Living La Belle Vie: Quality, Decluttering and Daily Luxuries
For the second installment in my Living La Belle Vie (the Good Life) series I’d like to talk about all the stuff in our lives. I think it’s fair to say most of us have way more stuff than we need and we’re constantly bombarded with messages to acquire even more. As a design blogger, I’m well aware that I’m responsible for some of this myself! You also know I love my share of pretty things so I’m clearly not here to preach about an ascetic lifestyle or anything like that. But. I do believe that one way to live la belle vie is to buy and use only the best quality that you can afford. This is another observation I made while living in Paris and even though I’m not all the way there, I have been trying to embrace this approach more fully.
This can apply to so many areas of our lives from our homes to our wardrobes to what we eat to how we spend our free time. For example, how many of you “save” certain clothes because you’re afraid of ruining them? I know I used to do that. Most of us also save things around the house that we consider “good” or “fancy” for special occasions and ninety percent of the time we use something else. But what if we only lived with the best and got rid of everything else? Think of how luxurious it would feel to love everything we used every day not to mention how much less clutter we would have. Wouldn’t each day feel just a little nicer?
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this!
Thanks for another fun week of blogging and all the kind comments. Have a great weekend and I’ll see you Monday!
(Photos: 1.by Polly Wreford 2.by Richard Powers, from Sarah Kaye)
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I tend to save things…don’t know why but I do. I’m working on clearing out clutter. I’m a work in progress.
Tonia recently posted..SWAP AND FLEA
We all are.
My thoughts on this? I think this post is frickin’ brilliant, that’s what I think!! I need to print it up and tape it to my forehead. I am especially aware of this with my clothes right now and am determined to get rid of all of the size 38 pants that I will never fit into again, even if they are Prada.
You will appreciate that when I travel, I am verrrry picky about what I pack. When we were on assignment so much, I had two staples that went with me everywhere: an already worn-in Hermes scarf and a pair of suede Tod’s boots. I used them both hard and they gave me mucho happiness on some of our toughest trips!
Heather in Arles recently posted..National Geographic France
SO in love with this series– love your observation on saving things–I’m guilty of doing that as well. I’m trying to change that attitude in myself, using the pretty linens, the good china….baby steps.
GB recently posted..Fifty-Two Objects: Three.
i’ve been thinking about cutting back on everything too. especially clothes. i am loving the little pop of red in that chair though!
amy b.s. recently posted..microboo
we have done this – i decided to actually use the really nice kitchen stuff for daily use at our house. it makes us happy. it seems to have made our houseguests happy too because they have commented on it!
and i’m not paid to say this…..but “quality” i favor in most things, design + manufacture but i suspect others would agree…….that we allow a lot of ikea stuff in the house because it also represents excellent quality in terms of design and value your money. it makes us just as happy as the “higher end” stuff.
I totally agree. Quality doesn’t always mean expensive.
You have posted this at a time when I am editing my kitchen and closet.
The use of only what is beautiful, useful and loved concept.
As your new follower, I look forward to knowing your blog and to your visit and comments
Helen
Hi, Helen, welcome and thank you!
I agree. I am definitely trying to declutter my house. The sheer amount of stuff is overwhelming. It just feels better to be in a pared down environment.
Lacey recently posted..Yum, broccoli!
Ally, I’ve been trying to put this theory into practice in my home. As a jump-off, I decided to purge a lot of the “placeholders” that I had acquired that was good enough at one point in my life but no longer represents my taste or lifestyle (example: I just rid myself of my 6-year old Ikea Expedit ). I’m not intending to run out and purchase another piece just to fill the space, but instead will be waiting until I find a piece that perfectly fits my needs and “look”. That is luxurious living, as far as I’m concerned!
Ashley recently posted..TGIF, 1/27/12 Edition
I couldn’t agree more. I used to be really impatient and buy lots of things just to make do. But I’ve learned to wait and it definitely pays off when you find exactly what you want. Oh, and I used to have an Expedit too!
In my opinion we have to use all the best things we have to our own pleasure, never to satisfy another person.
The best sofa, the best china, the best glasses, the best clothes, we must treat ourselves nice, because the world is so hard this days, when I come home I really feel hugged, and that’s the point.
Sorry about my rusty english, hope you understand me.
Hav e a happy weekend.
Tereza
Tereza recently posted..DUAS CASAS DE FIM DE SEMANA
Of course I understand you – your English is great! Yours is a good example of living la belle vie.
Thanks for sharing!
I couldn’t agree more! I only surround myself with things that I either love or make my life easier (dishwasher, my dear friend…).
I have lots of blank walls because I haven’t found the right art yet, and I still need a few pieces of furniture for my house but until I can afford what I really love I’ll just go without.
I used to save my best clothes for special occasions too – something I learnt from my parents – but now I wear them when I feel like…I mean, today it could be the last day of my life, so why keep my favourite clothes in a closet???
Cristina | Positively Beauty recently posted..A new table lamp & a discount code
Still trying to learn this. One thing that really works is better than 10 that don’t. And usually the things that really work cost a little more.
Bromeliad recently posted..Backyard chickens
That’s what my mom always said – spend the money on one good coat, appliance, etc. instead of buying a whole bunch of cheaper ones. In the long run it can actually save you money if it lasts longer or you get more use out of it. As usual, she was right. Thanks re: the painting too.
First of all i wanted to let you know i got the package and loved everything in it!!! Second, I could not agree more with you… when i lost my job i saw myself forced to live with much less of what i thought was needed and eventually realized that i had too much stuff… i have then stream lined my life and learned to live a less cluttered life…
Great post my dear and hope you’re having a fantastic weekend!
Punctuation Mark recently posted..I Say Hello Friday
Oh, I’m so glad! Thanks for letting me know. Enjoy!
Being in a new place every 3 months has definitely forced us to somewhat live by this rule. We travel with all of our own cookware, dinnerware and linens because it makes every place feel like our own.. and an inexpensive bottle of wine tastes so much better out of our beautiful glasses!
But we’re looking forward to the time when we settle down and I can once again enjoy each meal from our beautiful pottery dishes. Our goal is to settle into a home less than 1000 sf, so everything will need to be functional for my hubby AND beautiful for me.
Lesley AKA Artsy Forager recently posted..Friday Faves: Street Cred
I totally agree with you, Ally: less is more! Life is too short to save good things. “Everyday” is the every day of our lives. Let’s live it beautifully and in quality! If you think deeper it is much greener way of living than using many of disposable things instead of one of a good quality.
Ice Beautiful recently posted..Through My Window: Week 4
Many years ago, a young college student packed up only what would fit in the trunk of his car, and moved away for the summer. To his surprise, he discovered that he didn’t miss any of the possessions he had left in his New York apartment. Upon his return at summer’s end, he sold everything on eBay. PBS did a story about him, and what he had learned about how little he really needed in order to be happy. Your wisdom about keeping only what we love, and using it every day reminded me of this story.
It really is amazing how little we actually need and still be happy. I’d love to see that program. Thanks so much for sharing!
lovely space…thanks to Gagan i could land here…its wonderful to see a blogger from Atlanta…we should meet