Change Your Environment, Change Your Life
Continued from our Retreat & Renew Daily Tip.
By Laurel House QuickieChick website
Styling my Small Space… Come Home with Me. w/Laurel House Click here
Love: After being on-and-off for entirely too many toxic years with my boyfriend, I finally admitted that we were broken, not bent.
Work: My career was demanding a mid-course correction as I was being pulled in a direction that wasn’t new, just different.
Life: I was stuck in self-sabotaging food and lifestyle habits that made me wake up feeling guilty each morning.
I knew I needed change, but I felt like I was backed up against a wall and spiraling out of control- like one of those amusement park rides where you are pinned to a wall that is spinning so fast that the floor drops out and you still are frozen in place. And then I realized that I wasn’t actually backed up against a wall. I was backed up against self-doubt, bad habits, and old obsessions. I had to just press pause, turn around and start fresh. I needed a new perspective and a change of scenery. I needed to see that there was no wall behind me, it was just me against me. If I could only turn around, I would see. And so I did. In order to move on, I had to geographically move.
Aside from a 2-year stint in Kansas City, Missouri, and Santa Barbara for college, I have pretty much always lived in Santa Monica. For the past several years I was in a place that was adorable on the outside, but dark, cavernous, and cluttered inside. A definite reflection of my life. And so I moved to another area of LA.
My girlfriend from high school bought a beautiful home with a studio guest house and a backyard that made you feel like you were on vacation. It butted up to a hiking trail, complete with a reservoir with ducks and turtles (wild life can be hard to come by in Los Angeles), and I was sold. Within two weeks I packed up my dog and clothes, sold pretty much all my stuff, and moved in. Refresh!
The space was sparsely furnished, which was my opportunity to really redefine my outlook. What did I want to wake up seeing every day? Still I had to be budget conscious. Going in debt wasn’t going to help my already stressed situation. So I went to Overstock.com and styled out my space without breaking the bank. But I couldn’t do it all myself. Julia House- my sister and television set designer, and Megan Rider- small space guru, went to work to transform the room that was once a garage, and turn it into an environment that would transform me. Here’s what I scored (while saving a few thousand- yes thousand- dollars!):
–SITTING AREA–
White Hydraulic Barstool
Blue Wool Area Rug
Modern Chair in white leatherette with chrome metal base
Modern Swivel Chair in white leatherette
–BED AREA–
5-tier Leaning Ladder Shelf
Blue Feminine Tufted Duvet
Pearl Accent Throw Pillows
–CLOSET–
Adjustable Steel 2-rod Garment Rack (dramatically expanding my closet space)
Big Box Cubby Shelves (for my too-many shoes)
—BATHROOM—
Frosted Pane 4-Drawer Linen Cabinet
Wall Cabinet with Two Doors
–OUTDOOR LIVING–
Eucalyptus Lounger
4-Piece Seating Set- Love Seat, Chairs, Table
I truly believe that when you’re on the right path, everything else seems to fall into place. And that’s exactly what happened. Love seemed to show itself everywhere, my career was coming at me from all sides yet still focused in one direction, and for the first time in years I no longer “needed” to vampire eat when I was lonely or sad late at night.
Amazing how easy it is to get unstuck if you simply turn around.
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