Decorating For Beginners
Décor matters to me because, for the 1st time in my life I am thousands of miles from every member of my family and while I’m chasing my dreams at school pursuing my master’s degree, my room has become my sanctuary and my safe haven. It is where I come to find rest and solace, so the setup of my room is essential to not only remind me of home but also maintain an ambiance of tranquility and happiness. At this time in my life more than ever, décor matters to me, as it is what helps me maintain my sense of calm and the individual pieces that I have arranged, remind me of where I’ve come from and serve as a constant reminder of my goals and aspirations.
I remember growing up, my mother’s passion for décor and her strong belief in it’s importance to creating a loving, welcoming home. She always chose to use the color green as the overarching theme to set the mood for the entire house because green was soothing, refreshing to the senses, and brought an air of peace to our home. That belief was so close to her heart, she’d always change the flower arrangement, living room rug, small accents, wood carvings and curtains in our home to welcome the new seasons in our lives. This never dawned on me till now as I write about its importance to my upbringing. That décor to my mother was her way to try to help us forget any terrible moments we may have encountered in the outside world immediately when we walk into the front door. I have carried that approach to décor in my current student space, as I am so far away from home, décor matter to me now more than ever.
Feng Shui Your Home
As an artist, my space and environment greatly affect me and my ability to create, so I tend to arrange my room, which doubles as my studio, in a way that creates visual balance. Most people have heard of ‘Feng shui’, they believe that harmonizing one’s environment and arranging or decorating objects in your space will help achieve balance. As a strong believer in mindful decorating, I tend to lean towards the practice of filling my work and thinking space with colors and pieces that will ultimately spark creativity and equilibrium. The human mind tends to experience life first through the visual sense, so that makes décor paramount when it comes to improving moods and general feelings. Past the superficial aspect of using décor to express ourselves and our personalities, it is a very powerful tool in truly invoking a sense of being.
The remnants of empires past, let us know that ancestors from earlier kingdoms maintained very high appreciations for décor. In ancient India for instance, rulers of the time often decorated their rooms and interior spaces with sun motifs, symbolic cosmic sculptures and golden heavenly designs to surround themselves with what they believed as the favorable stimulus of heaven. Also, in the ancient Akan empire of what is today modern-day Ghana, kings filled their interior ruling courts with the highest quality cast gold sculptures, and finely carved wood sculptures to not only showcase their individual wealth but that of their land. Their residences were filled with decorated stone and tiles that held inscriptions and pattern designs that told tales of their power and influences.
The appreciation of meaningful and functional décor that was held in the ancient kingdoms, is something that has traveled through space and time to us today. Everyone loves an aesthetically pleasing space, and it is always great when the decoration of our individual spaces has a function in affecting our daily lives and our approach to the day. Just like the ancients, the décor in my personal space serves as an important reminder of where I’ve come from and where I’m aiming to be at the end of this specific leg of my journey. As my mother used green as her color for peace and serenity, I have chosen blue as my overarching color theme as a constant aide-mémoire to remain as unruffled as I am driven.
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