prioritizing wild, cozy cabinets + leaving nothing for later

I was introduced to the color aubergine a few years ago when I joined Bre at the internal design market. it was love at first sight + I knew I'd have this color in my home in bold statement kind of way...because no one puts aubergine in a corner.

natural algorithms

as per usual for my personal design process, once I had landed on a substantial direction, like this big beautiful color, I let my mirror neurons get to work. mirror neurons are our natural algorithms. they're brain cells that understand what we're focused on and highlight more of that in every situation they can. as Jenn reminds me, we've got to be intentional about what we pay attention to because our mirror neurons don't care what we're focused on, helpful or not, they will bring more whatever it is.

good thing I'm obsessed with this color because before I knew it my world was splashed with aubergine ideas thanks to both the biological and artificial algorithms. with in a short time I was solidified on a kitchen cabinet update.

letting go of loose ends

the process of painting our kitchen took much longer than I anticipated but this isn't a story about timing because that's the same tired story of all my projects.

it takes time to make something beautiful

and I think I'm finally starting to embrace this on a more regular basis. this is a story where I was getting to practice letting go of the 'leave it for later' mindset.

I've always been proud of the work I do and I've always struggled with an internal narrative 'that I don't finish things fully'. so this project was more proof to myself that I can do great work and I can complete it fully with no loose ends. it took a lot of mental energy to continually shift my mirror neurons to focus on the things + times I have finished things fully and the feelings I felt at those times.

prioritization vs procrastination

this shift in perspective while updating our kitchen had me going at a snails pace and to some it may have looked like procrastination but for me it was about prioritization. prioritizing my energy, my enjoyment along with the quality of my work so that I could finish it fully with no loose ends.

going at a snail's pace allowed me to give time to hosting our first annual minute to win it tournament, to get some down time with one of my besties + to allow the soil to sooth my soul with lots of landscaping. there were no late-night, frantic sessions, no feeling overwhelmed by the project. it was a gentle, consistent progression, living evidence that

slow and steady truly does win the race.

this intentional pace required for the continually perspective shift supported me to stay present with both the project and the happenings of everyday life. allowing me show up as the idea I wanted, not what has always been.

wild + cozy vibes

and the result? it's done...completely...and let me tell you, I get feelings of deep satisfaction each time I look at our kitchen. the satisfaction from having such a bold, unapologetic color in a place that can't be ignored. the satisfaction from how it brings both wild + cozy vibes at the same time. and the satisfaction of having a fully done kitchen color update that I did, from start to finish…just how I wanted it to be.

subtle shifts + big impacts

this project reminded me that a subtle shifts can have big impacts. by shifting my perspective from 'how it is' to 'how I want it to be' I ended up doing things differently.

the idea is simple but the application wasn't as easy, both with the paint and how I approached the painting. it took more time + mental energy than usual requiring me to continually check-in with myself and see if I was operating from a space of past patterning, “I’ll leave that for later”, or creating the new vision I wanted, “I finish things fully”.

our bold kitchen cabinets are a physical representation that things don’t have to stay as they are. with a little patience, a lot of awareness and a few subtle shifts, our patterns can change and they can have a dramatic impact.

I can already tell letting go of my “leave it for later” tendencies is going to have a ripple effect into many other areas + is something that will continue to help me build my beautiful life.