A Chic Paris Lockdown – Day 16 – Home Sweet Home

“Create a Sanctuary at Home” is Fiona’s title for Day 16 in her book, 30 Chic Days. And what a pertinent topic for this “Lockdown” Spring of 2020! Fiona writes that she wants her home to nurture and uplift everyone who lives there. Her preference is for a minimalist space decorated in neutral tones to foster a calm and serene feeling. Her personal preferences are echoed in the book, Simplicity Parenting, Using the Extraordinary Power of Less to Raise Calmer, Happier, and More Secure Kids by Kim John Payne and Lisa M Ross. The basic message from both Fiona and Payne is that too many objects (clutter) and too many bright colors create a feeling of stress (no matter our age). We, as humans, seem to enjoy feeling calm in a “home” space that has open, clear space and is decorated in a palette of limited shades. The presence of bright colors and a large number of objects raises our energy level – think of the excited, energized feeling from the inside of a circus tent. This is terrific for a strictly limited time. Too much time spent in such an environment stresses and tires us. A “home” space (in which we are all spending so many more hours than ever!) should, according to Fiona and Payne, soothe our spirits and give our thoughts room for development.

I agree with both Fiona and Payne. I have watched the members of my immediate family visibly calm down and relax when they spend time in a visually “quiet” space. It goes without saying that a “quiet to the ear” space (with no music or music played at a low volume) can be much more relaxing than a space that has sound at the decibel level of a hard-rock concert (no matter how much one might like the band!)

Fiona presents several good ideas for evaluating our space so that we effectively design it to match our tastes and needs. One of her suggestions is to take a photograph of a room. The photo allows us to “see” the room and its contents differently than how we see it when we walk through it.

Just yesterday, I took part in two “virtual” meetings using the Google Meet app and the Zoom app. It was lovely to interact with people at a spoken and a visual level. Conversation is so much richer when one can see the body language and facial expressions. However, I did notice how much the other peoples background showed up on screen. This morning after reading Day 16, I sat at my computer and took a screen shot of how my background environment looked. Then I took a couple of photographs of the room.  Using those images, suddenly I had a whole new perspective on my space!  I regret to report that the phrase, “paper explosion” is a more accurate description than the words “beautiful, soothing, calming, and nurturing”. That’s okay – tidying up was quite straight-forward. Things just needed to be returned to their designated spots (mostly books back to the bookshelves)  and the (many) paper piles just need to be put in recycling.

This afternoon, words like “beautiful and calming” are a more natural fit for the space.

PS. The photo above (from this morning) shows the very uncluttered, uncrowded Place du Trocadero across the river from the Eiffel Tower.