I have recently had the good fortune of being hired by the founders of a website called Previously Owned by a Gay Man. It was one of those serendipitous experiences where I wanted to redecorate my house, and the next thing I knew I had a job working with the founders of an e-commerce furniture website. Yes, sometimes things in life are that easy.
Up until this point, my interest in home decorating had been at maybe a 5 out of 10 on the passion scale. But, as I looked around at my compromise furniture, thank you for this term from designer and loyal previouslyownedbyagayman.com customer Christina Wells (click here for her LinkedIn profile), I knew it was time to have the outside of my world more clearly reflect the inside, and I needed to make some changes. They could be minor, but it was time to begin the evolution process. Luckily, I was able to meet the incredible Michele (read more about Michele in this recent article in Fast Company) and Lindsay (read more about Lindsay in this article, 40 Under 40, people to watch, in Diablo Magazine), founders of this amazing destination home decor website that helps buyers and sellers of quality home furnishings make these changes. The site is full of antique and vintage pieces, the practical and the sublime. Becoming a part of this team has begun a major transformation of my home, and I believe in many ways my life, because I really believe we are impacted by our surroundings in so many ways.
All of the things you read are true, decluttering opens up your life, surrounding yourself with things you love actually does make you happy. Letting go of things that do not serve you does lighten your spirit. So when Michele asked me in our initial interview if I was interested in furniture, I said, “I’m mad about furniture,” and from that day forward I began to unearth a passion that I didn’t really know existed. This is the curious thing about life, if we keep exploring, we find new things hidden deep inside ourselves. So now, not only do I love working with this fantastic team, I am the customer that the website I work on seeks. I love furniture and am so excited to sell my “compromise” furniture (the things you buy that you don’t love, but don’t hate), and replace them with things I do love from our website. And although, I have made only minor changes so far, I can already feel a shift as I see an environment that more closely reflects who I am now, and not who I was 10 years ago, when I bought (why?) a brown velvet sofa (oh, yes, I had small children), but you get the picture. We all make mistakes, but you are not obligated to live with them forever, walking by them day after day, when you can sell them and replace them with something you actually love and that makes you happy.
The fun part to all of the this is that it doesn’t mean going to a big furniture store and buying new furniture, new furniture is not necessarily great furniture. Buying previously owned furniture is sustainability in motion and creates a unique look and feel to your home, see one of my favorite books by Kishani Perera, Vintage Remix, available on Amazon. So recover that chair with fabric you love, and go to our website and sell the furniture you don’t like and buy the furniture you adore, yes, all in one place. It really is that easy. Life is short and you deserve a beautiful room, a beautiful home, and a beautiful life.
Here’s some inspiration for you:
Sydney 