A printers’ tray full of treasure.
Ammonite fossils found on many fossil hunts, a pebble in the shape of a fish found on Studland beach by the boys on my birthday, vintage cigarette cards poured over and chosen at flea markets, a school council badge of the oldest boy, old Scout badges, dried seed cases, alder seeds that reminded me of the seeds I’d find in the playground of my primary school, hares we used as toppers for a birthday cake and tiny shells presented to me from many happy beach days. I keep it all.
Each little thing holds a precious memory, even a tiny piece of pottery or stone, they are all worthless and yet priceless.
I walk past this display every morning, it is our family life sat in tiny squares, and it makes me so happy. I remember moving into our 1970’s, three bedroom semi-detached house before we had children and it felt so big after living in a tiny cottage, the square box rooms felt void of personality and it was intimidating to decorate. Between us we only had a few old posters and framed pictures and not yet found a style - I originally had huge blousy curtains with red roses on in the kitchen, very Cath Kidston and not very us!
It’s taken years of ‘life’ to curate our home, shelves full of books, pictures of the boys, a small owl my husband gave me on our first date, stuff that you just can’t buy in Ikea and that I could never have just bought off a shelf.
I guess this is why the ‘interiors’ influencers really frustrate me too, people who paint a wall every year or seem to be redoing their kitchen/bathroom/bedroom every other year. I find it terribly impersonal and really wasteful. Their homes are ‘show home perfect’ in the pictures they share, no dust, piles of unopened letters, a clothes horse full of football kit or clothes that need folding.
Give me a home with toys on the floor, a cobweb in the corner and a wet dog nose print on the glass door any day!
Nod, nod, nodded along to this! A home to me is us! The story of an amalgamation of us all, the music we’ve collected and listened to, the art we’ve chosen together or brought along each, the Knick-knacks and paraphernalia that maybe mean nothing to anyone but us and all of the layers that make us, us and ours, ours. Really loved this xxx
Absolutely! As I sit here reading this with the dog and his not so clean feet sat on the knackered (but loved) settee looking out of the window, which is covered in his slobber, need to get all my cleaning stuff out and give the house a deep clean and said a bath........ not! This house is ours and we love it 😊