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Maybe because it’s the start of a new year, maybe because even having been vaccinated twice and boosted I still feel like I am running away from the bogey man on a daily basis... Either way, this month’s newsletter has me thinking back over the past couple of years and the changes it has brought to my life and in turn my home.
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I remember when we first saw our home. We went to an open house having not seen the listing - it was just pure happenchance that we drove by the street and saw the sign.
We went in, not knowing the price or the history (the owners we found out, were on their third real estate agent and the price had dropped by over $150,000 from when it was first listed). But from the moment I stepped in I knew it was ours.
The interior was really dated (see above), but the house felt good. It felt like home even though nothing there looked like my home. On that first visit, I didn’t go past the foyer as I feared falling in love and it being out of our reach. Dean ran up and down the stairs and decided yes it was perfect. I went back to see it the next day and a week later it was ours. Now many years later it both looks and feels like home.
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Have you ever visited a home and had an opportunity to walk through it before you met the owners? Maybe it was an event or a party, maybe it was at a real estate open house. Being in these most personal and private of spaces without knowing who lives there always intrigues me. What does the house say, how does it feel?
There are homes that draw you in like a warm embrace from the moment you enter and others that feel a little standoffish and lacking in personality. I guess this is partly why so many of us are obsessed with real estate. I love dilapidated grand old ladies in need of a renovation, and I am drawn to these more than something that is all sparkly and new. Where would the fun be for me if the house was all done!
In these seemingly never-ending days and nights at home - I mean, when did we last go to someone’s home for a party or an event - I have started to take a good hard look at my own home of 18.5 years and what it says about us. Our life has certainly changed since we first moved in, especially so in the past two years.
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FRICTIONLESS FOYER DESIGNS
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My foyer (I have decided, and actually I have felt like this for a long time) really needs some work, and I am considering a bold wallpaper here or adding more art to create a gallery wall like I have in the studio as pictured above,
The addition of our puppy has added a whole pile of stuff to my otherwise compact but curated entrance; it now features a large colourful basket that houses towels, toys, and leashes.
I recently got a custom-sized indoor-outdoor mat for the studio entrance. Being in a commercial space, the snow clearers are very heavy-handed with the salt they disperse outside my door. We had a large black mat before, and it showed EVERYTHING especially salt and salt stains, so I went with a natural coloured one with a bit of a green undertone, and it hides everything. Seriously, every client is getting one of these specified as it’s a total game-changer. I am going to order a large one for home that will be less maintenance than our current one and it will also look great with the décor.
Our foyer has the original plaster walls that are a bit warped and wobbly looking so if I do paper here, I think it will be a grasscloth that will hide all. It will also allow me a little more flexibility with art placement.
If we don’t go with something on the walls, then I may wallpaper the ceiling – this might be a simpler task as my walls are complicated where they meet the stairs, but a ceiling wallpaper would be great!!
Our hall closet is diminutive in size so not really worth wallpapering but I do love an unexpected pop of colour when you open a closet door, so maybe we will paint this out!
But I think a new entrance runner, ceiling wallpaper and some fresh pillows on my hall bench which is 6’ long, should have all looking more harmonious and inviting!
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We talk a lot with our clients about leading frictionless lives, having a space for everything, and not having to waste time hunting for items in the deep recesses of their homes.
All this time has me thinking about our home and what adjustments we can make to make it flow and function better for us and the life we lead now. It's always a work in progress as we change and grow.
Not having constant access to my yoga studio has resulted in a spare room at home becoming my yoga and meditation room – this I adore, it’s been the best addition to our home since Covid began.
I’d love to know what changes you have made or are considering making to your home. These past two years have really made us rethink all and I know I am using my home really quite differently than before.
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My exercise routine has also taken a bit of a detour. I went to my yoga studio several times a week - I loved the connectivity and the chats pre and post-class. Then Covid hit so I began to practice at home with my teachers at the other end of a screen and took up hiking with Dean.
The addition of our puppy Reba has meant that for the short term our long hikes have had to be curtailed, so now I am addicted to our Peloton which was a Covid purchase for Dean back in the spring of 2020 when his gym closed.
I’m not known for speed or endurance (well, back in the day I was a runner but at a short 100 / 200-meter distance), but I am loving the challenges this bike has brought to my exercise routine. It certainly takes me out of my comfort zone every ride and although I am peddling away in my basement I do feel like I am part of a team and something bigger.
Watching movies or TV shows for design and travel inspiration has always been something I have done but now more than ever. I need the welcome escape and the chance to virtually travel. Oh how I miss the carefree mask-less days of simply booking a flight and jumping on a plane. We have cancelled so many gorgeous trips – Scotland (2020 twice), Stockholm, Shetland, Copenhagen, Scotland (2021) and Paris.
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We signed up for Brit Box at home just so I could see Season 5 & 6 of Shetland.
The crystal-clear waters, blue skies (some days) and glorious scenery soothe my soul as do the accents. Poor Jimmy, he’s worn the same sweater and coat for all six seasons, and even when he runs into the freezing waters he still has his coat on! Talk about being frugal.
It’s funny the things you miss; I never appreciated the Scottish accent until I moved away. Now when I hear someone talking on the radio or on the telly it always makes me stop in my tracks.
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I have heard awful reviews of the show, but rave reviews of the set design – yes, I’m talking about the And Just Like That…. (The Sex & The City reboot).
The interior images I have seen online might make the show bearable if it's really as bad as everyone says. For now, I’ll simply lust after Carrie’s bookcase and the divine wallpaper and chaise.
However you are finding inspiration and staying sane, I hope you are all well. That’s January almost at a wrap, roll on February!
Warmest,
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Credits
Imintheleaves, Tumblr
Thomas Gearty | Italy | Garden Maze, Villa Barbarigo, Valsanzibio, Italy, 2007, GGI Pinterest Board Styling
Recessed Bed, designer Beata Heuman, GGI Pinterest Board, Children’s Rooms
Before, Realtor Images, Gillian Gillies
After Images, Virginia Macdonald Photography, Gillian Gillies Interiors Inc.
Gallery Wall, Virginia Macdonald Photography, Gillian Gillies Interiors Inc.
Foyer & Staircase Images, Gillian Gillies Pinterest Boards Entrance Foyer Style & Staircases
Gym Images, Gillian Gillies Pinterest Board Home Gyms
Shetland (TV Series) Images, The Washington Post
And Just Like That, Craig Blankenhorn/HBO Max
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