You know how it feels when you walk into a friends house and it looks amazing. You want your house to look like that, but you don’t have the budget for a designer let alone furniture shopping. Let's solve that today.
You know how it feels when you walk into a friends house and it looks amazing. You want your house to look like that, but you don’t have the budget for a designer let alone furniture shopping. Let's solve that today.
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Hi I’m Tasha Cleaveland, welcome back to my podcast, Listening Closely. I am so glad you’re here. You know how it feels when you walk into a friends house and it looks amazing. You want your house to look like that, but you don’t have the budget for a designer let alone furniture shopping. Today we are going to talk about why your budget is no longer an obstacle in creating the home of your dreams. Shoestrings welcome.
I know how hard it can be to live in a home that doesn’t feel right. It's not your fault. You were never taught how to create a home that makes you feel alive.
The key is inside you, we just need to unlock it, and this podcast is where you begin.
I’m Tasha Cleaveland, welcome to the Listening Closely podcast.
Sometimes you know how you want to feel at home but you don’t know how to get there or how your friends did it. It feels like an inside club and you didn’t get the invitation. Maybe you don’t have the budget to even try. It makes you ashamed of your home. So often I walk into client’s home and the first words out of the mom’s mouth is “please excuse my house, I…” Please stop. Stop feeling like your home is your mothering report card. You don’t need to excuse any of it. I immediately reply with “I have 3 kids. You are not alone.” The toy stage is a beautiful disaster. Eventually the blocks and dolls get set aside for a screen. It’s easier to clean up, but it leaves a heaviness in your heart. There’s no going back and it happens so fast. But that doesn’t mean you have to swim in stuff. It doesn’t mean you can’t improve things, right now.
When I met my husband I was in design school. I was still living with my parents. His house was magnificent and wonderful because it was his. It was where we escaped from the world. It was a mishmash of hand-me-downs and concert posters. Classic futon sofa, tv and stereo tower. Bonsais and succulents dotted the porch. It was basic, and it was home. I moved in right after college. I started to put my mark on the place. We pieced together furniture handed down from family members. I painted the walls and went into debt buying things for the house. We got puppies. Puppies with a penchant for disaster. One time we came home and it looked like we had been robbed. It was an ocean of destruction, walls, furniture, pillows, books, clothes. You name it, they had torn it to pieces. That was my first lesson about sharing a home with small creatures that like to undo everything. Marriage and kids soon followed. We worked from home and struggled to make ends meet. Buying new things was out of the question. And that, for someone who’s passion is design, was really hard to sit with. I knew what I wanted but couldn’t do anything about it without piling more debt on. So, I got creative.
Shopping on a shoestring budget makes you look and think harder. It makes you visualize what could be, because you can’t just click the buy now button. The great thing about second-hand is you can see the quality of the furniture right away. Stuff that is just made to look good falls apart quickly. Did it hold up to the first user? No? It’s a pass. You learn the things to look for, the real wood that can be sanded and stained or painted a different color. The durable fabrics. You find out the tricks, decorative details that date a piece and can be updated like knobs or trim, and you learn what can and can’t be spray painted. You start to look for the lines and find beauty in the bones of furniture.
Recently I had the pleasure of helping a client move to California from Brazil. Poliana came with only her suitcase and needed to create a warm, comfortable home before her two kids arrived in a few weeks. We pulled it together spending only $5,000 on furnishings, accessories, appliances, and household necessities like dishes and doormats. When I first spoke with her and asked what she liked, she said she didn’t really know. She had never been able to buy things for her home or even dream about it, she tried once, and her husband told her to take everything back to the store. She searched YouTube and tutorials and after hours of trying to figure out how and what, she gave up.
Creating this new home was daunting and she didn’t know where to start. I asked for photographs of rooms she liked and asked her to tell me what she liked in it. Soon I identified Poliana’s style and was off, scouring craigslist and the secondhand apps and stores. I would send her pictures or go to stores together and she would say yes or no, as we whittled down her unique recipe and started landing on things that brought her joy. When we were done, I asked how it felt in her new home. She said she had never experienced anything like it. She was so grateful to finally have a home she loved. She didn’t even know it was possible. I remember the look on her kids faces when they arrived in America and walked into their new home. They were told all they were getting were blow up mattresses on the floor of their rooms and they were content with that. But to walk into rooms created just for them, with a mirrored dresser and pink velvet daybed, sequin pillows and a faux fur throw, or the black and white loft bed with a gaming nook underneath. That is where the magic lies. That is what makes me love what I do. Creating something that seemed impossible. Creating something uniquely beautiful that makes people love the spaces they live in.
The truth is, you don’t need a fancy designer to tell you what to put in your home. But you do need to start listening to your body so it can tell you. You don’t need a big budget to make things happen, but you do have to be willing to look a little harder and put in more effort than clicking a buy now button. But isn’t it worth it?
Heres what I noticed yesterday:
Moment where I lingered: When I was dancing I pulled off my hoodie, but not just a poof, hoodie off. But because I was totally in my body, I pulled on it from the hood and as it slid up my back, the fuzzy inside tugged on my head and neck in the most exquisite forward fold stretch. I let it last as long as possible, pulling so incredibly slowly, like honey dripping from a spoon. And it was magic.
The song for today is:
“Rise Up”, by Andra Day
One of my favorite songs. A long time ago, this was the song that rose me out of my sadness into my strength. Thank you Andra.
Soulwork for today:
Identify 5 things you absolutely love in or about your home and write down what you like about them. Is there a pattern? Just notice it.
Thank you so much for spending time with me today. I know how hard it is when it seems like there isn’t any to spare. But you showed up today. You put yourself on the list and I celebrate you. As you move through your day, keep your soul work assignment in mind and before starting bedtime routine, while the kids are brushing their teeth, grab your journal and fill in the prompts. Keep going. You can do this.
Know another mom who needs to put themselves on the list too? Please share the love, because we are stronger together.
Thanks for joining me. Until tomorrow. Lots of love.