Everything I Thought I Knew and Everything I Didn’t…

 

Décor exists and matters for a multitude of reasons, from purely aesthetic to sending a message. For me, it exists as a way for me to have a part of my life that is 100% me and as a sign of control. For 18 out of my 20 years of living, I have always shared a room. This was necessary, being a child in a family of 6 kids. Throughout these years, the decorations were always a joint decision, with contributors from my sisters, my mom, and myself. There were, of course, aspects that were purely “me” but it was never 100% mine.

 

After moving away for college, I finally had the chance to decorate my own room! Despite it being a dorm room, I still had a chance to fully express myself and my style. From picking my own comforter to my own wall decorations, and even my own towel color, my true colors began to be sprawled out in my 130 square foot room.

From there, my creative juices kept flowing! Moving on to sophomore year, I moved into my first apartment, and had a huge room to fill! I couldn’t contain my excitement for being able to decorate! Picking the rugs, pillows, wall decorations, and more, I drove my parents, roommates, and my bank account wild. Despite them all calling me crazy for wanting to completely rearrange and redecorate my room every month, I was happy. Every time I stepped into my room, it was my own sanctuary—a place where I could go to unwind after a long day of classes and work. Being surrounded by my colorful, DIY wall hanging, area rug, the personalized photos of my friends, and my favorite candle (that I quite literally cried over in the middle of T.J. Maxx), I was truly content.

Decorating and designing is something that I find exciting and interesting. It has even inspired me to pursue a career as a visual designer/planner after I graduate! So, why does décor matter? It matters because it gives people a chance to express themselves and even find their future calling!

Decorating

As a child of divorced parents, who also happened to have crippling anxiety, decor meant more to me than simply adorning a room with things that matched and looked pretty. To this day I can recall the chest crushing feeling that came every-other-court-ordered-weekend from trying to sleep in a room that just didn’t feel like it was home. What made that time bearable was creating my own little oasis. I was able to bring in textures, colors, and graphics that reminded me of my own bedroom and safe space.

 

By no means am I implying that my room was fit for HGTV; as a matter of fact, my room ended up being a collage of trinkets, but they were my trinkets. Now that I have my own house and am looking to decorate I continue to hold onto the notion that “if it important to you, it has a place in your space”. Sometimes the best decor may not be what matches perfectly, rather it is what brings you the most comfort and satisfaction because a well defined space can truly change your perspective.

Southwestern Area Rugs Are My Favorite Furniture Addition

Southwest décor is about the atmosphere. The environment that someone stays in or builds around them says a lot about the person. Everyone wants to surround themselves with beauty and comfort, so they can relax and escape the outside world; have a sanctuary to retreat to. Most men could not care less about having an aesthetically pleasing room and just fill a house with whatever random furnishings they find. Oh, the tragedy of the early American garage sale motif, so sad; truly embarrassing.

Southwestern Rugs Are An Absolute Gem

Where does salvation for the decorative-eye-challenged male come from? Enter the competent, strong, inspired, and capable women. As a man, I must admit that my wife is the only atmosphere I really care about. Before my wife, some hideous functional furniture picked up from here and there with nothing on the wall, but emptiness is all I ever needed. My ignorance was bliss; dreadful and embarrassing until my eyes were opened. Without the blessing of perspective, people generally look at life with rose-colored glasses on; only to be mortified later in life by hindsight.

My wife has taught me hindsight about our house and how we live. It sounds funny to say hindsight instead of foresight, but the perspective says two years from now, will you still want the house to look like this?” The foresight about hindsight has completely changed the way that I purchase southwest decorations and furnishings. I am never to purchase alone; all prospective purchases must be cleared by the professional, my wife. The result has been the most comfortable environment to live in; something to be proud of and one of my favorite additions to our home was adding southwestern area rugs.

Southwestern décor was something I really never paid attention to until I went off to college. I never had the opportunity to actually decorate a room for myself. I remember going dorm room shopping for my freshman year. I bought all the basic stuff I would need by following a list I found online. After setting up my room, it wasn’t decorated too much but I was satisfied since I had all my essentials.

My freshman year of college turned out to be a very rough time for me. It was challenging for me to be far away from my family and friends. I also found it difficult for me to make new friends. I was constantly homesick and just wanted the school year to come to an end. I spent most of my free time in my dorm room. I eventually became depressed. After looking around the bare white walls of my dorm room, I remember wishing I had taken the time to decorate my room. I started hanging pictures I had of my family and friends up on the walls. I tried to surround myself with things I liked. It was during this time period that I realized why décor is important in my life.

I discovered that your everyday surroundings can influence your mood. Because I had a depressed mindset, my dorm room setting was not helping me feel better, and made me feel worse at times. I could not afford to go out and buy southwest decorations for my room. So I was forced to step out of my comfort zone and spend more time outside of my dorm room. I started attending more social events and eventually made a new best friend. I survived my freshman year of college and took a mental note that for the years to come, I would try to set aside some time and funds to decorate my future dorm rooms.

I am now currently entering into my second year of veterinary school. Going into my first year of veterinary school, I was very nervous and definitely worried that I may have a similar experience to my freshman year of undergrad. I wondered whether I would make new friends or get homesick again. But I could not stress over those things because I knew they were out of my control. One thing I did know I could control was the design of my apartment. Knowing that I was going to spend the majority of my free time in my apartment studying, I knew I had to go out and buy some southwest décor. I used my three favorite colors for the color scheme of my room. I made my room bright and lively! I hung up pictures of my family and friends as well as pictures of my fur babies. After a long day of classes, I am always happy, not sad, to return back to my apartment.

I am very grateful that I was able to learn from my past experiences. I learned that décor helps make a place feel like home, especially when you’re missing it the most. I now have a new love for home décor and can’t wait for the chance to decorate my future home after graduation.