Every now and then go away,
have a little relaxation,
for when you come back
to your work your judgement will be surer;
since to remain constantly at work
will cause you to lose power of
judgement…Go some distance away
because the work appears smaller
and more of it can be taken in at a glance,
and a lack of harmony
or proportion
is more readily seen.Leonardo Da Vinci
(1452-1519)
Leonardo Da Vinci, one of the greatest minds in history, left a prodigious legacy in science, architecture, sculpture, painting, engineering, music, and mathematics. In order to live such a productive life, you would think that Da Vinci worked all the time, but his advice suggests something quite the opposite. To be really creative, he advocates taking relaxing breaks from work to gain perspective on endeavors. According to Da Vinci, you can see when an aspect of work is out of proportion or lacking harmony by seeing it from afar.
Beautiful interiors work on the same principle. Because we live with our rooms everyday, we lose perspective. We don’t see when things are out of balance. Try to step back and evaluate your rooms with fresh eyes. Practice scanning your rooms to judge if the visual weight of objects and color is evenly distributed. Do your rooms seem empty in some places? Does one side of a room seem heavier than the other? Is your accent color for a room used only in one place? By gaining perspective, we can create and maintain balance to live more beautifully.
Design is a process of discovery. In our twenties and thirties, feathering our nests is done at a frenetic pace driven hard by biological needs and cultural conditioning. We go out into the world trying to build our identities. Fascinating objects, colors, and textures are all around us. It is intoxicating to bring treasures home that we have never possessed before. As time goes by, our nests become full, maybe too full, and buying more stuff is not as fun anymore. As disillusionment sets in, our false identities built through things gradually fall away, and we start feathering our nests based on other ideas such as love, reverence, sharing, and cooperation. Our homes then begin to serve as a place to nurture ourselves, honor our deepest values, and celebrate the people in our lives. We discover ourselves through design.
A roller filled with paint is a magic wand. With wand in hand, you can bring a room to life. It all starts by taking a good, long look at your room. Is there a fabulous fireplace? Are the windows extraordinary? Is there an interesting ceiling treatment that deserves to be highlighted? Once you have identified the exciting features in your room, grab your magic wand, the paint roller. Paint the unique features a couple of shades darker or lighter than the wall color to make them stand out from the crowd. For a dramatic look, paint the features white to really make them pop. Welcome to the magical world of paint!