Other People’s Houses: Live, Laugh, Love
Home should be a sanctuary. Like a mid-range spa, or a beauty salon. Neutral shades on the walls; lots of greys and whites, because they feel so reassuringly bland. You’re planning to paint the walls greige when you redecorate, an even more relaxing colour. You’re thinking Elephant’s Breath for the living room. You want everything to be calm and soothing to the point of sterility. The overall aesthetic should suggest that at any moment, someone might call you in to another room and wax your bikini line.
You’re not basic. You’re shabby chic. You’d like to tell people you distressed the furniture yourself, but most of it is pre-traumatised in factories. Who has the time to thrift for pieces and take a blow torch to them, or mess around with crazy chemicals when you have kids in the house? Not that the kids are allowed to touch anything downstairs. They might knock a Mason jar candle off a table and start a house fire, the little idiots. Those bouclé throws are highly flammable.
Inside the Live, Laugh, Love house. Photo by Georgina Bruce.
You don’t have to be a wine mom to live here, but it definitely helps. The wine helps, anyway. You drink the same rosé as Taylor Swift does – or at least, you decant your cheaper rosé into the same bottle you saw in her Instagram story. The girls in the book club won’t know the difference. On the evenings when it’s not book club, you enjoy your wine alone as you review all the messages you’ve left for yourself on the walls. Live Laugh Love. That’s a great one. It reminds you to stay positive. You are a Babe in Total Control of Herself, after all. And it’s Good Vibes Only here. You blink back your tears. Pull yourself together, Girl. You’re fine.
Inside the Live, Laugh, Love house. Photo by Georgina Bruce.
It would be nice if your husband joined you for a glass or two, but he’s always so busy with his work and hobbies. The great thing is that he lets you have total say over the décor, except in his Man Cave, of course. He’s painted that black, because it makes his gaming setup look super cool. Sometimes you wonder how much he really cares about you, but the sign over the mirror reminds you that Life is short. Forgive quickly, kiss slowly. When you go to kiss your husband these days, he turns his head away and starts muttering about getting back to his Call of Duty session. But remember, Happiness is a Choice. And You Got This, Girl!
You dance like nobody’s watching, because no one ever is. You’re a better dancer than Taylor Swift, even if you do say so yourself. After a few more glasses of rosé, you’re a better dancer than Beyoncé. If the music’s too loud, you’re too old! But you should probably turn it down a bit on a school night. Or maybe your husband will come in and turn it off altogether, the grump! It would be nice to get his attention for once. Just to sit together among the bouclé throws and scatter cushions and watch Emily in Paris on Netflix.
Inside the Live, Laugh, Love house. Photo by Georgina Bruce.
Well, Dream Big – that’s what it says on the bedroom wall, and that’s what you do. You dream about a time before all this beige. A time when you didn’t have such a perfect life. The husband, the kids, the tastefully decorated home, the Instagram stories, all of it. A time when your home was full of random bits and pieces you’d picked up or been given, and it didn’t all match and tone perfectly. When life was a bit messy and you sometimes had sex on the sofa and didn’t worry about getting faux fur stuck in your crack. The old days, when you were happy.
Did you say happy? That must be the rosé talking. How could you be happier than you are right now? You Live fully, Laugh wildly, Love deeply. And if you ever forget that your life is wonderful, there’s always a message somewhere to remind you.
You have a slogan for every situation, so you don’t ever run the risk of thinking for yourself. Your inner world is painted on the walls, printed on mugs, and embroidered on pillows. You hug a cushion printed with the words Life is Beautiful and you feel so relieved. Life is beautiful, it really is. Your home is beautiful. Everyone says so. And when you’re in your downstairs bathroom having a panic attack at two in the morning, just seeing those giant seashells and pieces of painted driftwood makes you feel calmer. You are enough.
Inside the Live, Laugh, Love house. Photo by Georgina Bruce.
