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I cannot get enough romance in my life.
I want it all around me all of the time. Put it in my veins so it rushes through every part of me.
Oooh I had to get that off my chest..
How about you? Maybe it's not romance exactly that you're after, but do you have that sensation that you want to live in a way that physically matches up with what you feel inside? Another way I've said that is like this.. I want to see my inner landscape reflected back to me in my physical surroundings and spaces. I want to embody inside and out what my dreams are.
When I first started having that longing, well, I felt very far from attaining it. It seemed impossible really. I would say that it's taken me about 5 years to begin to manifest it. Ew, seems kinda long, doesn't it?
It's been something that's important to me, so I've worked on it. And now I'm finally seeing my physical space and world beginning to jive more and more with my inner world.
You know what I think was the biggest factor in how I gained some traction toward that goal?
It was from styling photoshoots for my art that I wanted to list for sale.
The more I captured photos that I loved, the more I started to see my spaces with a photographer's eye. I started to see that I was actually living it already. I just needed to see it reflected back to me in that medium. Okay, I'll admit, for me there is also an element of my mind filling in the details when I look at my physical surroundings. I add a glossy mental filter if I want.
I also did this:
I toned down being so critical of my physical spaces.
Taking a moment to feel and embody gratitude for where I am in this world, and for the physical things I have, really helped me appreciate everything, too. Have you ever tried keeping a gratitude list? I kept a list in the notes on my phone for weeks last year as an experiment. I'd heard it could be life-altering. It was. I was in a stressful period of time {more on that here} and taking a couple of minutes to just list off everything I was grateful for really uplifted me and put me into a higher vibrational state. I did that so habitually that although I'm no longer doing the actual list these days, I can drop into a state of gratitude very easily. {In fact, I'm doing a mental list right. now.. I'm sooo grateful that I have this fresh day laid out before me! :)}
So those are the mental shifts that helped leverage me. Now for some fun material steps:
I started shopping secondhand places.
Lordy, I lose all control, ahem track of time, when I'm in a good antiques market. It's one of the reasons we moved to Kansas City.. This town is soaked in historic houses and architecture. If you like gilded to the max, and ornate, crumbling facades, then find your way to KCMO asap...what we locals affectionately refer to as the Paris Of The Plains.
Can you believe this is Kansas City? Sooo French...(well, minus the Honda).
How about these super melted candles? Très romantique.
I get so many ideas from these places around the City. There's a love here for keeping the old, which is ever evident.. especially in the coffeeshops like the one above.
I have found so many unique and wonderfully used pieces for our home by shopping secondhand. I used to just buy everything at Target {which I still love!}. Having pieces that aren't mass produced really can elevate a space and make it interesting.
The other thing I learned is to be patient.
I became a potent curator and stopped trying to make the room come together all in one day.
We recently moved to a new house, and it feels like I'm having to start all over again. It truly is starting from scratch because the rooms are all different from our previous house. {well, yeah lol} It seems like it's going to take forever to pull the house together to get the vibe I'm longing for. Right now the rooms seem a little bare and uninspired, and some are just plain in disarray.
So, yeah.. it just. takes. time.
Thank you for going on this little journey with me. It's something I love spending my free time on. If you love Pinterest I have a lot of boards on home styling. I think we all can get to that place where inner and outer worlds feel more aligned. And it can be kinda fun getting to there, too.
À bientôt !
Rusted Dress, Romance Awaits Collection (2020)
P.S. This is off the top of my head, but would you like to have a day together of painting a dress like this one? I keep toying with the idea of teaching a workshop where we make a painting in a couple of hours live on Zoom. I take a very loose approach to painting, so my intent would be to have a very relaxed, fun class. Let me know in the comments, or email me at karankarlaaron@gmail.com. I'd love to hear your response. <3
All photos @2013-2020 K.K Aron