I was little I remember not being able to walk into any kind of store without touching everything. It wasn’t until I was on a date in college walking around Tai Pan Trading and the guy asked me “Do you have to touch EVERYTHING in the store?”, that I realized, the answer is yes, I do have to touch every single thing in the store. It takes a lot of restraint for me when I see any kind of texture, material, finish, window covering, fluffy whatever, to not touch it and admire it. Needless to say, the man I married didn’t say a thing after our 3 hour long IKEA date where I not only touched everything but sat on everything as well. Talk about true love!
Growing up, I was the “creative one” in my family. I put that in quotations because here’s the thing-everyone is creative. I have a whole long rant about that but I will save that for another day. I liked to draw, doodle, and design as a pastime and my favorite hobby was holing myself up in my room, dumping my scrapbook supplies out all over the place and getting to down to business for hours upon hours. The buttons, ribbons, patterns, colors, endless possibilities, and the smell of rubber cement were probably a little bit too real of a high for me.
It’s funny to me that I invested so much time in scrap-booking back then because now I use a beautiful thing called Shutterfly that saves me so much time! The thing is, it never was actually about preserving memories for me. The reason I scrap-booked so hard was because I loved the idea that out of all these little pieces, materials, and random supplies from countless garage sales my mom had scoured, I was creating something beautiful. Everything came together on those pages and it was a true work of art.
I have this distinct memory at 25, working at a job in interior design, feeling like I was living the dream, and talking to some girls at church. One of them told me all about how, at just 28 years old, she had opened her own law firm. I felt like I should bow down and repeat, “I am not worthy”. I was amazed! What an incredible woman making such a difference for good in the world. The conversation shifted to the other girl I was talking to as she recounted her crazy night in the NICU and how she just knew she was tending little angels and how rewarding that was. In awe and bawling just a little bit, I looked at her with such admiration. What a fulfilling career!
It hit me on my way home that interior design didn’t quite measure up…I wasn’t saving babies in the NICU and I wasn’t defending good people at my self-made law firm. I was literally driving from tile store to tile store picking up samples for a client’s backsplash. Was I making a real difference? Is interior design completely superficial? I mean, does paint color REALLY matter?
At first I figured I must be the most superficial person on the planet. How could I choose a career that was all about having fun for me? Why wasn’t I doing something more meaningful with my life? But after much thinking and pondering, something told me that those things weren’t true at all. Interior design may not save someone’s life, but it depends on how you think of it. The environments we are in AFFECT US! Think about the last time you didn’t feel safe. Where were you? What surrounded you? What was on the walls? On the floors? Now think about the last time you felt your happiest. What surrounded you then? Why was it so amazing? What colors were there? What textures did you feel? Do you see what I mean??
There is something to be said about our environments and the ones we choose to live in. We all know that feeling when things are organized and clean-it just feels like a breath of fresh air. When you are in an intentionally designed space that represents you and your family, where you feel safe and happy-wouldn’t you say that’s a pretty amazing feeling? And doesn’t that count for something? It’s not just about pretty pillows. It’s about creating a space where you can feel safe, be your best, and reach your potential. Interior design involves space planning, color theory, textures, accessories, and much much more, to create the best space possible for you and your family.
I love that with a combination of a lot of different pieces and ideas, I can make things cohesive, beautiful, and functional. To me, that is a pretty powerful thing and I am making a difference for good. One might say, “yeah, ok that’s easy when you have a huge budget to work with”! And I would agree. My joy in design comes from making things look good, but my THRILL comes from doing it all within a budget. It is possible and doable, and I am so excited to talk to ya’ll about how.
My biggest worry is that I won’t be consistent with this blogging thing, so I need your help! If you have ideas of topics I should blog about, PLEASE comment below or on my Facebook or Instagram page! These tips and tricks are to help you and inspire you! Thank you so much for reading. I hope you continue to follow along and share!
xo,
adrienne anderson