welcome...

welcome to irreverent sanctuary! lately i'm feeling increasingly in touch with my inner designer, and i'm finding so much joy in exploring the way people create their living spaces, their sanctuaries. i'm particularly drawn to what i think of as fearlessly happy spaces, rooms and pieces that i can just tell are truly joyful reflections of their inhabitant's fearless sides. not to minimize it, but it's easy to make a beautiful, comfortable space. the real question is, how do you make it a home? how do you turn a blank space into your sanctuary? william morris’ famous golden rule of design is a start: "have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful-” but it can be hard to tune into your inner aesthete and its needs. both beauty and utility are wildly subjective, and it can be easier to follow the rules, follow the trends, keep your choices tame/classic/minimalist, than to listen to the voice inside that craves polka dotted wallpaper.

for example, in my home, i don't have a dining room table. i had one, and when my boyfriend and i were moving in to our home, we wandered around the kitchen and living area with the table, trying to find a space where it fit. finally he said, “what do we need a dining room table for anyway? we eat breakfast at the bar, and dinner in front of the tv." to me, this was sacrilege- one must have a dining room table! i stammered, "what about when we have people over for dinner?" he responded, "well... what if we just design our house for us, instead of for other people?"

this was wonderfully profound for me. it really changed the way i make design choices- i try to make every choice very personal- what is useful to me, what is beautiful to me? it's difficult- often i find myself looking at something and thinking, "well, what does this say about me?" as soon as that question comes into my head, i try to change perspectives, because as soon as i'm wondering what something "says" about me, then i'm no longer focused on just my own experience & enjoyment of the space or the piece, and i'm worried about what others will think. my design/style goal in life is to be purely self-centered when it comes to making these choices.

i'd like to note that since we ditched our dining room table, we have more dinner parties than ever, with more people, and more fun. to me, a dining room table means pressure- creative, perfectly executed centerpiece, tablecloths, place mats, etc, etc, etc, & that's even before the food. instead we usually just find a place to sit, shoo away the dogs, & enjoy each other, toasting with wildly mismatched stemware.

back to my own selfishness- my primary motivation for starting this blog is that both my budget and square footage are far too limited to amass all the things and spaces that inspire me, that make me gasp, that make me so happy to exist at the same time they do. i'm trying to live the maxim that just because you fall in love with something doesn't mean you have to buy it- this site will help as i can at least share the objects of my affection virtually. thanks for stopping by and i hope you enjoy the blog!