The Life Changing Magic of Stuff

The transformative power of those finishing touches at home and some shopping ideas

I popped round to a friend’s lovely new home recently to have a sneak preview and give some (asked for!) thoughts on what might still be missing. The walls are painted, the curtains are up, the headboards and light fittings are en route or on site - it was just those last bits we needed to chat through, the ‘finishing touches’. It got me thinking about this stage of home-making and the role these bits and pieces play, so often relegated to the very end of our decision-making (and the dregs of our wallets) after a renovation. Spoiler alert, that role is an important one!

The vase at the end of the mantelpiece, the tray on the coffee table, the trinket dish on the side table… this stuff can often be seen as superfluous unnecessary or most likely, just quite indulgent, but to me, it can make or break a room and is intrinsic to a room working and, most importantly, feeling how you want it to. It’s the finishing touches that are the final piece of the puzzle when it comes to decorating, the difference between feeling excited to have people over and putting them off coming because it just doesn’t feel ‘done’. And p.s, as a recovering perfectionist I now realise people really are just grateful to be there and are not noticing the wall awaiting a yet-to-find picture or the lack of a rug so have your pals over. Saying that, in my own home I experience that ‘something missing’ feeling like a physical itch! That scratchy feeling of a room not quite feeling right often means it’s not quite representing how you see yourself through your home - you’re still waiting for the other shoe to drop. Enter stage left those last bits and bobs - the icing on the cake, the cherry on top, the salt on the caramel.

Finishing touches or excessive clutter? I’ll concede my home walks a fine line!

These last bits are the collected bits, and yes it can take years to accumulate the stuff we truly love in our homes so I’m not suggesting rashly buying every last thing in a hurry rather than carefully curating and considering purchases. Nor am I here to advocate for the amount of finishing touches and, let’s be real, clutter I live with in my own house. It’s definitely not for everyone and I like to imagine I might be a minimalist living in a Japandi-style teak and glass box in my next life… But I am here to make the case for not only collecting bits as you go, but actually acknowledging the importance of these bits and maybe allowing for that importance within your overall budget. I know that’s a huge ask when every part of renovating or decorating a home is EXPENSIVE (I feel block capitals is warranted here) so pushing the idea of holding back a couple of hundred quid for a lovely vase or bowl feels almost unhinged and devoid of reality.

But hear me out…. Because it’s all well and good to have that lovely fireplace or expensive light switches but if there’s zero left for any of the little extras, I’d hazard a guess you’re going to be left feeling a bit ‘meh’ by the end of it. I’m not talking furniture here either. This is a level beyond this - the tat and trappings of a well-loved home and a well-lived life. The bits with stories, even if that story is an simple as I saw this and fell in love.

Ceramic cup // Mixed metal tray // Scented beesawax candle // Blue mid-century lamp // Ceramic bowl // Red mid-century vase // Ceramic bowls (I’m pictruring these on the wall) // Framed print // Ceramic candle sticks // Arts and Crafts table lamp // Marbled trinket dish

Thrifting, markets, antique fairs, emerging artists, ceramic purchases on holiday — it’s these finds that take rooms to the next level of feeling like your home. It’s these pieces you actually need to rely on for turning a nicely done room into a ‘ok wow you have amazing taste’ room.