WEBVTT - Second Cup: What stories does your home tell?

0:00:03.480 --> 0:00:09.440
<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.

0:00:10.840 --> 0:00:17.000
<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

0:00:17.000 --> 0:00:20.280
<v Speaker 1>tip is to think about the stories your home tells

0:00:20.320 --> 0:00:25.880
<v Speaker 1>you and anyone who visits. By consciously choosing these stories,

0:00:26.960 --> 0:00:30.520
<v Speaker 1>you can create an atmosphere that feels good and that

0:00:30.560 --> 0:00:36.680
<v Speaker 1>reinforces the identities that matter to you. Today's tip, like

0:00:36.720 --> 0:00:40.800
<v Speaker 1>another later this week, comes from Emily Grovenor's book Find

0:00:40.800 --> 0:00:45.199
<v Speaker 1>Yourself at Home, a conscious approach to shaping your space

0:00:45.920 --> 0:00:50.480
<v Speaker 1>and your life. Grovenor starts from the premise that, as

0:00:50.479 --> 0:00:53.920
<v Speaker 1>she puts it, home is a place of great power

0:00:54.040 --> 0:00:58.400
<v Speaker 1>and purpose, and when you shape it consciously, it shapes

0:00:58.440 --> 0:01:03.280
<v Speaker 1>you back. I haven't studied design or fung Shuis as

0:01:03.360 --> 0:01:06.520
<v Speaker 1>Grovenor has, but I do know that our homes can

0:01:06.560 --> 0:01:10.040
<v Speaker 1>have a big impact on how we feel. Now, not

0:01:10.200 --> 0:01:13.440
<v Speaker 1>everyone spends a ton of time or energy thinking about

0:01:13.440 --> 0:01:17.240
<v Speaker 1>their living quarters. Perhaps you have seen that photo that

0:01:17.240 --> 0:01:21.120
<v Speaker 1>occasionally goes viral online of a young man's living room

0:01:21.840 --> 0:01:25.559
<v Speaker 1>featuring a single recliner set a few feet in front

0:01:25.720 --> 0:01:29.520
<v Speaker 1>of a television. But once you have decided to put

0:01:29.640 --> 0:01:33.800
<v Speaker 1>some effort into your home, making sure that the effort

0:01:33.840 --> 0:01:36.880
<v Speaker 1>creates an environment that tells the stories you wanted telling,

0:01:37.800 --> 0:01:42.319
<v Speaker 1>just requires a little more thought. For instance, most people

0:01:42.360 --> 0:01:48.600
<v Speaker 1>put something on the wall near their entranceway. What is it?

0:01:48.600 --> 0:01:51.960
<v Speaker 1>It could be something generic, or perhaps it could be

0:01:52.000 --> 0:01:55.840
<v Speaker 1>a photograph of waves on the sand at the beach

0:01:55.880 --> 0:01:59.680
<v Speaker 1>you visited most summers since you were a child. That

0:01:59.800 --> 0:02:03.880
<v Speaker 1>memory sparking photo will tell a more rich story than

0:02:03.880 --> 0:02:08.400
<v Speaker 1>something that is not connected to your past. Plenty of

0:02:08.400 --> 0:02:11.720
<v Speaker 1>people display family photographs, but what stories do those tell?

0:02:13.000 --> 0:02:17.120
<v Speaker 1>A stiff, formal portrait of your grandmother might tell a

0:02:17.200 --> 0:02:19.919
<v Speaker 1>less accurate story than one that shows her a little

0:02:20.000 --> 0:02:23.200
<v Speaker 1>rumpled but laughing in her garden, which is where she

0:02:23.360 --> 0:02:28.320
<v Speaker 1>loved to spend her time. Nick Knacks and things like

0:02:28.400 --> 0:02:32.160
<v Speaker 1>that from your travel can also tell stories. Now, this

0:02:32.280 --> 0:02:35.000
<v Speaker 1>doesn't mean that you need to display a miniature leaning

0:02:35.080 --> 0:02:38.880
<v Speaker 1>tower of Pisa somewhere. Instead, the story of your travels

0:02:38.880 --> 0:02:41.480
<v Speaker 1>in Italy could be evoked by a glass dish holding

0:02:41.680 --> 0:02:43.799
<v Speaker 1>sea glass that you picked up from the beach. There.

0:02:45.040 --> 0:02:48.280
<v Speaker 1>You know what stories the sea glass tells, and if

0:02:48.320 --> 0:02:51.639
<v Speaker 1>a guest asks about the sea glass, you can tell

0:02:51.639 --> 0:02:56.400
<v Speaker 1>her those stories too. Even your furniture and room layout,

0:02:56.400 --> 0:03:01.080
<v Speaker 1>Grovener says, tell stories, a big round cable evokes warm

0:03:01.120 --> 0:03:05.800
<v Speaker 1>gatherings over meals, shelves of books that you like to read.

0:03:06.680 --> 0:03:10.119
<v Speaker 1>Grovener also explains the Fung Schhuei perspective that a particular

0:03:10.200 --> 0:03:14.080
<v Speaker 1>part of your home is about influence, fame, or reputation.

0:03:15.560 --> 0:03:19.640
<v Speaker 1>She suggests decorating the area associated with your influencer work

0:03:19.720 --> 0:03:22.040
<v Speaker 1>and ways that embody you as you want to be

0:03:22.080 --> 0:03:25.960
<v Speaker 1>seen as more of us work in our home offices.

0:03:26.120 --> 0:03:29.600
<v Speaker 1>This is more important than ever before. I have a

0:03:29.600 --> 0:03:32.079
<v Speaker 1>lot of bookshelves in my office, but I reserved one

0:03:32.160 --> 0:03:36.360
<v Speaker 1>particular section for my own books to remind me about that.

0:03:37.640 --> 0:03:41.760
<v Speaker 1>Another showcase is my collection of miniatures, which is a

0:03:41.800 --> 0:03:44.480
<v Speaker 1>long standing interest of mine and gives me a thrill

0:03:44.600 --> 0:03:48.080
<v Speaker 1>every time I see it. Anyone coming into my office

0:03:48.120 --> 0:03:51.040
<v Speaker 1>comments on the miniatures too. I mean, we're talking a

0:03:51.080 --> 0:03:56.280
<v Speaker 1>miniature piano, a miniature washer and dryer, a miniature dishwasher

0:03:56.320 --> 0:04:00.920
<v Speaker 1>and refrigerator, and all that. We've probably all been to

0:04:01.000 --> 0:04:03.760
<v Speaker 1>houses that really feel like the people who live there.

0:04:04.800 --> 0:04:07.480
<v Speaker 1>We've probably also been to places like the apartment with

0:04:07.480 --> 0:04:11.280
<v Speaker 1>a single recliner. In addition to wondering where you are

0:04:11.320 --> 0:04:14.080
<v Speaker 1>supposed to sit, it just gives the one dimensional picture

0:04:14.120 --> 0:04:18.279
<v Speaker 1>of whoever's there. This person likes to watch TV? Great?

0:04:18.960 --> 0:04:24.560
<v Speaker 1>What about? What? What interests them? Who knows? With some

0:04:24.600 --> 0:04:27.640
<v Speaker 1>attention to the stories your home tells, you can let

0:04:27.680 --> 0:04:30.800
<v Speaker 1>your home be a window into who you are. It

0:04:30.839 --> 0:04:33.159
<v Speaker 1>can also remind you of the parts of your identity

0:04:33.680 --> 0:04:37.600
<v Speaker 1>that you love the most. If you think about stories

0:04:37.640 --> 0:04:39.840
<v Speaker 1>your home or your workspace tells, I'd love to hear

0:04:39.880 --> 0:04:43.640
<v Speaker 1>about it. You can reach me at Laura at Laura

0:04:43.760 --> 0:04:50.120
<v Speaker 1>vandercam dot com. In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks

0:04:50.120 --> 0:04:54.479
<v Speaker 1>for listening, and here's to making the most of our time.

0:05:00.920 --> 0:05:05.400
<v Speaker 1>Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas,

0:05:05.520 --> 0:05:08.920
<v Speaker 1>or feedback, you can reach me at Laura at Laura

0:05:09.040 --> 0:05:18.320
<v Speaker 1>vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia.

0:05:18.960 --> 0:05:22.960
<v Speaker 1>For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit the iHeartRadio app,

0:05:23.240 --> 0:05:26.480
<v Speaker 1>Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.