Skip to main content

Thursday Thoughts: Be Part of the 20 Percent




Reading the newspaper on Sunday, I stumbled across a statistic that left me thinking, "Really?"  I read that according to the HomeGoods Home Census 2010, only 20% of the people surveyed were happy with their home decor.  Now, I realize that conclusions based on surveys vary depending on the phrasing of questions, the sample of those querried, etc.  However, I've been up on my mental soapbox all week long, wondering how in the world people can be so unhappy about something over which they have total control.  (Obviously, this little Thankful Me blog has its work cut out for itself!)

I've been known to ask a child, who is complaining about an outfit, "Well, who dressed you?"  Likewise, who is decorating these homes of unhappiness?  No wonder the thrift stores and garage sales are filled with perfectly good items; apparently the vast majority of the nation quickly becomes disenchanted with the look and style of its furnishings and accessories. 

Do I have plans, ideas, and dreams about changes I could make in the decor of my home?  Sure I do, but that doesn't mean I'm unhappy with the current state of affairs.  Am I willing to spend tons of money for the latest, greatest look?  Absolutely not.  The latest or greatest doesn't bring me happiness.  Most of my decor has memory or meaning behind it:  family photos; a quilt made for John and I; a knitted throw that I made for my grandma and received back after her death; houseplants to bring life and beauty into the rooms.  I enjoy having books on the shelves and musical instruments available to play.  The love in a home does not depend on the things in the house, but the things in the house should reflect the love in the home. 

Now that I have that off my chest, I'd love to hear your views.  Are you happy with your decor?  Any insight into the thoughts of the 80%?

Thanks for love, which makes even the humblest of circumstances beautiful.


Pin It

Comments

  1. DebbieOctober 18, 2012 at 6:42 AM

    I agree with you Kristi and those who are unhappy with their home decor are those who decorate my home so well through the thrift stores and yard sales! LOL Of course I do not own my dream home with a big veranda and hardwood floors but yes, I am happy with my home and it's decor. It is filled with treasures from years past and I wouldn't have it any other way. It is far from magazine worthy but it is mine and I like it just the way it is. :0)

    ReplyDelete
  2. ChristineOctober 18, 2012 at 6:52 AM

    If I had to answer the flat question, "Are you happy with your decor?" I would answer no. But it's not that I'm unhappy, either. We bought an old, old house that needs a lot of work, and we are slowly but surely getting it done. I'm happy with the finished parts!

    ReplyDelete
  3. reganOctober 18, 2012 at 7:36 AM

    I'm in the 20%, even though my house is no where near what I'd like it to be. We are restoring our 1864 farmhouse, and we're now 14 years into the 25 year plan! When we moved in, we were on a 5 year plan! lol It's taking a long time, but I'm loving every minute of it, and when a room gets done, I just love it! I've done just basic decor in rooms that haven't been restored yet. Livable, but not great. But even before the restoring, I loved the house, so if we stopped now, we'd still be happy with it!

    ReplyDelete
  4. NancyOctober 18, 2012 at 9:37 AM

    I am perfectly happy with my home's "decor." Although I doubt that others would even think I HAVE a decor. My home is comfortable, and I am surrounded by the eclectic things that I love.

    ReplyDelete
  5. dluvscokeOctober 18, 2012 at 5:00 PM

    I'm with you. I like my decor to have meaning behind it...to reflect who we are as a family. If I don't absolutely love it, I won't buy it. It's that simple.

    ReplyDelete
  6. StitchinByTheLakeOctober 18, 2012 at 5:41 PM

    Love my house - love my decor. It's not new, it's not big, it's not magazine material. But as one friend told me, "coming here is like going to grandma's house - it welcomes you." I don't think I could have gotten a nicer compliment. It's not how new or how expensive something is; it's how it fits your personality and how it blends into the scene you have created. blessings, marlene

    ReplyDelete
  7. MARTHAOctober 19, 2012 at 12:07 PM

    I suppose I agree with you, but hear me out. Using the word "happy" might be a matter of semantics and maybe that is why people responded so negatively. I can dream big of how things should look in my environment, but reality is a different story. I am certainly content, but money, know-how, health, age, etc. The list could go on when it comes to why a house looks the way it does. The state of happiness is inside of each person and because of that we take that joy or misery with us, wherever we go; consequently, we can live in a variety of environments (crossing the plains) and still be happy or upset. I'm probably over thinking this whole thing. My point is - there are a lot of things I like to change in my house, improve, repair, etc., but it doesn't mean I'm not "happy". I think there are a lot of unhappy people in the world; therefore, where they live doesn't make their situation better.

    Yikes that was a lot of writing. Thanks for inspiring us all with your daily thanks.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Conversations are so much nicer when more than one person does the talking. :-) Please leave a comment and let me know your thoughts; I'd love to hear from you!

Popular posts from this blog

Ten Things of Thankful: Live from Oregon, part 2

stock photo of old computer monitor When I was 10 or 11, I remember sitting next to my dad in our living room and reading computer code to him as he entered it into an Apple computer. We would finish the exercise and he would hit enter (or was it "run"?) and wait expectantly for the green type to appear on the screen. If we were lucky, the whole conversation would occur. Most often, there would be an error either in my dictation of the code, or in the typing of the code. We would then go painstakingly back through the lines, character by character, to find and correct the error. After what seemed like hours (and might have been), we would succeed and the computer would finally run the entire program. It was magical! My dad designed and built an earth-sheltered, passive solar home decades before solar panels were commonplace. He also was on a 9-month waiting list for a Prius, when hybrids were not seen on every street.  While my dad is definitely on the cutting edge of technol...
5 comments
Read more

Monday Mentions: Equate Crutches

Have you ever needed crutches? I hadn't, until a week ago.  I'm pretty sure I strained a muscle while running a half-marathon.  (That sounds kind of cool, doesn't it? I'm not actually that cool; the last time I strained a muscle it was from carrying too many shopping bags at once.) In any case, I found myself in need of some crutches. I sent my husband to the store to get some. Photo: A pair of crutches leans against a wall  Not that crutches are all that complex, but because I hadn't used any before, I wondered if I could figure out how to adjust them to fit me properly. I shouldn't have worried. John came home from Walmart with their generic store brand of crutches, complete with instructions. First, I needed to take out a long bolt that went through the hand grip. Then I needed to find my height range, push down two metal pieces, and slide the crutches until the little metal pieces came up in the hole near my height range. (Having two people for this...
4 comments
Read more

What a Wonderful World! (An #AtoZChallenge Post): Z is for Zion National Park

  Visitor Center sign in Zion National Park My husband recently re-retired, and we are front-loading travel. My #AtoZChallenge posts this year will explore our adventures--some pre-retirement, some post. Today's location: Zion National Park in Utah.  Zion is a bit of a shibboleth. People from outside of Utah (or those who are not members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) tend to pronounce Zion as "ZIE-on." Locals (or tourists who are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) use more of a schwa sound, pronouncing Zion to rhyme with lion. However you choose to pronounce it, it is an amazing, beautiful national park and has some amazing hikes. The last time my husband and I visited Zion National Park, we entered from the east, and traveled through the mile-long Zion-Mt. Carmel tunnel. It is an engineering marvel, completed in the 1920s. Before we passed through the tunnel, though, we spotted a group of bighorn sheep, including some babies...
8 comments
Read more