#DesignLife Challenge 2023: The Pursuit of Little Luxuries
January is notorious as the month to set our intentions for the year ahead, and usually we intend to make big changes or are at least encouraged to think about making them. Everything seems to be on the table—our habits, our environment and even our attitudes.
Well, it’s January 26th, and I’m still thinking about what that all means for me. So you can infer my ability to set and keep New Year resolutions…I am in no way anyone’s role model. However, I think I finally have a plan.
I’m embracing a new approach for 2023. Instead of focusing on life-changing transformations, I say we challenge ourselves to make everyday moments more beautiful by elevating them into little luxuries.
This challenge is all about a sense of gratitude for our everyday experiences, and taking the opportunity to take the mundane and create something memorable.
As an interior designer, we often focus on the aesthetics of our living and working environments. And yes, I’m reading all the beginning of the year, “try these trends” and “avoid these design missteps in the new year” articles…and yes, there is a place for them. However #designlife is more than the curated space between four walls. It’s about the everyday experiences in our homes that make them our happy place.
Where can you add little luxuries to your life? For inspiration, think about moments of gratitude that spark joy for you.
I’ll start:
Golden sunlight streaming through the window
The chatter of birdsong
The scent of a fresh flower
Steaming hot espresso with dark chocolate shavings
A pretty notebook to keep track of ideas
Text from a friend just to say “hi.”
A simple practice of gratitude will make your morning feel a bit more special from the start. Adding little luxuries to those moments will allow you to savor them in new and meaningful ways. Inspired by my gratitude list, we’ve collected a few ideas below to help you create moments of joy in your pursuit of #everydaybeautiful:
Capture your treasures before you dream.
We all know we shouldn’t sleep in our jewelry, and when we’re tired from a long day it’s easy to forget. Or if you’re like me, you remember as you’re drifting off to sleep and somehow manage to get your jewelry off and “near” the bedside table. A pretty ring bowl placed bedside is a reminder to remove our baubles before we fall deep into our beauty rest. And maybe, just maybe avoid the moment of morning panic when you try to remember where you put your jewelry the night before. Perhaps that’s just my experience.
Greet the day by waking up the senses.
With jewelry sorted, another tiny joy is a single stemmed flower. Not just any flower, something with a signature scent, intoxicating and dreamy. Roses, gardenias, jasmine and peonies are fragrant blooms that are up for the task. It’s beautiful to look at and lovely to smell and why shouldn’t you start with a little moment of joy, as you open your eyes to a new day.
Set beautiful intentions with morning rituals.
Caffeine is a necessity and you can’t convince me otherwise. Coffee is my go to every morning, and espresso is my vibe. Our new 2023 mindset has us challenging ourselves to think of this necessity as a little luxury. Creating small rituals that feel special, make the act of preparing and drinking coffee meaningful. It can be as simple as using a pretty cup. Or, if you prefer to do as the French, why not try a latte bowl. There’s something about drinking from a pretty cup that makes everything taste better, so you can guess where I land on that choice.
If you take your coffee with milk, invest in a frother for a decadent layer of foamy goodness atop the bright espresso. Or consider adding a mini-microplane and a block of dark chocolate so you can top your drink with a shaving of cocoa.
If you start your mornings on the sweeter side, leave the granulated white sugar for baking and stock your pantry with a few unique sugar options. Sugar cane sugar cubes are available in most larger grocery stores and are an elegant detour from the basic white sugar squares. Feeling a little fancier? Try something in a pretty shape or unique flavor, like these flower-shaped delights or salted-caramel cubes.
Rituals make us slow down, and allow us to savor each sip instead of shooting the entire cup of coffee in one gulp before we rush out the door.
Again, that might just be me.
Be ready for creative inspiration.
Appreciating the little luxuries throughout the day creates a positive mindset and hopefully releases your creative muse. Having a notebook handy to keep track of ideas and inspiration is good practice. A beautiful notebook can elevate the simple act of jotting down a few words or a quick sketch into a moment of joy. (And if I finally get around to setting those resolutions, this will be a good place to keep myself accountable.)
Armed with our notebooks, don’t forget to make the act of writing its own little luxury…bring on the pens. My favorite might surprise you, Faber Castell Pitt Fineliner pens. While these aren’t the most beautiful and would never be described as fancy, they feel luxurious to me. They’re made by a German company and are just so simple and sleek. For sketching I keep a variety of widths and colors. However for taking notes it can only be a Faber Castell Artist Pitt Pen Fineliner F India Ink Black. There are others pens that are objectively more beautiful and while I appreciate their good looks, I only have eyes for the Faber Castell.
Let’s do this!
With this inspiration, we hope you enjoy making 2023 a bit more beautiful by adding your own little luxuries to your everyday.
You’re welcome to start with me on February 1st.