Guest Blogger #490, Entry #1127, April 25, 2012
There are few events in life that are big enough to change the way in which we live. Some are good, such as marriage, the birth of a child, or a big promotion that leads to a bigger house. Others are not so great, like a divorce, job loss, or the death of a family member. There may also be medical issues that change your life, like an accident that leaves you paralyzed, for example. And in nearly all of these cases, you will have to change your living arrangements to account for the new lifestyle. At the very least you may want to make some adjustments. A new wife won’t take kindly to your bachelor-pad furniture, and if you happen to need a walker or wheelchair to get around, the inclusion of ramps could be helpful. So here are just a few tips to get you started down the right path with redecorating when a major life event shakes everything up.
How will your home change after a life-altering event?
Image via: Artazon
How will your home be impacted after the event?
The first thing to consider is how your space will be impacted by the particular event you are facing. If, for example, you’re having a child, you’re definitely going to need a nursery. If you and your honey live in a one-bedroom apartment you might have to start looking for a bigger place, but if you have a guest room or office you can definitely convert it. The real trick will be trying to figure out what to do with the stuff that is currently taking up space in that room. You can store it if you have garage space (or if you want to pay for a rental unit). But you’re probably better off selling whatever you don’t need right now (a desk or guest bed, for example) and putting the money towards items for the new room you’re creating. You can always repurchase items down the road when you have the space for them.
Whether good or bad, redecorate with your family’s best interest in mind
Image via: Etsy
How to adapt your home after a loss
But what if you’re having just the opposite problem? What if your life change is a loss rather than an addition? In this case you might need to downsize or you could be facing the prospect of clearing out items that belonged to a loved one. In this situation you should give yourself plenty of time to sort through everything. Since a divorce, a layoff, or even the death in the family is bound to be a negatively charged experience to begin with, and clearing stuff out may only exacerbate these feelings, you need to make sure that you don’t overdo it.
Anyone facing divorce Austin to Albany is probably going to be splitting up possessions, so you may find yourself with a half-empty house. In this case, a little redecorating could give help to give you a fresh lease on life. Just be careful that you don’t fill your space with meaningless junk in a bid to fill the void in your heart (trauma is often the root of a hoarding problem). Instead, buy yourself a few new items that your ex would never have allowed in the house to remind yourself how great it is to be making your own decisions again. And if the life-changing event is the death of a loved one, it’s up to you to decide how soon you want to start making changes. But when you redecorate, choose colors, patterns, and pieces that will make you happy. Your dearly departed wouldn’t want it any other way.
For more family ideas on Stagetecture, click here.
Receive Stagetecture's Daily Lifestyle Ideas
FREE - Daily emails with recipes, home decor, D.I.Y, and lifestyle tips! : ) Who doesn't need help?
golly it’s true that a life-altering event necessitates doing something different. mine was death of my spouse.
i found that putting away all pictures — including those on my computer — to a type of graveyard was the best way for me. i have learned since that that’s very typical, but so is the very opposite — gathering all memories and building a “shrine.” for me, it was doing a clean sweep to elp alleviate too many continued moments of trauma.
a new sofa cover — a new bedroom something. it doesn’t have to be huge. something that helps to make a dramatic impact — take all framed artwork and move it counterclockwise around the house. as well, just a simple idea of painting all the moulding around doors and at the bottom of all walls — it’s a fabulous redecorating idea.
before you go out and buy a whole gallon of premium paint, as i did, to paint the moulding, check out home depot’s line of martha stewart 10-ounce paints. some are metallic, and they’re all water-based. fabulous! my golden knobs i’d painted upon move-in five years ago got a fresh paint of antique gold. oh, my how they shine!
i had often and long considered a move from our shared apartment since the death of my spouse in 2008. here we are four years later and i’ve made so many changes and rearranges of negligible cost that i don’t have to leave the location i truly love.
paint works wonders. i blotch-effect painted several storage boxes bright/light pink, and they fill a now-happy corner of my front room, not only brightening the area but giving ready access to my green coffee beans that i roast once a week, as well as fedex mailers, etc. you can do the same by purchasing two cans of premium spray paint (in my case both were pink of different hues) and avant-gardely spraying here and there til a nice, posh blotch effect — similar to fabric tie-dye appears. make sure you do this outside with plenty of ventilation. if you can wait one day to air out the articles before bringing them back in, all the better.
make use of your local charity’s hauling truck or van. particularly if your revamping is following a death of a loved one, this helps everybody — you AND the beneficiary of the items which only cause emotional grief.
what i did won’t work for everyone, but if you’re a single widow living alone, it may work for you. as well, i have found that my city’s university offers a wonderful program for those of us who’ve attained a certain age. it may well be that your local college or university does the same. mourn and grieve, as this is a necessity. but there is a point at which this will end and you will wonder what to do with the rest of your life. i’m starting to experience that point right now. my best to you as you go forward, too.
Thank you Bonnie for you wonderful comments. It’s always nice to hear how organization can mean different life awakening events for each and every person. I’m glad that you’ve been able to make the most of a difficult situation and still make your abode a beautiful place for you to enjoy! Thanks again my friend. 🙂