Some Things are Hard to Face Unarmed by Rivki D. Rosenwald Esq., CLC, SDS

Life C ach

Some Things are Hard to Face Unarmed

Rivki D. Rosenwald Esq., LMFT, CLC, SDS

What’s a person to do?

When it comes to home décor, choices abound and we’re confronted with which way to go.

Let’s take floor treatments, for example. Carpets can be so reassuring – such a good way to make sure there are no tender bruises or bumps for our little ones. Then again, floors are a lot easier to sweep, and we certainly don’t need to worry what in the world is hiding out in there. Everything on a floor is upfront and personal, as they say!

Or how about what to do with the walls?! It’s easy enough to paint, assuming you can stand the reality that the paint you choose never actually resembles the sample you had loved in the store. Paint has no seams or themes to concern yourself with either. Yet, it may feel a lot less decorative and more boring.

And should we talk beds? Bunkbeds are certainly space-saving and really exciting for kids. Yet, they’re a lot more nerve-racking for parents. Kind of makes the carpet choice thing a lot easier, though.

Standard height beds, in the alternative, are way easier to make up in the mornings and a lot closer to terra firma and therefore tend to give parents way more peace of mind.

But then again, with picking beds, there is the size thing to tackle. Do we get twin, full, or queen – or if we’re feeling like we need lots space, should we go with the kingsize?

And do we bother with desks in the kids’ rooms? Well, that depends: do they even bother with homework?

How about closet design? Lots of hanging or lots of shelves? That depends, too. Is there a uniform in their school? If yes, then, actually, maybe we don’t even need to bother with a closet! Just a little area for the three navy pants or plaid skirts accompanied by their four plain tops, and you’re good to go!

And then that kind of answers the mirror-or-no-mirror question, too. If there’s no different outfit to put on daily, who’s going to bother looking at themselves each day? They can just stare at any kid in school, and they’ll basically get a good idea of what they look like.

So that kind of covers most of the upstairs. Though, the mom and dad’s room may require a separate conversation. Yet, very often, parents will put a lot of thought into this decor and in actuality only use this room to pass out in!

So, let’s address the rest of the house first, instead.

Dining rooms make me think of autumn. Leaves, leaves, leaves. How big do we want the original table and how much bigger do we want it to get? That is always the first dining room challenge. The second is the size and comfort of the chairs. Which we usually swap out for those terrible little folding chairs whenever we have company anyway. So why do we lose sleep over this, I wonder?!

Can we now talk couches? Somehow, we need them everywhere! The living room, den, playroom, breakfast area, basement, guest room, sunroom.... We apparently like to sit!

There are endless reasons for sofas and endless choices.

When we talk couches, it sounds like we are talking about anything but seating:

Love or straight?

Modern or old fashioned?

Armless or without legs?

Starting to see what I mean?!

And then there’s the comfort, the fabric, and the style to figure out as well.

And, of course, then there are the two most important rooms to figure out: kitchen and bathrooms. And to tell you the truth, there are people who specialize in both because they have so many of their own features to navigate. So, let’s put them on hold in terms of analysis, and just agree to recognize that once the plumbing, electric, and fixtures are worked out there’s still a lot more design to design.

So, when you feel like redoing or redecorating a room or a house, don’t think you’re the only one who gets overwhelmed by it all. There’s endless aesthetics and pragmatics of everything to decide all coming together at once. There’s way more of it to deal than there are even people in any family to use it – no matter how big your family.

So, take it slow, give yourself a break. Remember there are pros and cons to everything!

Now if that thought only calms you for a second, sit down on your “armed” or “armless” couch and let me help you “shoulder” the burden.

I’ll give you an added bonus: if you’re really overwhelmed, here’s the scoop. The “SDS” sitting there weekly at the end of my name stands for Space Design Specialist. If you like, reach out to me, and I’ll give you that needed helping “hand!”

No one should have to confront these endless choices “unarmed!”

Rivki Rosenwald is a certified relationship counselor, and career and life coach. She can be contacted at 917-7052004 or rivki@rosenwalds.com.