What doesn’t work

We are funny creatures because we are forever focusing on what works. Right from our childhood we’re told, ‘Look for the best solutions.’ Seems sensible… but the truth is that it is absolutely daft. Listen, unless you know what is correct or what doesn’t work, what in blazes will you be searching for? Therefore, I find it hilarious to see everyone rushing on with their lives looking for answers, solutions, and what works. Will they please stop and first ask: ‘What is the problem… or what am I so harried about… or what are the questions that are bothering me… or what doesn’t work?’

What doesn’t work?

This is where the key is and once we’ve identified what doesn’t work, it is quite easy to pile up solutions and then sit back and choose the best option.

Sounds simple?

Well, yes it is simple. And let me add here that I stumbled upon this this recipe for a great problem-free life only as I was browsing a gifts and décor site. It had a wonderfully large collection of attractive products and decorative knick-knacks and very soon I realised that it was impossible to decide which ones to choose for my home. So I asked Specky, my wife, to help me out. Now women have strangely intuitive ways of reaching conclusions and as I watched her carefully, she walked around the house once and then said, ‘Click three pictures. One each of the drawing room, bedroom, and our study.’

‘Right ho!’ I said and showed her my clicks in no time. She then asked me to convert them into monochromes and then as we looked at them, the two of us said almost together, ‘We know what doesn’t work!’

So it was purely because of Specky’s intuitive way of finding out what doesn’t work that we finally were able to short-list three vital links from the portal that I am talking about. Links that helped us transform our home into a much more vibrant place.

Let’s now examine the strategy that Specky advised and the sort of output that helped us decide if what we were choosing was indeed correct or not.

The Bedroom: The Yellow Door Round Oil Burner

The Bedroom

Our bedroom doesn’t have any extra frills added by way of construction and is rather minimalistic. Obviously we have our bed and the side tables… and, let me not disappoint you, lots of books and a small Digital FM radio dock on one of the tables. This is a place where we come to relax and concentrate on reading or maybe just dreaming and being in our thoughts. I do a lot of my writing ideation here… so a ceramic oil burner with its charming cut-outs would emit a soft radiance at night or even during a hot day when the curtains are drawn and the AC is switched on. I’m sure that the fragrance of our choice would make the moments so organic and so immersive… and with the dock playing Mozart, the room would surely transform into a power-intensive place where ideas no longer have to struggle to emerge and overpower me.

The Drawing-room: MeSleep Multi Crayon Look Digitally Printed Cushion Cover

The Drawing-room

The moment you look at the picture of our drawing room you’ll know why we have opted for this multi crayon digitally printed cushion cover… and I must admit here, that we have decided to order a set of five for the sofas.

As Specky remarked, ‘When people who generally don’t read as much as we do, too many books can suddenly turn a room into a dull place and so a gray monotone is what such a mind sees. In such moments and for such people, a powerful multi-crayon effect is what the place simply needs.’ I couldn’t agree more to this logic, though I did say in a low voice, ‘We don’t have many visitors anyway.’ However, I did realise that a bit of the vibrancy of these cushions would probably help the two of us get a good robust break from surrounding that have a heavy dose of books.

The Study: Aapno Rajasthan An Elegant Hand Painted Lampshade

The Study

The decision for our Study was the simplest. I’ve always had a sedate lamp here that has a black metallic Howard Roark sort of structural being and though I love it very much, it doesn’t really help me put a bit of extra verve into my sentences.

‘A bit of ethnicity and bit of bold colour schemes in one corner will do you no harm,’ Specky surmised and then went on, ‘This lampshade will surely make the dna of your sentences younger and more energetic.’ I smiled and agreed.

What do we conclude?

Well, quite obviously every room does need to be adequately vibrant and zesty… after all what is life without them? But what is more important is the way we reach a decision on how to go about transforming the rooms into spirited places of creative interaction. I do hope that our method will help some of my readers.

This post is a part of Makemyhome activity at BlogAdda.com

Arvind Passey
03 September 2014