The first time I got to paint an apartment, I went all out. Bright turquoise for the living room and cheerful coral for the kitchen. No minimalist eggshell or muted gray here!
Soon after painting, I found some new pillows at Target in the exact same shades and knew I had to get them.
As time went on though, I began to fear that my apartment was a bit… matchy matchy. Aka a decorating no no.
Since then, I’ve often fought my urge to coordinate colors or pick up a knick-knack that I knew would match another color in the room.
I recently moved apartments and once again had the opportunity to do some more decorating.
The matchy matchy urge was alive and well!
I was replacing a throw that was the same banana yellow as my tv stand (I told you I’m not afraid of color!) when I started to think, what’s wrong with being matchy matchy?
Um… nothing?
One of my favorite questions to ask when I’m feeling the pressure to act or think a certain way is “who says?”
Who says you shouldn’t be matchy matchy? Who says you need to be more extroverted to be a leader? Who says you need to watch another true crime docuseries? (Honestly, how many serial killers can we collectively take?!)
In my case, the answer is: a lot of people on the internet. A quick google search will show you that.
But… is that how anyone wants to live? Based on random comments on a blog from seven years ago? No thanks.
It never occurred to me that I might just disagree.
It’s not easy to see the invisible rules we have in place. They’re powerful, yet often unspoken.
When we try to live by someone else’s rules though, we’re bound to find resistance–the good kind of resistance.
That’s your cue to dig a little deeper and explore why you feel the way you do and ask yourself, who says?
You might come up with an unsatisfying answer. And with that, a new plan.
To being better without a home out of Architectural Digest,
Elizabeth