Especially as we grow in years, our home is the only place where we have a sense of total control over our lives. Everything else, the “outside world,” is not under our command (at least not completely). Our homes are places of recreation: they are the spaces where we re-create ourselves.

So, why not benefit from this amazing “indoor power” to program yourself for health, love, joy and growth?

Your Home Is All About You: What You See Is What You Get

In times of change or turmoil, your home is a precious resource. It is not only a safe haven but also the place that supports you in reinventing yourself. If you let it.

Your home mirrors you: your values, your degree of self-love, your life’s journey. You are the product of the average five people you surround yourself with on a regular basis. You also are the product of the space that surrounds you, day and night. Choose wisely who and what you surround yourself with.

7 Tips to Reinvent Yourself at Home

It is as simple as this: What you put in is what you get out. What you see is what you get.

1. Unlock Your Hidden Treasures: Make Yourself Seen

You hardly ever go out? Most of your beautiful garments, jewelry or other beloved objects sadly linger around in drawers and closets (because you are not ready to let go of them yet)? Free them! Show your treasures to yourself. Make them seen – and make yourself seen:

• Instead of a throw, drape your fancy shawl over your sofa. Change it with the seasons. Or every week – if you feel like it. It´s OK to have a Hermès shawl on your daybed.
• Put that gorgeous expensive lace tablecloth over a curtain rod.
• Dress your chair with that beautifully patterned dress that you´ve grown out of. You´ll be surprised by how well some garments “fit” onto chairs.
• Decorate your walls, artwork and mirrors with your colourful jewelry.
• Upgrade your sofa pillows (or curtains) with sparkling brooches.
• Give that glamorous handbag a chance to show off its beauty on the bookshelf.
• Keep it intentional. Only surround yourself with objects you love.

2. Widen Your Horizon: Spice Up Your Walls

Your home is too small to expose all the artwork (grandkids’ paintings, photographs) that have accumulated over the years?

• Change them. Regularly. Your eyes get tired from looking at the familiar for too long. By changing the images on your walls, you refresh your outlook and honour objects that might otherwise stay unseen in a drawer.
• Rotate them! From east to west, from bedroom to kitchen walls.
• Try out a gallery wall with not just one fine artwork but the abundance of a dozen colourful pieces, placed in 3 or 4 rows above one another. That´s called the Eremitage or Petersburg arrangement (after the famous museum). Have fun with it. Be playful. Be courageous. Arrange the objects on the floor first. This way, it´s easy to shift them around before you stick nails into your walls. If you don´t like it, try a new arrangement. I have never heard a wall say “ouch.” Give yourself the chance to check out new (indoor) horizons.

You have no artwork, no photographs, nothing on your walls? It might be time to experiment!

• The menu of your favorite coffee place may be a fun addition to your kitchen wall. Frame it.
• Do the same with your children’s Mother’s Day cards (if you keep them) or the chocolate cake recipe so beautifully handwritten by your beloved grandmother.
• Cut out pictures from travel magazines or your favourite journals and frame them as well.
• Greeting cards, postcards, colourful ads may be another creative addition to cheer up your walls.
• Why not paint or draw a little something yourself? Take photographs with your mobile phone. Visit galleries, get inspired.

3. Ready for Change? Turn Things Upside Down and Inside Out

Turn That Persian Carpet Upside Down

This tip is from a renowned interior designer in Manhattan. Some outspokenly colourful carpet patterns may look more elegant on the other side where the colours are usually less intense. Also, the pattern on the bottom may be less bold and resemble the washed-out bohemian look that people spend much money on.

Turn Those Pillowcases Inside Out

Bleached-out fabrics may appear as fresh as new on their inside. Or, if the inside is more subtle and lighter coloured, this can create a pleasant light “seaside style” summer look.

Rearrange Your China Cabinet

Are your tea mugs getting bored by just hanging out in the lefthand corner? Put them somewhere else. Give other dishes the chance for a runway presence. Sort them by colour or mix them wildly. Don´t strive for perfection, as “perfect” may lack the juice of life. Give yourself a fresh new outlook. It´s all under your control.

4. Celebrate the Present and Plan the Future: Check Your Photographs!

Count the number of dead people on the photographs you surround yourself with. If it’s the majority, and you wish to continue living in a healthy, joyful, saying-yes-to-life manner: reduce them. Let the number of the living outgrow the number of the deceased by far.

This is not disrespectful. Your loved ones live in your heart anyway. Your heart is the safest place on earth where nothing of true meaning can ever be taken away. The space that surrounds you needs to be filled with truly nurturing messages of life, growth and love. Filling your space with life is filling it with alive people, smiling at and with you. People who speak to you of the present and of a pleasant future.

Just like the uterus is filled with all the warm, nurturing, comforting and growth-enabling ingredients the embryo needs. Let your space caress and comfort you, nurture you, make you feel safe and filled with the promise of a joyful, healthy and meaningful future life.

5. Go with the Flow: Make the Seasons Visible

Your clothing changes from head to toe with the seasons (unless you live on Paradise Island or one of the Poles). It´s only fair to change your home´s decorations too: from door wreath to sofa throw. This shows that you are connected to and flowing with the constant change of life. You are dynamic and embrace change as an opportunity to thrive.

Remember to also change photographs with the seasons. In summertime, replace the family Christmas card with the grandchildren´s group snapshot on the beach. Make the effort. Honoring the different seasons of the year is honoring your space and your life as it unfolds.

6. Get Moving: Rotate Your Stuff!

Once you have found that “perfect” spot for you-name-it, you may be tempted to leave it there forever. After all, we are creatures of habit. This can get quite boring over time. Just like a vacation refreshes our energies by change of environment, culture and pace of life, you can refresh your indoor horizon by moving your furniture. No need to buy anything new (unless you want to).

Move the carpet just a few inches or lay it out diagonally. Turn the sofa at just a slightly different angle, facing a faintly different corner of your home – perspectives change instantly. Try it out. Play with it. Surprise yourself with the many choices you will detect even in the smallest of rooms. How rewarding to experience the power of change inside of you. It reminds you that you are a powerful creator.

Be bold. Nothing bad ever happens from questioning a given furniture arrangement. Remember that our own physical bodies are masters of renewal and change. We produce 6 new bladders, 8 tracheas, 18 livers and 200 gastric outlets every single year. Our stem cells turn into any cell needed at a given moment. If we weren´t designed as such highly adaptable creatures, we would have joined the dinosaurs a long time ago.

Don´t be a dinosaur in your home. Be a stem cell instead.

7. Leave Space for Miracles

Honour the past, celebrate the present and always leave space for the future. Even at 100+, there will be another day, another morning. And if it were only one more day: wouldn´t it be great if a charming little miracle showed up right in time?

Keep that one surface (on a table, console, nightstand, bookshelf) empty. Even if it takes a lot of discipline. Certain spots just seem to attract “stuff.” Make the effort. Keep it empty for at least 4 weeks. Focus on what unexpected sweet surprise this little empty spot may draw into your life. Be proud of yourself for keeping your options open. You never know. Make space for miracles. When they arrive: Celebrate them!

Let’s Have a Conversation:

Have unexpected positive situations or encounters entered your life lately? Do you have a miracle to share? Have you experimented with your furniture and décor? Let´s talk about experimenting. Let´s talk about the transformative power of our homes!

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Mosaic art is an enchanting age-old technique that continues to captivate artists and crafters alike. The Romans and Greeks used mosaics to decorate their floors, walls, pools and gardens. In more recent times, the Spanish artist Gaudi used the technique to create fabulous installations, covering whole buildings in mosaic.

By combining different colours, textures, and shapes, you can create beautiful and functional objects. It’s also a lovely way to use broken but meaningful crockery instead of throwing it away.

Materials You Need

• Safety goggles
• Protective leather gloves – mosaic pieces can be sharp
• Dust mask
• Small mosaic tiles, sea glass or broken pieces of crockery, plus any smaller items you may like to include such as small pebbles, beads, buttons and shells
• Base object (e.g., picture frame etc.)
• Mosaic adhesive or clear-drying glue
• Trowel or palette knife to spread glue, mortar etc
• Grout and grouting gloves
• Grout applicator
• Sponge and water
• Thick tea towel and a small hammer (gently break crockery pieces by folding it in the tea towel and hitting gently with a hammer – wear goggles)
• Tile nippers in case you want to shape pieces
• Grout sealer (for outdoor projects)

General Directions

Always take safety seriously when you do mosaic – tiles and broken crockery can be sharp, and pieces can fly. Always wear a mask, goggles and use appropriate safety gloves and work in a well-ventilated space.

Attach your tiles or other mosaic materials with appropriate glue. The type you choose depends on whether your mosaic is for indoor or outdoor use, and whether you are using mosaic on a horizontal or vertical surface. There is a good run down of what to use here.

Allow the adhesive to dry for 24 hours before grouting. Mix the grout in a disposable container (if you are not using ready-mix) according to the manufacturer’s instructions – wear a mask to avoid inhalation of any powders.

The grout should be the consistency of thick smooth oatmeal. Once mixed, allow the grout to stand for 10 minutes then stir and apply. Use protective gloves when applying grout – it is non-toxic but very drying and some people find their skin can react badly.

Apply grout with a grout spreader and push it into the entire depth of any gaps. Sculpt the edges with a palette knife for a smooth finish. Wipe away any excess grout immediately with a damp (not wet) sponge; it is very hard to remove once dry. Never dispose of grout down a drain, or wash containers in a sink (hence using a disposable container for your mix) as it can block the drain.

Let the piece rest for 30 minutes (have a nice coffee and sit in the garden) and you will see a haze on the tiles. Wipe this off with a clean dampened cloth and buff them gently with a dry cloth.

NOTE: Do not use paper towels as they will leave fluff on your grout.

Once grout is fully dry – leave for a day or two – it can be sealed for extra protection if required. Enjoy your mosaic pieces and the unique nature of their beauty!

What Can I Make with Mosaic?

1. Mosaic Picture Frames

Upgrade a simple flat picture frame into a vibrant piece of art. Choose small tiles that match your room’s décor – or use seasonal colours for a picture frame to display Halloween or Christmas photos. Lay out your tiles before you start to make a pleasing pattern or random arrangement. When you are happy with your design, you can begin.

2. Sea Glass Mosaic Candle Holders

Illuminate your space with a memory of the beach and long summer afternoons – or blustery winter walks! Apply small, translucent pieces of flat sea glass to a clear heat proof glass container. When a candle is lit inside these lovely candle holders, the design will glow with soft diffused light.

3. Mosaic Flower Pots

Add some mosaic charm to your flower pots. This is a great way to use random shapes of broken crockery in a chintzy, cottage-garden design. Create a design around the rim of your pots for a unique decoration. Ensure you seal the design properly if you plan to use it outdoors.

4. Mosaic Stepping Stones for Garden Borders

Have you ever tried to plant or weed a deep border without stepping on and – horror of horrors! – compressing the soil? Add artistic flair with a few well-placed mosaic stepping stones to match the design and colours of your flowerbeds. Attach textured (you don’t want to slip!) mosaic pieces to small inexpensive concrete pavers. Ensure you seal them for outdoor use.

5. Mosaic Tabletop

Why not turn a tired old patio table into a stunning centerpiece with a mosaic tabletop? Design a colourful pattern or a scenic landscape using mosaic tiles or broken crockery. Cups and dishes with gilding are particularly pretty used in this way. Don’t forget to use a sealer for weather resistance.

6. Mosaic Wall Art

Unleash your creativity on a canvas with a mosaic masterpiece. Draw your design on a piece of plywood and position your pieces of mosaic or crockery inside the design for a pleasing effect before you stick them down.

Make sure, if you are using random pieces, that the gaps between are not too wide for the best effect. Whether it’s a simple geometric pattern or a more detailed picture, the possibilities are endless. If you use sealant for outdoor use, you can use this method to create a house number for your door.

7. Mosaic Coasters

Create colourful, useful pieces of art by transforming ordinary plain coasters with small mosaic tiles. These will protect your tables but also add a unique bespoke flair to your decor.

8. Mosaic Mirrors

Spruce up an old, thrifted or tired plain mirror by adding a mosaic frame. You can even use mirror or glass mosaic pieces to enhance the reflective quality, creating a stunning conversation piece that adds dimension and light to any room. Using abalone faced tiles and pieces of sea glass can add a touch of mermaid magic to your bathroom!

If you have a go at any of these mosaic projects, we’d love to hear about your experiences and see your photos, so please share them here in the comments and on our Facebook page.

Let’s Have a Conversation:

Have you ever made any mosaics? What did you make? Was any aspect of making mosaic art difficult? What would you like to mosaic – a mirror, a table – or something more unusual?