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Solitude, Daybeds and Stylish Living

by | Oct 3, 2007 | Authentic Living, Decorating Inspiration

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Solitude, Daybeds and Stylish Living

Photo: Robbie Caponetto from Cottage Living online

Thank you all so much for coming by, reading all those facts about me and especially I want to thank you for just being you. Each one of you that comes by, whether you’ve been here 30 times or this is your first visit, each of you adds something unique to this blog. Do you know that? You guys are very cool.

This blog isn’t about me. Even though I rambled on yesterday about me, and sometimes I offer this or that about my own life, this blog is for all of you, not just a place for me to chronicle my every move (note: there is nothing wrong with personal blogs, this one is just designed for a different purpose)!

I want you all to have homes AND lives that are beautiful! I don’t want you to have one without the other, nor do I want to talk about one without the other. I don’t mean to sound sappy here, it is just what this blog is about. The Inspired Room is about interior design, that is true, but it is really about how our life inspires our homes and how our homes inspire our life. It is our own little special Stylish Living blog, the way I see true style and beauty. Living authentically inspires the kind of home you have. I want you to have beauty in your life and beauty in your home.

So, with that said, I am starting something new here. Solitude. I know! Crazy! Since I am a long-winded writer, how can we practice solitude here? Let me tell you. I’ve been thinking. If I want to inspire you (and myself, believe me, I need this too) to live life more beautifully, I cannot do that without discussing and then practicing solitude. Solitude is really the necessary ingredient in appreciating beauty, being able to think more clearly and being creative. It is the process of calming your inner world that will inspire your outer world. Solitude isn’t the same as loneliness. Solitude is a good thing. It is a productive thing, but it is something we have a hard time doing in this fast paced world .

So, what I am going to do is design my life right here and allow you to do the same! Since I am still a baby blogger, just into my third month, I am just figuring out what works for me and how I can manage new things in my life. What I have realized is that I am having a lot of wonderful interaction, a lot of amazing inspiration, but not a lot of time to process it and rejuvenate myself in order to allow creativity and inspiration to impact my life. Not only am I blogging, but I am writing for other publications, AND still trying to help my real life clients! Not to mention I have children. And a husband. And laundry. Enough said! I need to create time for solitude.

Solitude, Daybeds and Stylish Living

Photo: Douglas Hill from Cottage Living online

How do you all fit into this, my sweet readers? Not to worry, I am not deserting you! This is how you fit into it. I want the same for you! I want you to be able to step back and just experience inspiration without having to take the extra few moments to pat me on the back, or marvel at my amazing post by leaving me a comment. Yes, sometimes (ONCE IN AWHILE) I am going to turn off my comments. GASP!

I love your comments, but I don’t want you to feel obligated every single post. The main reason is, I might start posting more often, whenever I find something of beauty to share. I have a lot of ideas, and some of them I just want to share with you spontaneously without having to create a whole post around it, or wait for a special day to share it. If I end up doing more posts, it won’t mean more effort on your part to comment more. Those comment-less posts are for inspiration for all of us, not necessarily for interaction. I won’t turn off comments all the time, just sometimes, every now and then. Other times, gab away! Those comment times are what makes this blog full of life, I love hearing your contributions, struggles, inspirations and ideas. It isn’t all about me.

If you do have something you want to say right away, feel free, just put it on a different post, since all the recent comments still show up in the sidelines you can still comment if you want to. You can comment every day if you want, just some posts will be “comment-less.”

So, are you with me here? Did I explain this new direction well enough? If not, I am leaving my comments open for this post, so let me know what you think! If it is confusing, let me know! If you are worried about me, let me know! :-) If you think this stinks, let me know. I’m just figuring this whole blogging world out, so thanks for being real with me and letting me be real with you. I want you to all be a part of this with me, and I don’t want to overwhelm people. I am just trying to make it do-able for all of us. Does it make sense? If you are new, join in! No cliques here.

Do you like these daybeds? I think they look so cozy. Perfect for a moment of solitude!

24 Comments

  1. Penny, Mosaic Artist

    Well, I understand where you are coming from. I enjoy reading your posts….comments or no :-)
    Penny

    Reply
  2. melissamichaels

    Please, when you are finished here, go to Shannon’s blog (link is attached to her name in her comment for this post) and pray for the little Luke she talks about…he needs everyone’s prayers and support.

    Reply
  3. Mélanie

    I love the 2nd one with the ” stawberry ” colors .
    How do you call this red ?
    It was great to read about you in the last post

    Reply
  4. Sandy McTier

    I love daybeds! Ones with lots of cozy pillows to curl up on and relax. Your blog and pictures inspire me and not until I read this post did I really think about the things in my house and how they inspire me but they so DO! THANKS for that quick lesson.
    have a wonderful day.
    Blessings,
    Sandy :)

    Reply
  5. Kathleen Grace

    I always love the photos you use and these are no exception. Lovely! As for the comments, that’s cool. I LOVE getting comments on my blog but I understand where you are coming from. Just as long as you keep posting for us:>) I love coming here for ideas and just because I love beautiful rooms.

    Reply
  6. the feathered nest

    I love your writing – it always really speaks to who I strive to be and how I want to live. I’m thrilled that you’re writing for an online mag!

    I like the idea of turning comments off – I may follow you and do the same now and then (although it’s hard-I’m such a comment junkie!). I like being able to return visits to those you took the the time to comment, but sometimes it just gets to be too much.

    Manuela

    Reply
  7. melissamichaels

    I love the comments too, and it is often how I am triggered to visit you all right back again! So, believe me, I will not turn off comments always. Maybe just a day here and there, especially if I think it is a post or topic that won’t necessarily apply to everyone or is just an FYI or inspirational photo. And if you have a special need or something you’d like me to know, just leave a comment somewhere else or email me. I’m not closing myself off from you by any means, this is just more of an FYI as to why you might sometimes see a lovely quote or picture, or announcement of something I think is noteworthy, and no place to comment. It just means you don’t have to, just enjoy your moment of inspiration! But on the next post, you BETTER comment! I love knowing you were here and being able to talk with you!

    Reply
  8. Esther Sunday

    Totally understand!!!!!! I just love ya and love what you have to say… it is unconditional! Although this is a great way to reach out to others, we do have to allow for the creativity, life’s demands, etc. Love, Esther

    Reply
  9. Rhonda

    Good Morning Melissa. Once again you have touched upon a subject that is relevant to me. Being new to blogging also, I struggle sometimes to establish a balance. I want to be able to and visit with each person who I have met through my posts but it can take control of a major amount of time.
    I respect your decision to include some comment-less posts and appriciate the release of obligation that it creates.
    Rhonda

    Reply
  10. Abby from The Blissful

    Hi, Melissa–

    For me, this is a timely post that touches on an issue that affects us all as bloggers and readers of blogs. Thanks for putting it out there. :) I respect your new direction.

    –Abby

    Reply
  11. Becky

    HI Melissa!! No worries, no stress – I understand your views totally. Blogging is to be fun and light hearted. I believe it is about networking and making new friends – to share and learn from others. I so love visiting you, comments or not.

    I love these little getaways..especially the one in the cubby. Totally cool and hip and a great place to warm up in the sun and read a good book under a cozy blanket. Hmm…I need a place like that!

    Love you and have a great day!

    Becky

    Reply
  12. Pat

    Hello Melissa…

    I’ll be here, comments on or comments off!

    Pat

    Reply
  13. Liberty Post

    I love daybeds. I especially love the ones that are showcased often in Swedish homes..they have curtains and several little bunk hideaways that stretch an entire wall. So cozy.

    Reply
  14. Joy

    I totally *get* it! :)

    Reply
  15. brilliant asylum

    You are doing a great job–and I totally understand about the laundry. Thanks for reminding me to enjoy my own solitude.

    Reply
  16. Julie

    Melissa,
    You are always amazing me. You are so sweet and I know what you mean. I absolutely LOVE to read the comments from such sweet people. But, I certainly never want anyone to feel overwhelmed or obligated. And considering my post a few days ago about a certain blogger who won’t EVER leave me a post I started to feel guilty for making people feel like they now HAD to leave a comment. You of course said it way better than I could have.

    And I love daybeds and the steps in the pictures are painting a picture of the quiet solitude you so eloquently spoke of.

    Love,
    Julie

    Reply
  17. Amanda Jones

    You have the cutest pictures on your site! I love coming to it, just to see them. I love the day bed with the red stairs. That looks like somewhere I could curl up and read a good book! Nice and Cozy!
    -Amanda

    Reply
  18. Kathleen Grace

    Melissa, you sent me an email earlier and it ended up in my junk mail where I saw it just before it disappeared! Can you resend it or remember what you sent? Sorry!

    Reply
  19. Terri

    Hi Melissa, I think your Solitude blogs are a wonderful idea. There is a pressure to comment, sometimes, although I have never felt it on your blog. I am always chomping at the bit to say YES, YES to something you wrote! There is something to be said for silent blogging. :)
    Are you going to name the posts Solitude: Subject… so that we know it is a moment of solitude before we start? That might be a nice idea, like your Friday theme. And then we don’t have to wonder, “does she have comments today?” when we start reading…

    I haven’t blogged for over a week and it is liberating but also weighing on me because people wrote so many lovely things to my last post, but I am so busy with a new class and going out of town that the big powerful post I planned to write in reply just hasn’t happened. That is the only trouble with this blog thing – too many amazing people and too little time to reply and speak to them properly. I always appreciate your thoughts and emails, but dear girl, if you are getting this many visitors every day there is no WAY you will be able to keep up! And I know you want to. You are a spiritual connector, like me, and you like to make people feel loved and appreciate (which they are!). But just so you know, you don’t need to be obliged to write or visit my blog every day or even every week or month! I am happy to just come and visit you. By the way, in the past week yours is the only blog I have visited. There is something warm and happy over here that makes me feel good. Thanks for creating such a happy place to visit!
    Posting soon, Terri xo

    Reply
  20. Sarah Jennings

    Have you ever posted to one of those moderated post blogs and your post never gets posted? This happens to me consistently on one blog. It makes me so sad. Posts are a mixeed blessing. They are an affirmation that ‘Yes! Someone is out there and is reading my stuff’! But, I can see how they can become a bit of a tangent…anyway, thanks for the inspiration! I love how you interweave design with the deeper meaning in life. I always try to explain to my husband that my desire to decorate our house has deeper meaning than just purchasing a new piece of furniture or moving the furniture around!

    Reply
  21. katiedid

    I can realte to everything you are saying: working full time, kids, husband, dog, huge house remodel, volunteer work all get to be way too much. I could use a bit of solitude and those cozy nooks look just like the place to do it!

    Reply

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