READ: Why Aesthetics Actually MATTER
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It’s an interesting thing, walking into someone’s home. Sometimes, you feel entirely welcomed and at ease within seconds – everything seems to be beckoning you in with cozy warmth. Other times, you feel stressed, unsure where to put your belongings or if you can even touch the furniture. Sometimes, you feel ready to kick off your shoes and share tea with a friend. Other times, you feel uncomfortable and afraid to spill. If all things are even as far as cleanliness and clutter, why does this happen? What is it that makes a house a home, that makes you feel immediately comfortable?
The answer is aesthetics.
I always loved interior design growing up, but as I got older I started to feel guilty about having preferences for certain pieces of furniture over others. Considering whatever was the least expensive and the most durable seemed to be the only “right” way to think about purchases. Was I so spoiled that I cared what a bookcase or a bed frame looked like? Why did it matter if the lamp had a shade so long as it did its job?
Over the last few years my perspective on this has changed dramatically and I can finally understand why my previous philosophy was so incorrect.
Aesthetics are a reflection of who we are and what we care about. The items we choose to surround ourselves with bring our inner personality outward, demonstrating what we enjoy, what we value, and what we love. They show what we cherish and how we live. Not only do aesthetics reflect outwards, but they reflect inwards too. If we constantly surround ourselves with ugly, inhuman things – we ourselves lose our humanity. If we live in a space that doesn’t feel homey, then we won’t feel at home.
And of course, aesthetics don’t simply relate to interior design. The clothing we wear; the art we admire; the buildings we live in; all of these things are demonstrative of ourselves. Aesthetics matter because they make us better. They elevate our every day from simple utility to beauty and enjoyment. You could live in a house with bare walls, a single chair, and a table. You could live in a house with cold, overhead lighting and cement floors. But why would we limit ourselves to such blandness when an aesthetically pleasing home could hold the key to so much joy?
There’s a reason that God made the world so beautiful. He could have created a black-and-white universe without flowers or trees or oceans or fields, but God surrounded us with an aesthetically pleasing world.
So why does one home feel welcoming while another feels cold? When a home doesn’t feel like it was meant for people, when a home feels like it was designed for pictures in a magazine spread, it’s not comfortable to enter and live in. If the house doesn’t feel reflective of its owners and doesn’t express their lifestyle – it feels as if someone is wearing the wrong size shoes.
Now, when choosing the perfect pieces to decorate your home, does that mean that you need to spend oodles of money? Of course not! A good friend of mine thrifts about 50% of her furniture. It is so well suited to her aesthetic, to her home, that I can’t imagine any other pieces in their place. But once you start realizing the importance of aesthetics in your home, your closet, wherever, you will be more discerning, more careful, and more in love with every purchase you make because you know, at the end of the day, it’s a reflection of you.
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“Life is too complicated not to be orderly.” - Martha Stewart
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Welcome to Classically Abby!
I'm your resident #ConservativeInfluencer, cultural commentator, opera singer, fashionista, makeup artist, and wife with a classic take on the modern world. Follow me on YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter to see how! And together, let's be classic.
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I totally see what you mean here. My Mom helped me out quite a bit with decorating and items for my first apartment. So much, then when I got to my second apartment in my 30s ( where i still am!) that I felt guilty wanting new things. I was so worried I would hurt my mother's feelings that I wanted different wall art and throw pillows that were more aesthetically pleasing. Finally, I realized that she helped me get a START in life and was HAPPY for me to get new things. Now my place truly feels like home :-)