The Stories They Hold: Celebrating Design driven by practicality, love and long-term use

 

I was doing a quick tidy of the house before my parent’s came over to celebrate my husband, Jack’s birthday with us. My back had been bothering me, I believe it to be an injury in conjunction with my C-section, my 20-pound 3-month-old, and my inability to relax even when it is necessary. Because of my sore back, I was doing the bare minimum; a quick wipe down of the bathroom, vacuuming the corners where the pigeon feathers collect, and re-doing the couch.

 What I mean by ‘re-doing the couch’ is this: I was taking the mismatched blankets, and the old tapestry, which live on the seat cushions and tucking them in, refolding them so they lie flat and neat, and tactfully plumping and placing the throw pillows to tie the aesthetic together.

I use the blankets and the old tapestry as protection as we bought a white couch. Now, you don’t know this, but the fact Jack and I decided to buy a white couch is a bit ridiculous. We are a couple of couch potatoes who love to eat, drink and be merry while watching our shows and our movies all from the comfort of our couch, in other words, stains galore.

The couch was the first new item of furniture we had ever bought for ourselves. All our previous couches had been cheap and uncomfortable despite our couch potato tendencies. In our first apartment we had a black pleather recliner with weird lumpy bits in the middle, which made it impossible to cuddle. After that, it was a second-hand green Ikea futon, so compact from use it felt like sitting on a concrete slab. It never made sense to invest in an expensive couch because we were living in London, UK, and we knew at some point, in the not-too-far future we wanted to move to Canada.

After our long-awaited move, on a fine summer day, about a week after we bought our first home we saw the light: being the bright, white couch. We had been meandering through the Bay with the intention of gathering inspiration for designing our new home. We both spotted it: A modular, modern looking sectional. We sat down and it was heaven; love at first sit. And when we went to purchase it, it was 50% percent off! The universe had wanted us to purchase this couch.

Back to the present, as I was tidying up the couch and looking at the mismatched blankets and the pillows (which were mostly second-hand gifts), I was filled with gratitude. I wanted to share that here.

I am a visual person, who loves colour, design and building a particular aesthetic. We live in a world that preys on our creative side by telling us these perfect, visually pleasing homes are what we want. I’ve fallen prey to this narrative, as many of you can probably relate. If you like colour and you enjoy decorating your home, then you’ve probably also felt bad about your home or you’ve bought unnecessary crap because of some post on social media about the need for earthy tones and organic textures. 

We’ve been told we should add whatever colours are trending to our wardrobe and to our immaculate homes with their new couches and chairs (sans the old blankets catching the red wine spills). However, I want to encourage a new design trend. Our homes should be filled with functional items, comfortable items, colours that bring us peace and joy, and pieces that remind us of the stories that make up our lives.

One of the blankets I use to protect our couch was my dad’s when he was a boy. I remember when I was about six, it was a winter night in the mid-90s and I’d been shivering in my flannel pyjamas under my purple, floral, polyester comforter. My dad came into my room with a faded, salmon, wool blanket and tucked me in. It was heavy and rough on my cheek. He told me how his mother used to tuck him in with this same blanket. I drifted off to sleep comforted by the weight of the stories this piece of personal history possessed.

When I look at our living room, I am flooded with the stories our items hold.  My point is I want to encourage us to style our homes with love instead of trends. I am a visual person who finds a lot of joy in that which is beautiful, and maybe this room and this couch don’t match the perfectly designed space I have in my head, but what they offer me is better. My pieces are full of stories that make up our beautiful life filled with the people and animals we love. And when I put time into taking care of these objects it only makes them more valuable.

Use the things you have, don’t worry about staining them or making them look worn. We shouldn’t be trying to always surround ourselves with what’s new or in style. That is not a road that leads to anything good. This is a reminder to find happiness in the marks on ourselves and our chosen objects that tell our stories. What is life all about, if not about the stories we collect, the ones that make up who we are, and bring us together.