Practically speaking: Are you ready for change?

A sentimental piece. We purchased this Persian rug from a friend's personal collection. His dad operated a rug business in New York decades ago before passing away. His mother still has several in her possession and occasionally sells them. She treated us to a traditional Iranian meal as we selected one from her inventory.

Every decorating decision impacts the next. So if you’re keeping certain items in the room, they’ll (intentionally or not) influence the whole aesthetic. Choose wisely.

Some of the challenge may be working with existing pieces that may not fit within the style of your home, but they're sentimental or you're being practical and you just can't bear to part with them. We all have them! And if you don't, tell me your secret to letting go.

As we were redoing my husband's office, we had an art consultant help us and when she walked into my husband's office she said, "Wow, this room has a completely different feel than the rest of the house." "Is it the rug?", I asked knowingly. She never directly answered, but she didn't have to.

I was so focused on using what I had (the rug and the desk) and just addressing other elements in the room (new paint, art, console, lamps, window treatments) that I couldn't see how these dominating pieces were limiting the goal of the redesign. That tunnel vision often happens to us, especially in our own spaces. Noseblind is the olfactory version. Thank you, Febreeze. In any event, I came to my senses, moved the rug into our guest room and bit the bullet for a new rug in the office. It made a huge difference in creating a more updated look. We still haven't gotten that new desk, but the one he has works for now. It was a bear for the movers to get through the door so we'll likely have to throw it out the window when we're finally ready to move on. Kidding, not kidding. Plus, my husband is more focused on what his office looks like in a Zoom background than what he has to look at when he comes in.

The Persian rug repurposed in our guest bedroom. The art is by Jackie Koenig from the series "Quarantine Women" which she created during the pandemic.