Here’s a photo of my new two bedroom apartment. What? You can’t see it? Well, that’s because it hasn’t actually been built yet.
This is a mere (although some days annoying) detail. Buying an apartment ‘off the plan’ is one of life’s many ‘tests of patience’. Patience is not a natural personality trait of mine, but when creating a home it’s an important one for us all to develop.
Yes, I know that on the reality TV shows they create a room in just one week. But they also get ‘married at first sight’ and a bachelor kisses multiple women in some warped form of contemporary harem. We know that they’re not sound approaches to real life (don’t we?).
Real homes, like real relationships, are best built over time. And, like relationships, creating your home involves a combination of great memories, lots of fun, living through difficult times together, some things that seemed like a good idea (once!), some things that last forever, and some other things (and people) that you wake up one day to find you have definitely out-grown.
If I lived today in a home that I would have loved as a 10 year old …… well, there would certainly be loads of aqua, purple and lime green. In my 20’s I thought that Cristal d’Arques wine glasses and embroidered tablecloths were the height of elegance.
On the other hand, I still adore the Mid Century timber coffee table that I’ve known all my life. I remember sitting on the floor and pretending to do homework at it around age 4. (I think I was getting bored at kindergarten and I thought school, and therefore homework, was going to be an exciting adventure!)
Priorities, resources and style preferences for creating a home, like creating a life, change over time. The trick is reviewing your needs, likes and wants every so often. And then being patient.
You’ve decided that you want a round dining table but you can’t find exactly what you want in the stores? Be patient. If it’s important it will happen. Perhaps next season the stores will be full of round tables. Perhaps you’ll enjoy the process (and time) of commissioning a local craftsperson. Or perhaps you’ll have fun going to lots of auctions and eventually bidding for your perfect ‘new to you’ dining table.
Like important relationships, it’s better to wait than to settle.
I’m really happy with the apartment I’ve bought. Instead of getting frustrated by the wait, I’m learning to enjoy the journey…… Searching for the perfect wallpaper, getting chairs re-upholstered, dreaming about waking up in my new bedroom.
Perhaps I have some patience in me after all!