More style; less stuff |

On to the next book in my You Are What You Own self-challenge!

“Creating a home you love is simply about deciding what to focus on and then giving yourself permission to stop worrying about the rest. This book is all about helping you make house decisions using the filter of cozy minimalism. When you have clarity and purpose, you find motivation and confidence.”

So begins Cozy Minimalist Home: More Style, Less Stuff by Myquillyn Smith. Smith guides her readers through her room design process, going from being a “stuff manager” to thinking of yourself as “Chief Home Curator.” Her main point: “less stuff not only simplifies my home but also simplifies my life.” Having space in the house translates into having space in your life. “Breathing room on my walls, on my floors, and on my surfaces gave me breathing room in my life.” Then we can concentrate on what matters… family, friends, quiet time.

And who doesn’t know this feeling?
“When home feels out of control, no matter what the reason, unsettledness and anxiety can seep in, and then the chaos becomes internal as well as external. Our home influences us both positively and negatively.”

A “Chief Home Curator” is the protector of what comes in and what goes out of your home. A curator always keeps in mind the overall goal and purpose of a space as well as the interests of her family.

Smith wants our home to be FABS: FUNCTIONAL, ABUNDANT, BEAUTIFUL, AND SIMPLE.

BTW, her writing style is casual, as if she’s speaking to a best friend: “Listen, I know you want to redo every room starting right now or else you might just burn it all down. Maybe you are so motivated and ready to get it done, you are committed to going without sleep until it’s finished. I love that about you. Or it could also be that you are beginning to wonder if this book is for you because you don’t consider yourself creative or you don’t “decorate.” Do you think I wrote this book for people who already know how to do this? No, I wrote it for you… You get to decide how you want to use each space in your home. You’re already good at that!” How can we not respond to such encouragement?

Her process has an exact order. She uses her living room as a guide so that she is working through the process along with the reader, who is working on whatever one room she chooses. (I don’t have ANY rooms to work on yet…) Steps in the first phase: Gather your inspiration, create your sane space, pick a room, warn the family, consider the purpose of your space, and identify solutions (a Cozy Minimalist embraces imperfect solutions).

As Cozy Minimalists, we want to get the most style out of the least amount of stuff. Quieting the space is the first step to decluttering, where you take out all but the main pieces of furniture. This is “a great way to trick yourself into getting rid of stuff, because you’re gonna love your space so much you won’t want it junked up anymore!”

Rugs and Drapes and Lighting, Oh My!

“The order in which you place things in a room is absolutely crucial. When you incorporate larger, more impactful items like rugs, drapes, and lighting first, your room gets filled with style and coziness without using up much actual space. Making good design decisions is less about knowing the trends and more about knowing the order to add things we truly need and use in a home.”

When the rug, drapes, and lighting follow your well-placed seating and surfaces, your room will be 75 percent done.

The last step is to create little vignettes, being mindful of scale, shape, mass, and texture. Each vignette has a focal piece, a container, a plant, and decorative objects.

“You know your home serves you best when it’s somewhere in the center of that tension between peaceful simplicity and cozy abundance.”

Smith sums up her process: “START with super-comfy primary seating, ideally in a style that has a name. ADD some secondary seating that’s comfy enough. SPRINKLE around surfaces and storage. LAYER with a large rug. COMBINE floor-to-ceiling drapes. INCORPORATE lighting and lamps with presence. SURROUND with just enough large wall art. ADD a pinch of accessorized vignettes. FILL with people; add love.”

After finishing this book, I felt motivated to part with things we will not need in our new home and that I don’t have a plan for. I’ve been slowly sorting through some boxes we have stored in our attic.

My main take-aways of this delightful book were: