Who sees your home’s spaces more than you do? In our “new life” in Ohio, I gave selecting what to hang on this wall an immense amount of time. Here’s why.
The WHY for my selections is because Bob and I will constantly be seeing our living room wall day in and day out. Knowing what I know regarding how our spaces affect our sense of well being, my selections went through my designer’s vigorous screening process…no kidding!
No one else will look as this wall more than we will so why would I hang anything void of meaning to Bob and me? Every item you see has a treasured memory or history starting on the left with the large mirror. My late great aunt Millie from then Slovakia gave this to my mom for a house-warming gift in the late 1970’s. This was a very special great aunt to me and was like a mother to my mom whose own mother passed away at a very young age. Of course the mirrors reflection of the sky and golf course add another dimension of pleasure to this major living room wall.
What you see on this wall is actually our life history. The graphic on the lower right was a gift from our adult “kids” last year in Estes Park celebrating our 50thanniversary. Talk about treasure! Our entire married life is spelled out even down to each pet we owned so of course, we are over joyed with this precious memory and gift. We never tire of savoring these written words representing our married life together.
The gorgeous and valuable 1830 platter from England was purchased at our Wichita Art Museum lectures and antique appraisals. I was on the committee to host our celebrity authors and speakers having the honor of hosting Wendell Garrett, VP of Americana for Sotheby’s. Wendell was on the Antiques Road Show at that timing making him extremely sought after for his appraisals as well as his autograph.
Side note, my maiden name is Garrett and Wendell is a clone of my Grandpa Garrett. We thought that we could possibly be related. How cool is that “coincidence”?
Flanking the platter is another gift from my aunt Carolyn who gave me a box of stunning English dishes she found at a garage sale. Four of these plates hung on our wall at our Wichita home and you can see them on the cover of my book.
The three limited edition prints I purchased over 30 years ago while working at a small design shop called Designers Plus, owned by my dearest boss ever, Lola. We remained very close friends until her passing at 94 years young.
You know the WHY of my “great wall” selections so now let’s talk about what you have in your home that you either love, are neutral about, or can’t wait to replace. Have you merely bought items to fill up your spaces? Is it time to rethink what you are seeing day in and day out? Does anything in your home give a clue of you, your travel, your favorite experiences, or art work that speaks to you?
Last question, does what you view or observe on your walls give you a sense of joy, peace, or gratefulness? The answer to these questions is one of the main reasons I wrote my book. Our homes have the potential to give and do for us so much more than most people realize. Yes, I believe that this is true for what we even hang on our walls.
Thank you for following along with me on this major life transitional, downsizing, and relocation move. My next post will show you exactly how this layout, or wall composition was accomplished. It is really very easy making it a slam-dunk for you to do too!
Living and Loving Life Together,
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Looks like you’re getting settled and have all the things you love there in your new home! And your book is popular! I can see from the links in my site, that it is selling strong!
Yes, Carla, we have turned the corner on total confusion of what do we possibly do with all this stuff to getting a handle on all that stuff!..:)
After finally allocating items at least to the designated areas, we now are seeing huge progress as we continue to downsize even more. And yes we are loving it here especially the berauty, the weather, and meeting some really fine neighbors.
And I love hearing that my books are selling on your site! I thank you Carla so much for this very kind promotion that evidently is being seen. I am so out of the loop on things these last couple months so could you send me this link that I can also see what is happening?
Beautiful hung gallery wall, Mitzi! And I love how every piece has special meaning – surrounding ourselves with things that have a positive emotional impact is so important, isn’t it?
Thank you Janet for your lovely comment ! And you are spot on that there is a definite emotional impact on what we see in our homes that give us a sense of joy and peace.
Love the way you tell your story with your wall art so it is meaningful and joyful to you and a way to share with friends and family.
I am very happy that you see our story in the pieces I selected for our great room wall.It actually made me wonder if it all was just too much of my family and etc but then I thought, who cares, it’s our home! Reading your comment affirms my decision which I appreciate so much.
xo Mitzi
The importance of choosing items that reflect your history and story of your life is a great way to approach a gallery wall. This is looking beautiful!
Thank you Lisa! I truly pondered the acceptance of this unusual composition thinking perhaps it was just all too much of us. But after some self talk to me on my recovering pleaser past, I thought who am I really trying to please? Then it became very apparant that this is exactly what it right for us at this timing and new location away from our family. I appreciate your comment!
xo Mitzi
I love the detail you took us through (your story) of your gallery wall. I bet you and your husband enjoy seeing it every day!
And I love your comment Sheri because you expressed exactly what we experience every time we walk . And also, it has made me realize again, like you I’m sure, how fast the years are flying by. This tells me again and again to savor my relationships as this is truly the essence of a grateful life.
XO Mitzi