Lee Stanton Blog

The Power of Love ... at Home

The Power of Love ... at Home

Display of antique objects from Lee Stanton's home

Lifestyle changes usually happen over years and even decades. If you are like me, you can remember your lifestyle changes at home. Remember when living at home meant living with your parents? And then with roommates? Remember when you finally had a home you could call your own? Remember when you furnished your first home and the compromises you had to make? 

Then priorities changed. You got busy with your career and social life. Long days at the office, lengthy commutes, travel and late nights out with clients or friends limited your life at home. In essence you became an empty nester from our own home.

Recent events have changed our lifestyles once again and more rapidly than we ever expected. We are now spending more time at home with those compromised things in our homes. We are living in a space that we never finished or with things we "just got" to fill a space or serve a purpose thinking they “will do” for the time being. We never really “loved” them. We never really thought of them as a long term investment. We thought that we would eventual replace them. However, we never got around to it because we were busy with other priorities in our lives.

As an antiquarian, I am fortunate that the things that I have lived with in my home over the years have come and gone allowing me to edit and live only with the things I love. Whether it’s by the nature of my profession as a curator of antiques or the joy of being a collector with the satisfaction of upgrading my collection, I have managed to edit and eliminate the things I could live without and keep only the things I still love to this day. As a result, the more time I spend at home, the more I appreciate the things in my home from a different perspective. They have evolved with me. They tell stories. They tell my story. 

      
Home of late gallerist Karten Schubert 
via World of Interiors

With this in mind, I am reminded of an article in World of Interiors about a gallerist and collector in London who curated his home as he did his gallery. The photos from his home provided a visual understanding of his life through his belongings. As we all look forward to once again have guests into our homes, this story begs a big question. Do the belongings in your home provide an understanding of where you have been and where you are in your life. Are they a proper reflection of your life and what you love?

I feel a sense of pride when clients tell me that no matter how much their home has evolved they still get joy from the items that were sourced from me. There is a sense of satisfaction in knowing that as their lifestyles changed, especially as they spend more time at home, their love for these items remained constant and maybe even got stronger over time.

There is no doubt about it, our lifestyles have changed in a matter of months. We are realizing new priorities. As we spend more time in our homes, we are questioning the things in our homes. With this in mind, I say love it or let it go. Start a new relationship. Move on from the things you have “just lived with” over the years and start living with the things you love. Start realizing the power of love...at home.

- Lee