WAG MAGAZINE | Are We Ever Forgiven For Bad Furniture Purchases?

The funny thing is I was having this exact conversation with clients recently. They had just bought a new house and told me about the furniture they were bringing from their old house. Actually, it was more like lamenting. They explained at great length that they had to keep this set of chairs because they were so expensive but totally uncomfortable. In fact, they said they had never even sat in them! Why, I asked would they want to shlep these things to their new home? Guilt, that’s why! They spent so much money and made wrong choices years ago and then felt that they had to be punished for it by dragging this stuff around with them in perpetuity. These poor people! You have no idea how common this is. If you dated Mr. or Ms. Wrong many years ago, would you feel compelled to carry their photo around forever to remind yourself of the heartbreak? Don’t answer that! I know plenty of people who do this!

What was I thinking?

Maybe it was an impulse buy. Maybe lime green was the big color that year and you just had to have it. Maybe it was a carefully thought out decision that went horribly wrong anyway. It’s helpful to remember that everybody makes mistakes and miscalculations. Admit that you need to take action.

The first thing you need to do is to think about your goal. What would you like your space to look like? What function would you like it to serve? Taking action to tackle your spatial challenges is easier when you know where you’re headed. Go through your target space and remove everything that doesn’t fit with your current needs, goals and lifestyle. Don’t keep things that might be useful someday—only things that are useful to you today. Get real about it.

Let go.

It’s better to live more spartanly with only two pieces you love than to live in a fully furnished room that you can’t stand. Surround yourself with things you love. If you don’t have a positive feeling when you look at something, get rid of it. Just because someone you love (or maybe even don’t love!) gave you something, it doesn’t mean you have to keep it. Give yourself permission to dump it. That’s right, I said it—get rid of it. This is not the old country—we are not wasting! We are curating. This is about clearing the air. Fill in with really stylish and inexpensive plastic chairs from the Container Store if you need a temporary fix.

Forgive yourself.

We are usually our own harshest judges. Lack of forgiveness can hold us back from becoming who we wish to be. It can make us feel helpless and frustrated. Not forgiving ourselves saps our energy and keeps us stuck in the past. Whether the mistake is large or small, we need to release it completely so that we can focus all of our energy on what we desire for our future. Move on! Be the agent of change in your life. This cannot be overstated—your home environment must support you in order to empower you in all of your life’s endeavors.

By following these steps to forgiveness, you can give yourself the benefit of a home filled with happiness and well-being.