In my opinion a person’s home and garden is a reflection of that person’s life, their personality, their past brought back, their longing to be noticed or maybe their hideout or sanctuary. My home is different, it’s pretty, quirky, original and small and my garden is much the same. I’m very impulsive about most things in life, my philosophy is all about YOLO, so if I see something I like, I buy it! I’m not talking huge investment pieces of antique furniture, I’m talking about the old battered pine cupboard, left to swell a bit in someone’s shed. It’s usually dumped at the back of a junk shop or lying on a blanket at a car-boot… £8 spent and I’m away, with said cupboard and a million ideas whizzing through my mind about how to make this piece of, once loved junk, look beautiful again.
That particular little gem that I found now looks amazing… I’ve sanded it, painted it, decoupaged the little draw and handles and varnished it… I hadn’t a clue what I was doing, but that is what made it so amazing, satisfying and well, like my own little creation. I believe that I have found self-therapy and I’m feeling proud. My garden is much the same, a little extension of my quirky home… I’ve got mis-matched pots, filled with topiary, (originally bought for less than £1 each), now worth over £40 each. It’s not really about the monetary value of my stuff or junk at all, it’s about how they make me feel once I’ve nurtured these things into a vision of beauty.
Whilst doing these little self-therapy things in my home and garden, I’m keeping fit (it’s blumin hard graft, hand sanding y’know), healthy (I usually get creative outdoors) and it makes me genuinely happy (I’m pretty sure that if the things I make gorgeous could thank me, they would reach out and give me a huge grateful hug!!). It’s really not difficult at all, doing things up, creating beauty, although, a warning here, it’s addictive! I should know, my little shed is now bursting at the seems with once-loved things.
Every time I pass my shed window, I see them there, all piled up and unstable, just longing to be loved again. In my articles, I plan to tell you what I’ve found, nurtured, seen in someone else’s home or whilst sat on a train… it’s amazing what you see out there, you just have to open your eyes, go back to your childhood and imagine its hidden beauty! Don’t be afraid to take pictures of what you see out there, see this as your appreciation, in the same way you would ‘Like’ something on a social networking site… it’s ok to do these things. Anyway, TTFN, I’m off to renovate an old fireplace!