The phase after divorce is all about learning to love yourself and new beginnings, and there’s no better place to start than your home. The end of a marriage doesn’t have to be the end of the world. In fact, it can be a great time to regain your sense of self and your sense of style. Whether you are staying in your current house and keeping most of the furniture, or are starting from scratch in a brand new place, here are a few tips that can turn your divorce from a down-in-the-dumps disturbance to an opportunity to design and decorate the home of your dreams.
Much like Elizabeth Gilbert’s bestseller Eat, Pray Love, decorating your new home is a transformational journey. Here are some ways to embrace the search and manifest your experience in your new home.
Find a Few Pieces You Utterly Adore
Divorce involves loss, there is no question, but it also gives you the chance to acquire things and experiences that are more in keeping with your personal desires, ambitions, and aesthetic. Scour Craigslist, antique stores, flea markets and other spots for a piece you really love—for your living room, for your bedroom, for the kitchen—and build the design for the rest of your room around your finds. Enjoy the journey (and the pasta); travel can be a wonderful time to discover your style and that perfect centerpiece for your new home after divorce.
Maybe you have your eye on an Edwardian vanity, or an ultra-modern entertainment center, or a vintage 1970s kitchen table and chairs. Go ahead and make the purchase, and let the rest of that room’s design flow from that favored piece of furniture. It will give you a centered, focused, and fulfilling way to continue designing your future.
Embrace your own style
After divorce, be a little outrageous in your approach to putting together your new space—for the first time in a long time, there’s no one to second-guess you or question your decisions. Life is all about you for the moment, so make the most of it and do whatever feels right no matter how off the wall your inner-critic tells you it may be.
A dining room with vintage table and mismatched modern chairs? A zen sanctuary with buddhas and candles? A hanging chair in your living room? In fact, we recommend shoving your inner-critic in a box and burying it in the basement throughout this entire process—and maybe just leave it there permanently. This is the perfect time to go a little crazy and do the decorating that delights your adventurous side.
Don’t Be Scared to Seek Some Help
Many divorces make it difficult to truly trust others for some time. As much as your post-divorce design and decorating should be all about you, you don’t have to do it alone. Professional interior decorating advice that accommodates your personal sense of style is more affordable than ever thanks to the internet. Interior designers are no longer reserved for the uber-wealthy. So don’t let the past get in the way of living your future now. Start dreaming up your ideal designs today and unleash your inner design diva to create the home they’ve always wanted.
Services like Decorist can help you go room by room for flat rates as low as $199. They’ll design, style, and source the perfect furniture, accents, and materials to make your newly single space the uplifting haven you deserve after divorce. A little professional experience can help you stretch your budget and explore options you might have otherwise missed, giving you better bang for every decorative buck you spend.
Written by Gretchen Hansen, founder and CEO of Decorist. Gretchen’s passion is to make great design easy and accessible to everyone.
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