Life with Props

I have a feeling if you read this blog, you're the type of person whose future dreams include very specific architectural preferences and furniture purchases (build a sleeping porch, install herringbone floors, own a louis ghost chair) listed alongside "normal" people dreams like "live abroad for a year" or "learn French" or "write a novel.

I've noticed this about myself last week when I began writing a list of things I want to do in life (inspired by this post at Tulips and Tea). About a third of the things in my list were related to my future home, and I had an inkling this probably wasn't the intended result.

But the more I thought about it, I began to understand that I approach life visually. When I picture how I want things to be 20 years from now, I can't imagine it without the accompanying "props." So when I say I dream of having a home with a sleeping porch, it's not really the porch I want. It's a prop for the kind of family life that includes telling ghost stories to my future kids under a warm blanket with a flashlight while crickets chirp outside. That one list item (owning a home with a sleeping porch) captures more of what I want out of life than 30 less visual list items would.

Another item on my list was to have a studio where I could tackle all of my projects, but I think what I was really getting at was the need for time and a space where I could think creatively and freely. I think that is exactly what drew me to these images of painter's studios and supplies. Yes, they are colorful and chaotic, but the true beauty is the thinking that happens in the room when it's just one person and their paintbrushes, a blank canvas and an idea.

Images 1. and 2. Tim Evan Cook 3. and 6. Design Sponge 4. Unknown Source 5. and 7. Flickr 8. Gatekeeper