Beautiful Compromise.....

Compromise: A settlement of differences or blending qualities of two different things(photo courtesy of Cottage Style Decorating

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Beautiful living can sometimes incorporate the fine art of compromise. This week blending the qualities of two different people with two distinct tastes and two distinct ideas took place here at the Quill. In some cases a settlement was quickly reached and on others, the decision to make a final decision has been put on hold. We still have not figured out the perfect ottoman to suit both our tastes and needs BUT a headboard has been ordered and the decision was agreed upon and made in five minutes flat.

I think beautiful living as well as beautiful decor should include a mixture of tastes, styles, and personalities of those who inhabit the home together. Beautiful living is give and take considering the needs of the family above individual tastes especially if the preference of the one contributes to disharmony in the home.

I learned this lesson when my son was around ten years old. I had two very lovely rugs in our main family living space, OK, it is our only family living space. Our little cottage only has a main living room period! My ideal at the time was to have a show room not a living room. I was very fussy about those two rugs. "Don't step on those with your shoes on!" "Avoid the fringe at all costs, it's light in color and will get dingy if you step on it!" And so on. They were lovely and plush but I didn't want them actually used, difficult when one rested in front of the sofa and the other in front of the fireplace. The family intensely disliked those rugs and I stubbornly clung to them.

One day I was sitting alone in my perfectly appointed space and as I looked at those rugs I began to feel cranky about them. They were a lot of care in keeping them clean and the light colored fringe drove me nuts trying to keep it from getting spotted or straightening it out and my family complained about them all the time. I got up and rolled both those rugs up and tossed them onto the deck and instantly I felt better.

When my son arrived home from school he stopped still in his tracks in the doorway. His eyes darted around the room as he asked, "Where are the rugs?" "I got rid of them." "Really?" he replied, "Like, for good?" "Yes." Fist pumping action and jumping up and down took place. Later in the evening as I was cleaning the kitchen I heard him tell his little sister that he was so glad that the fussy rugs were gone because now they could have a not so fussy mom.

Fussy was not something I wanted them to remember home as being. The next day I went shopping and found a compromise to the rug situation. I got two solid chenille rugs that looked great against the dark wood floors and drew out a color in the sofa. They were soft, plush, and best of all kid friendly machine washable. We used those rugs for years. When the color got dull I simply redyed them and they looked brand new again. This was a perfect compromise and blended the qualities of a happy family with a harmonious home. This lesson helped me to adjust my beautiful life goals from creating a showplace to creating a home.

What memories do you want to create through your decorating and design?

Melissa at The Inspired Room is hosting a link up for more ways to achieve beautiful life goals so be sure to visit!

Beautiful Blessings,
Miss Sandy