When I finished the guest room makeover, I started thinking about vision. By that I mean having a vision for a space and seeing it come together.
I loooooove the guest room. And it was an easy makeover. For me, easy means two things:
- I had it clear in my mind what I wanted the room to look like.
- I was enthused to work on the room. The makeover didn’t stall out halfway.
If I contrast that with the master bedroom, it’s a bit of a different story. I still really like that room, but the makeover was a project that I didn’t really love. It dragged on and on and on. From picking a paint colour to building the headboard to sewing the curtains, I wasn’t sure what I wanted. I didn’t have a clear vision. And so the room felt like a chore.
I’m a very visual thinker. If I think back to my university days when I was studying, I could visualize a page in my notebook and remember what was written on that page. It’s definitely not a photographic memory, but it’s about seeing pictures in my mind.
My approach to home renovation is the same. Usually, I can see it in my mind–very clearly–what the room is going to look like in the end.
And when I do, that makes me excited about the project. It gives me energy to keep going and to make the picture in my mind a reality in my home.
Fortunately, I’ve been thinking about our forever home long enough and we’ve been living here long enough that I’ve been able to develop a pretty clear vision for most of the spaces–both inside and out–at the farm.
Now if there were just enough hours in the day (and money in the bank) to bring them all to life!
How do you approach home reno projects? Are you a visual person? What makes you excited about a makeover?
Home on 129 Acres 
I am a visual person too! Most definitely. And when I am excited about the things I imagine for a space it is definitely easier to translate that into enthusiasm for getting things done.
Sounds like we approach projects very similarly.
I had a vision for painting our tiny bathroom Navy blue. Steve couldn’t see my vision. He had to trust me, luckily we both love it.
What I struggle with is having a vision for the entire house. It feels to me like all of our rooms are disconnected decor-wise. I would love to come up with a vision for the house as a whole so that we when we make a design decision the house will feel more cohesive.
I know what you mean. I don’t feel like I have a consistent design throughout the house. Although some of the houses that I see online are a little too themey or “done” for me, when you can only have this one particular shade of blue as an accent colour in every single room.
I think I’m just beginning to see the connection through my home (which is admittedly small, so that helps). It’s taken a long time to start seeing it that way. But I also totally agree that it can get too matchy-matchy, I imagine it as multiple colour schemes that work together, not separate ones or all one for the whole place.
Oh I agree! I don’t want to limit myself to only a certain color or type of wood. My best example is we chose a tile for our entrance. We chose is basically for the price but it was a neutral color. Then we decided to lay that tile on through other areas of the house. Now all the rooms that have it have to be painted to go with the tile. Luckily like I said it is a neutral tan/beige but it has a slight reddish/pink tint and I have to work with that in every room. I wish I had thought more about the tile when we first chose it.
I am the same way, not satisfied with a project unless it turns out the way I see it in my head
And it’s so rewarding when it does turn out!
I am sort of visual, but the real thing that makes me enthusiastic about a project is having the $$. 🙂 I do not often see the project in my mind until I start tearing it apart. Then, the bits and pieces come together in my mind, and I can begin to put it back together. Knowing that I have a chunk of money set aside gives me peace of mind to buy what I want and make mistakes. I love creative solutions and thrifting, but if the reno budget is too small, I lose motivation because I do not even want to think about things that I cannot afford.
It’s good to know what’s most important to you and how you work.
It’s gorgeous. You are so talented!
Thanks for dropping by and leaving a note, Anastasia. I love the name of your blog and I’m excited to read about your adventures.