WHAT OBJECTS (tchotchkes) ACTUALLY COMMUNICATE

Walk into any room and read it the way a curator would.

Not: Do I like this? 

But: What does this say?

The oversized sectional pushed against three walls says: we prioritize comfort over circulation. We want to feel held. The room is for staying, not moving through. That may be exactly right. Or it may be the story of a sofa you bought seven years ago that you've stopped seeing.

The gallery wall of family photographs says: this is a home that knows where it came from. The blank walls say: we haven't decided who we are in this space yet. 

Neither is wrong. Both are statements.

The coffee table with nothing on it says: we value order, or we're afraid to commit to  objects, or we just moved in. The coffee table with too much on it says: we live here fully and haven't edited yet. The coffee table with three things placed with deliberate asymmetry says: someone in this household thinks about arrangement...someone is paying attention.

Choice is expressive, including the choice not to choose. Including the things you've stopped seeing. Including the furniture you inherited and kept not because you love it but because removing it felt like too much of a decision.

Start making decisions, even if the first decision doesn't stick.

It's a starting point.

Get to it!

☻