Empty Nesting

3/28/2020

Are you an empty nester or soon to be? This can either be a difficult time or one for celebration (or both!). The bottom line is you have space in your home that can be re-purposed, needs a refresh, or it's time to down size.

Remember back to just before the delivery of your first child. Some of us had the 'nesting' urge or urged our partners to get that nesting done before the baby comes or else! Among the many emotions of watching your children go off on their own (sadness, worry, freedom, loneliness, etc) you might find the feeling of re-nesting. This time it's just for you or perhaps to accommodate aging parents; not for children with the many toys, strollers, bottles and more that they come with. For this reason, after, or while, you sort out your emotions, the first stage might be decluttering. (Sorry if I just swore!)

There are many, many books out there on how to declutter. It's not just a task for organizing (keep, toss, donate). It can be just as emotional as letting your children go. Your belongings collected over the years mean something to you. If you find that is no longer the case, then FANTASTIC. You are on your way to finding space to be repurposed. If you feel you don't know where in the world to start, I recommend hiring a professional. I can recommend a couple of very talented professionals if you live within the Dane County Wisconsin area. Just drop me an email at autumnlightinteriors@gmail.com.

Now what! You have a clean home, but that means it is even emptier than before. You will have to decide how to use all that reclaimed space. Do you need a guest bedroom, a hobby room, an exercise area? Do you just want to make your living room luxurious yet live-able and ready to entertain your friends, host a book club, watch movies on the screen of your dreams? Is it time to move to a smaller home or a home with less upkeep? Only you can decide, but once decided you might want to enlist an interior designer to help you find the best place within your home to create your very own vision.

Once you decide what you want, whether you plan to move or reuse a space within your current home, you'll want to plan out what you need for the purpose of the room and get to work on collecting your inspiration items. See this blog post for tips on finding your style/feel for your room.

Should you consider 'Aging in place'? If you live in your 'forever' home, staying there safely is imperative. You can still have a beautiful home with minor changes that can help ensure you get to stay there. This website has some tips for home modifications.

What about those of us that have tiny homes or just not enough rooms for dedicated space for your dream room? What if one of you wants a sewing room and the other wants a wine tasting room but you only have one room to remodel. You just might have to set up a multi-purpose room or use multi-purpose furnishings to make this happen. (And keep the wine away from the fabric!) This is the kind of challenge that I personally like! It takes creativity to find the needed storage and functional furnishings to keep your hobbies fun and accessible, while ensuring you have a guest room for an occasional visitor or room for different hobbies. Let me close with a few fun ideas I found while googling about!