The Slow Undoing of Our Sad, Grey Millennial Home
My son recently told me our house feels like living in a black-and-white cartoon.
I laughed… and then realized he wasn’t wrong.
Somewhere along the way, our house had become very grey. Grey on grey on grey. And white. And maybe a little sterile?
The Before….
It really doesn’t represent us.
The irony of this, our actual life here is anything but quiet, or sterile. We’re always having people over, there are extra kids running through the house daily, and we’ve had a true open-door policy with friends and family. I had someone drop off something this week looked around, and asked, “Are you having a party?” Nope. Just a normal Tuesday.
Our home is lively, a little chaotic (maybe a lot?), and full of people. Exactly how we like it. But the house itself wasn’t giving off that same warm and cozy feeling.
So I’m slowly undoing it.
Not with a giant renovation or replacing every single thing we own, but by making small, thoughtful changes that bring in some things we love: warmth, color, pattern play, character, and pieces that feel like they’ve been collected over time.
We decided to start with the entryway because it’s the first impression of the home, and the space I liked the least. It felt more like a collection of things we’d accumulated over the years thrown together than an intentional space.
I knew I wanted something with more character in place of the console table, preferably an older piece that felt like it had a story. (And according to my 9 year, perhaps a ghost.) That search eventually led us to find an antique french buffet from the 19th century that felt completely different than what we had before.
Of course finding the buffet was only ½ the story. My husband loves a good negotiation, so when we went to buy it, he tried to get even a 5% discount.They said no. We bought it anyway.
And honestly, I’m so glad we did. It immediately brought in the warmth I felt the space had been missing with this one change alone.
From there, I ordered a custom piece of funky and colorful art for above the buffet. It won’t be ready for quite awhile, which is forcing me to do something I’m terrible at: letting the space sit.
I’m trying not to rush to style every surface or fill blank spots just because. I want to live with it for a bit, see how to the room starts to feel, and let the right decisions and pieces come from that.
I think that’s what I ultimately want for the rest of the home too Not a house that feels too precious or overly designed, but one that is a better representation of us. Warm, layered, lived in. A place that feels cozy when the kids have friends over, people feel that they can stop by without notice, and nothing feels too perfect to enjoy.
More color. More pattern. More old stuff. More reflective of what’s happening on the inside.
This is only the beginning. I’m sharing the whole process as we slowly undo the grey and bring in more life.
If you want to follow along in real time, I’m sharing the series over on Instgram @beausandashley or you can find the first video HERE.