My “Prop” Closet + Thoughts on Unpacking
I’m about to take you inside my favorite room in our house! Spoiler alert… it’s a closet, but not just ANY closet. It’s the place where all of my treasures are currently existing. I’m not quite sure how this closet was coined “the prop closet”- I think that was Emmett’s doing, because the goods that fill this space aren’t exactly “props”. Sure, I use them for styling our home and decorating, but I also hand picked every single item in this room and the majority of them have meaning. Emmett and I have collected things from our travels, received gifts from friends, and these are the accessories that have moved from home to home with us. Upon moving into our new house, I shoved everything into this shelf-lined closet, knowing things would be safe and protected amongst unpacking and endless renovating. That led me to ponder, why are they still here? Click through for a peek into my “prop” closet and my thoughts on unpacking and decorating as of lately…
I don’t know if you’re going to consider this post a behind-the-scenes treat or leave the blog terrified. Ha! Hopefully the former rather than the latter. Here we go!
After our offer was accepted and we knew we’d be moving into this house, I immediately called dibs on this “room”. I knew it would be the perfect place for our precious pieces- especially given how we renovate.
In here, you’ll find family heirlooms, things from every state we’ve lived in, art I’ve painted, artwork from friends, paintings and drawings of places we love, textiles from different continents, rocks and geodes from memorable hikes, feathers from Emmett’s father’s collection, vintage glass dug up from my childhood home by my own father, plenty of estate sale finds, and pieces that remind me of the past or a specific point in time. It’s really a weird and special place down there in the basement closet. Instead of “stuff”, I walk into that room and see memories.
I know this closet tucked away in the corner of my basement won’t remain my favorite room in the house for very long. We’ll renovate each room over the next few years and I’ll fall deeper in love with this house little by little, but in the meantime, there’s something really cool about seeing all of these “things” in the same room, that tell our story and show our personality- and eventually make up our aesthetic.
Oddly enough, this is Crosby’s favorite room too. We’ll often find him being nosey or napping down here. You can also catch a sneak peek of what I’m *thinking* will be the guest bathroom art. I met the sweetest British lady named Margo one day skiing and she gifted me this jockey portrait from Churchill Downs in Kentucky (close to where Emmett and I grew up). I need to reframe him or her- we can’t tell the gender, but I suppose that doesn’t really matter… it’s just driving the “every piece tells a story” point home again, you know?
Because I’m curious- my question for you is this… how much do you decorate or style a home, knowing you’ll have to remove everything prior to renovating or updating a space?
Does that sound like too much work? Or is the joy of a beautifully curated room, that is representative of you, worth it in the meantime? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments at the end of the post! For me, keeping things in the closet gives me a sense of safety, knowing they won’t get broken. It’s also kind of weird to see all of the things I love looking at on a daily basis out of context. Given my already full plate, I sort of feel glad I’m not creating more work for myself… yet at the same time, since this renovation will take longer than any other we’ve tackled, maybe I’d be happier having a home that looks more put together from the very beginning?
I personally think it’s much easier to style a room if you can see all of the accessories and decor you have to work with.
Before styling a space, I always note what I have available. There’s also a fun merchandise feel to it… like I can shop my favorite things from the comforts of my own home. The thought of decorating the house room-by-room and visiting “my prop closet” to pick and choose from my treasures actually really excites me. Then again, I also have a vintage hoarding problem. So there’s that. Ha! Part of me wants to go for it right now, but I think a bigger part of me doesn’t mind living in a half empty house knowing the reward and wait will be worth it.
I suppose this post doesn’t need a concrete answer. At the end of the day, whether you’re moving from an old home to a new home, into your first home (and just beginning your collection closet), or if you’re purging for the new year… I think you have to do what’s best for you. Decorate and style when you’re ready, keep finding things that put a smile on your face, and part with those that don’t. Despite the lack of a definitive answer, did you find this post interesting? At the very least, fun to see all of my junk in one place? Haha! I hope so! I really am more excited about this house than I have been for any other. Even without our “stuff” scattered around, it already feels like home– and that’s a very good sign. I have a feeling it’s going to be an amazing year! Happy Tuesday, my friends.