It never fails to amaze me how good change is for our souls, yet many people are afraid and avoid change at all costs. Whether you are decorating a room, moving to a new community or simply rearranging furniture, you can reap the benefits of change in your life.
Change gives you a fresh perspective and can dig you out of a mental or emotional rut; it excites your senses and enables a completely new view on your world.
Do a quick experiment and switch your sock and underwear drawers and see how often you go to the same places even though the items have moved. Our office recently moved the cutlery drawer and I’m STILL reaching for the original drawer to grab a spoon!
Psychologist Carol Kinsey Golman puts it this way: change jerks us out of this comfort zone by stimulating the prefrontal cortex, an energy-intensive section of the brain responsible for insight and impulse control.
But the prefrontal cortex is also directly linked to the most primitive part of the brain, the amygdala (the brain’s fear circuitry, which in turn controls our ‘flight or fight’ response). And when the prefrontal cortex is overwhelmed with complex and unfamiliar concepts, the amygdala connection gets kicked into high gear.
This means that when we approach or experience change, we are kick-starting our brain’s primal responses.
It’s no wonder that change can cause fear, especially when it comes to our homes.
The place where we rest and recluse from our world can be our most vulnerable and when we consider the possibility of it being adjusted it can kick us into fight or flight.
The exciting part is the feeling of euphoria which follows a change, whether big or small.
If you can move furniture and paintings around, this is the least expensive way to give your home a fresh perspective.
I enter many homes where the furniture is placed right in the traffic area and within a few minutes I have the furniture shifted so that the room looks more open. Most people respond with, ‘Wow, I wouldn’t have ever done that…it’s always been this way’!
Exactly, and what fun it is to see your room from a brand-new viewpoint!
You can change a room with minor enhancements such as re-colouring picture frames, light fixtures and accessories. A fellow colleague of mine often buys pictures and adds a swish of paint here and there to coordinate with the interior she is designing.
They turn out beautifully and look completely custom in the room. I have taken many items and jazzed them up with metallic paint or chalk paint to bring new life to an existing item and the result never fails to excite.
Larger projects such as furniture refinishing and painting walls give your space a huge kick for change in your home.
Let’s face it, we all want our dollars to stretch further and up-cyclying older pieces gives us an extended life with our items without costing thousands to replace.
The satisfaction in these refurbished items will be more rewarding than you could ever imagine.
It’s time for change, pick a project and get to work on bringing something new to your world. Your prefrontal cortex will thank you for the stimulation!
Kim Wyse is a Central Alberta freelance designer. Find her on facebook at ‘Kim Wyse Associate Royal Lepage Tamarack Trail Realty’.
