Creating Empty Spaces for Peace in the Home
I blame Covid.
And winter.
I am inspired by minimalists.
And young women in young marriages with young families who've learned and shared their art of creating spaces and space.
Growing up, I loved all the things. Cluttered farmhouses, Victorian aesthetic, collections, museums pack full of artifacts, late 20th century consumerism all contributed to an idea that homes were cozy when well (and fully) decorated and displayed.
But now I live in a very small cottage instead of a large Civil War era farmhouse, and I have to take care of all the things (or handle all this inventory as Dawn from The Minimal Mom calls it). It became overwhelming.
Covid has kept my children and I home more. Winter keeps us shut in, too. And the walls close in around us.
I find I need space, empty space.
Not every surface needs something on it. Not every wall needs something hanging on it. Not every corner needs something sitting in it.
This is no easy task in a small house with 6 people. I can't just get rid of a chair to make space. Someone will end up sitting on the floor! With a shocking lack of closet space, I have to utilize cupboards, cubes, bookcases, and hutches to store my inventory. So, while we may have less than the average American home, it still feels like a lot because of the lack of space vs the number of people living here and all their needs and things.
Still, there's always ways to reduce, rearrange, and create that empty space.
Yesterday, I went through our books (we have a LOT of books) and purged ones we no longer read or need. I also purged homeschool supplies. Let's be honest, a large portion of homeschool supplies were purchased because mom got excited and hoped beyond reality. It also helps that my youngest finally broke through the early elementary stage and I can get rid of all the early ed papers, workbooks, games, and supplies.
I LOVE how Lynette Yoder decorates her home and has a rotating supply of decor. Unfortunately, I can't really do that because I have very little space with which to store decor, and my home can't handle the clutter. I really only have space for the necessities, so my books become my backdrop. My plants and family pictures are my decor. Lynette is a master are having enough empty, or negative space to enjoy decor without it feeling or looking cluttered. Unfortunately, in my home, there isn't enough negative space just with our necessities trying to fit in that I don't have the freedom to decorate without it looking cluttered.
Whether it is an empty surface, an empty shelf, an empty drawer, or an empty wall space, I need little pockets of negative space. Even if it means a drawer isn't stuffed full. A books-stacked-double-deep bookcase is more tolerable if the top of it is empty. Add decor to the top and suddenly the whole thing looks like a mess.
Neutrals also help contribute to the feeling of empty or negative space. Back in the 90s when I was a teen it was popular for homes to have a different paint color in every room, even two paint colors in one room. I carried that into this cottage. I had a cottagey living room, a colonial dining room, a 1950s electric blue kitchen, a farm themed kid's room turned master bedroom, a hadn't been painted in nearly 2 decades bedroom, a cabin-like sunroom turned daughter's room, and a french country bathroom. There was no cohesion. Every tiny room in this tiny house was its own entity. I have since painted the kitchen, living room, dining room, daughter's room, and boys' room a warm cream neutral. The bathroom is still french blue, and by request of others, will remain so, and the tiny master bedroom is the palest pink that looks white because it needed something of a brighter neutral being so tiny. There's now cohesion, and I plan to create more by repainting the dining room, which is currently oxblood red on the bottom, cream on top with a chair rail in between, the the trim is colonial mustard/butterscotch color. Way too dark and busy and doesn't go with the rest of the house.
Some spaces simply cannot be decluttered. On my Instagram I have a picture of a troublesome hutch area in my dining room. This is hubby's dumping ground because he truly does not have anywhere else to put his work gear. We don't have a mudroom or a coat closet or portico or entry way or antechamber, nor is there room to create one near an entry door. So, I have to allow for this hutch to be his space for now, regardless of how cluttered it gets or looks. Therefore, I have to balance it with negative space elsewhere. That may mean decluttering a bookcase or emptying a wall of picture frames or even keeping the room neutral in tones.
In my kitchen I don't have curtains.
In my bathroom I keep one side of the counter cleared off.
A catch-all basket can help keep those little bits and bobs together in one space with only one visual.
I see where my eye wanders and what feels unkempt. Right now I have a surface in my living room that's become a catch-all for projects. I'll clear that, today. Also, in my kitchen, I redid my kitchen table, but have my Sunday Basket papers piled up on it and a bowl for past-its-prime fruit that needs something done about it.
To not be so cluttered, especially in a small house with a large family, actually does help my family function. It creates less visual stress which helps us all feel calmer and more like we can accomplish things. If my kids are trying to do schoolwork in a cluttered room, they feel more intimidated by the clutter on the pages of the book. Everything looks more amplified and busy and harder to focus on. And when it comes to cleaning, it is more of a breeze because I don't have to clean before I clean!
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