From The Heart: Leave Safe Behind + Make Bolder Decorating Choices

I'm in the mood for essay writing so sit back and pour yourself a cup of tea or glass of wine because we're going to talk about safety in decorating and even safety in numbers. We're going to discuss taking risks. This year I simply must make bolder choices in all areas of my life, decisions that feel big and scary at times, and to cast fears aside trading negative voices with enthusiastic chants in favor of the unknown. I believe that a trend in thinking will emerge this year very strongly, driven largely by our political and religious views, and that is to live boldly and stop mimicking everyone else simply to avoid ruffling feathers. Speak up more and have courage in all areas of life, and when you have freedoms, exercise them. Even something as seemingly small as a decorating choice at home. It's your space, the one spot on this planet where you exercise absolute control and creative direction. Your personal style speaks volumes about you, don't you think? Why not resolve to make your home a true reflection of you, or the you whom you aspire to become, for 2015?

Recently after installing Aimee Wilder's spinx pina sola wallpaper in my entryway, I personally felt inspired to take more risks. The bold unexpected pattern pulled me right out of my "safe" decorating rut. Wallpaper or anything bold in the home can definitely rev up your confidence - the more you do crazy stuff and like it, the more risks you're willing to take as a result since confidence builds and your take no prisoners girl power emerges. I have been combing wallpaper websites and Pinterest lately to support my opinion on the difference some wallpaper can make and found many great examples, I even took the time to pin them for you to see here and I also encourage you to visit my go-to online shop for wallpaper and wall murals called Photowall because that site just may light a spark under you, too.

When I look at any home, I don't see what's there. I see what could be there. I always tell my friends who are moving into dreadful homes they've purchased due to low costs and the idea of what "could be" to look at a room as 4 walls, a ceiling and a floor and strip it down to the bones and begin from there. Most can't see beyond the ugly flooring or the bad 70s paneling but a room is a room. And nothing can change the interior like altering the walls and floors in some ways - this is when simple materials like paint and wallpaper can work magic.

I read once that if you desire a great life you must first allow yourself to feel uncomfortable on a regular basis because that is where the great stuff springs forth - when you step outside of your "normal" and jump without a net, without a "big picture", and just go for it. When you try something completely random or even a little edgy or very over-the-top (at least your version of OTT). When you stop being so damn safe. For me, moving to Europe to settle in northern Germany from my cozy 1870's carriage house in southern New Hampshire or leaving my cushy corporate job for interior design and blogging were both massive choices with huge risks involved.

Another was to write a book, then see it become an international bestseller only to then get the courage to write a second and so forth. Or having my baby, that was a massive decision and quite uncomfortable to go from living in absolute freedom to absolute responsibility.

But all of these things have enriched my life and made me a better version of myself. All of these things have contributed to my happiness. Not one was, or still is, easy. Running your own company is not easy. Working from home with a baby is not easy. Living in a foreign country speaking in a new language and navigating an entirely different culture is not easy. Making a decision to sink money into wallpapering a room is not easy. But in the end, these things add character and spark to your life. I also read somewhere recently that nobody writes songs about skinny butts. This was in reference to all of the big booty anthems out there today and so many women starving themselves to have runway-slim bodies. That may be considered the ideal, because so many women long to be super slim, but it's not really that exciting if you live in a world where everyone had the same pants and cup size, right? Hence the big booty support and why there is support being voiced about veering from what's considered optimal or the way one should look.

Giant golden pineapple wallpaper are my version of a big butt, of making a bolder choice and I love seeing my wallpaper each day as much now as I did when it went up. The pattern is fun but also glammy, makes a statement and is always a conversation starter. We had several guests over the holidays and everyone had an opinion which sometimes segued into lengthy conversations about art and design which are chats that I can get into for hours. And did. All because of some wallpaper.

It made me realize that even if others don't love or they outright hate what you've done (or somewhere in between), doing something dramatic adds zest to your life because crazy decisions and nutty ideas often spark something bigger that a boring, safe choice simply won't. When something in your home elicits strong emotion/reaction from visitors then following your gut and living authentically has paid off. You're being you and that is exactly what you were born to do.

For 2015, I have a decorating wish, a decorating resolution for us all... Let's make bolder choices and step away from safe ones. I see so many homes and styles all looking the same lately and it's SO BORING to even peruse decor and style blogs right now because so many have collectively lost that zing which is a mix of personal style, opinion and zeal for individuality. Even food bloggers all look a like to me lately. We all need to reevaluate and step back a bit, don't you think? I often wonder if everyone really does love the same things OR is it that because these things are accepted as the cool choice, and because it's "safe" as a result to like them (since certain styles get lots of likes) that many just adopt these styles or even movements into our lives for the sake of fitting in and not so much because these are our personal, deep down choices. We have so many choices now in the design world at all price points, so why does it feel sometimes like we're all shopping from the same catalog?

Something to think about, right?

(images: all wallpaper shown from photowall)