… Keeping It Simple …

When we innocently spoke of giving the spare room a makeover, little did we know the chaos that would ensue.  The room was stripped bare which meant the whole of the rest of the house was, well, to put it mildly – a mess.  But, as the saying goes – you can’t make an omelette without breaking eggs, so we soldiered on.

And now it is finished – well, except for a few tweaks – everything has been stowed away – anything surplus to our needs has been dumped – no junk has been allowed back in the room – we have been brutal –and I am determined to keep it that way (famous last words). I’ll show you a few ‘before’ and ‘after’  shots.

“The greatest step towards a life of simplicity is to learn to let go.”  - Steve Maraboli

Before – shelves piled high – prior to this picture being taken a lot of unread and unwanted books were taken to charity book shops – this is what was left.

After – a bit more organised

Before – old carpet disposed of – it had seen better days and was in the room when we moved in thirty years ago – a change was definitely needed, we could have just painted the floorboards but the room was terribly echoey and felt cold without a carpet.

“Too many people spend money they haven’t earned, to buy things they don’t want, to impress people they don’t like.” – Will Rogers

After – new carpet laid (colour Damson but more like French Blue).  I love the freshness of blue and white colour schemes.  The walls were painted in Moonlight which is white with a hint of blue.

“One can furnish a room very luxuriously by taking out furniture rather than putting it in.” – Francis Jourdain

Before – stuff brought out of hiding ready to be sorted through and moved out of the room

“Simplicity is making the journey of this life with just baggage enough.” - Charles Dudley Warner

– a new work bench installed (computer out of action) the concrete patch you can see was where the old fireplace used to be – removed by the people who lived in the house before – shame really it would have made a nice feature

“When you have cleared all of your clutter, you can be of greater service to those around you.” – Michael B. Kitson

After – new computer desk all the accroutrements and wires hidden away – instead of a huge brown office desk that was hideous – a new, more comfortable, chair is on its way.

“Our life is frittered away by detail… Simplify, simplify.” - Henry David Thoreau

The old wardrobe has ended up in the ‘man’ shed filled with husbands things that  ‘might come in useful’ and replaced with

“The more you have, the more you are occupied. The less you have, the more free you are.”  – Mother Teresa

 

No junk or mess to be seen, storage boxes neatly packed and living under the bed  – I’m sure I will never be able to find anything now it is so neat.  Even with all the upheaval it was well worth doing – I now have plenty of space to work on projects - clear surfaces and  no clutter - just keeping it simple.  The way I like it.

“He who hoards much loses much”– Laotse

No need now for any embarrassment when visitors stay – a nice work place cum studio cum office cum bedroom cum bloggers retreat.  I have waited a loooooong  time for this moment.  Now – which room shall we start on next!

‘Til next time … remember

“Unnecessary possessions are unnecessary burdens. If you have them, you have to take care of them!” – Peace Pilgrim