stepping into limits with the ladder update

Bob couldn’t understand why I wanted to change the look of the ladder up to our loft. I get his confusion, it was fine just as it was but I don’t want fine. I want to accent the interesting + have boujee-homebody vibes ooze from every place that I can in our home. this little loft ladder update took only a handful of hours of work, and its impact is already tenfold.

instantly limited

for months, I'd been on the hunt to find a fabric that would fit this space. because this wasn't a "must-do," project I was able to chill and let the fabric find me. I knew I wanted to stick with Modern-Fabrics, not just because I love their sustainable model of reselling unused fabrics, but because it instantly limited my options and cut down on overwhelm.

a few other ways I limited my options, and in turn my overwhelm, was deciding to use the leftover black paint from the loft ledge wall headboard project. with a black ladder I’d be wanting a fabric to help blend the darks and lights in our space…and I definitely did not want an expected grey. so that pushed me towards a more bold + graphic black and white blend.

a little while back, at a design market with Bre…when she was designing her custom kitchen stools, I discovered cut velvet. immediately, I knew that soft, luxurious feel was exactly what I wanted under my sleepy toes each morning. it also offered the depth and texture needed to highlight this interesting part of our home.

boujee-homebody vibes

so, when this black and white cut velvet fabric finally appeared in stock, it was practically yelling at me “I’m the one!!” + I scooped it up. after a short bit of basic painting, cutting, glueing and hammering the ladder was complete. and let me tell you…it looks and feels sooo good. even as I write this post eight months later I still get so much joy every time I look at our ladder and I’m so glad I didn’t leave it for later.

limits can be expansive

even more than the bringing the exact vibes I want this ladder reminds me that limits aren’t always about taking away or preventing. when something is limited there’s always the flip side of something else being expanded. for me, in this project, limiting my options helped to expand my patience while I waited for the ‘just right fit’ to come about. limits allowed me to make decisions quicker and easier, decreasing decision fatigue and expanding my energies. I was able to use that energy and creative resources elsewhere because they weren’t needed on this project.

It's an interesting reminder that limits, like boundaries, take effort, aren’t always easy to stick with + can initially bring a feeling of being held back. but if we choose to shift our perspective just a tad we might see how intentional limits aligned with the situation can help to build some really beautiful things, in home + in life.