Intentional Decorating

Learned a new term today -- intentional decorating.  It is sort of like minimalism in that you don't keep clutter -- but it is less like minimalism that you don't get rid of everything you own.  The idea is that you keep things that have a purpose and that you enjoy and get rid of things that don't serve a purpose.  Do I need to remind you of that last visit to Pier 1 where you went berserk?  I think not.

So, I was doing some blog reading today while I really should have been doing other things (Oh well, I will live) and I ran across some blogs about intentional decorating and I decided to apply the principals to my own bedroom.

My house is what I would call "eclectic".  It is furnished with furniture from our early marriage, our middle marriage and our current marriage -- same two people, three different lifetimes!  That would mean some Early American, some traditional cherry, some arts and crafts style and some transitional painted pieces -- mostly black.  Does it all mesh?  Well, yeah, to a point.  Of course, I am used to it -- to anybody new walking in it might just be a hot mess.  To me it is home and it is comfortable.

My husband and I have some differences of opinion about decorating though.  There are things he just doesn't like -- throw pillows come to mind ("the only thing they are good for is throwing on the floor to get them out of the way"), heavy bed cover and dusty bed pillows.  My pet peeves are pillow shams on bed pillows (I hate having to put them back on the pillows in the morning) and generally having to make up the bed, period. I have instituted the rule that the last one out makes up the bed.  It. is. never. me.

So, we have been having a conversation about some articles I found regarding bed making.  Now "they" (whoever they are) say it is better to let your bed breathe -- in my mind that translates into not making the bed up which, depending on how you "don't" make it up, might be fine.  So, today I took the plunge.  I did the unthinkable.  I took the bedspread off the bed.

Now, we have been using a traditional, woven bedspread made on historical looms in New England for several years.  It is pretty, looks nice and doesn't have offending pillow shams -- the bedspread just covers the pillows and is tucked under.  It is still a hassle to me.  Now, my husband wants the pillows covered because he is more than a bit paranoid about dust.  Keep in mind, his pillow -- a small buckwheat number -- is safely housed in a drawer away from all dust -- so it is just my pillows getting dusty.  I don't care.

So, I got to thinking about the concept of intentional decorating and decided that the bedspread really served no reasonable purpose.  We don't use it for cover (too heavy for Hubs delicate little toes) so it just sits there waiting to be wrangled with the next morning.

Since today was sheet changing day I decided to  change things up a bit.  Yes, I retained the soft, wrinkly, organic sheets and topped them with the cotton blankets that we sleep under.  Then, instead of putting the bedspread back on I decided to just use one of my homemade quilts at the bottom.  I don't have a dust ruffle on it  -- yet -- another of my pet peeves.  But, if this works for us I will just pick one up and wrestle the mattress to get it on.  I am thinking that I am going to like this -- it sort of goes along with not using stuff that is unnecessary and that bedspread is unnecessary.

The caveat is that I will be having to change the pillowcases more often to rid them of the dreaded dust.  I joke but yes, dust is dreaded.  However, the articles that I have read encouraging the idea of not making your bed states that beds that are tightly made up actually make the dust issue worse as dust mites love that sort of environment.  So, I think I can handle changing the pillow cases every couple of days.  We will see how this works.

Now my bedroom coordinates well with the rest of the house -- nothing matches, nothing is formal, everything looks lived in and soft and a bit slouchy.  Yep, that would be us -- lived in, soft and slouchy.

I wonder if that is a "thing" -- I will have to google it.