Through Two Sets of Eyes

Here's a thought for decorating mythically and adding enchantment to your home: First see your home through the eyes of an adult, and then see your home through the eyes of a child.

The house should be useful and practical, appealing to the senses and showing some sort of unifying theme of color or style (or multiple styles that somehow work together). But then once the "bones" of the decorations are in place, you can and should approach the rooms again, looking through the eyes of your child self. Did you love dragons? Tilt at windmills? Read fairy tales? Have invisible friends? Starting the decoration of a room by keeping in mind the "rules" of decorating just means that when you reach the second phase, you can feel free to break every rule you just made, and create a chaotic wonderland just for you. Hang paper chains from the doorways. Attach fairy wings to the wall when you aren't wearing them. Paint your ceiling with glow-in the dark stars. The sky was the limit to your imagination when you were a child. Try to rediscover what you dreamed about, and make it a reality as an adult. Create a home that the younger-you would enter and stare around in thrilled awe.


Penelope's room, from the movie of the same name. I could hardly pay attention during the scenes in the movie where her room was featured.