Beauty is Not a Luxury

For that matter, luxury is not a luxury.

I’m sick to death of the pervasive feeling that buying one more thing is going to make my life more beautiful, convenient or luxurious.

But that’s what we’ve been told. That’s what we’ve been sold. We’re constantly inundated with micro trends, influencer products and thousands of overwhelming pins. Being told that we need to buy more to create beauty & luxury is disempowering because it’s a never-ending pursuit.

Beauty already exists all around us — we just have to notice it. When we do, we might remember that we don’t need more stuff to create a beautiful home — we just need to define what beauty means to us, and appreciate what’s already in plain sight.

Notice what’s hiding in plain sight

Walk outside barefoot at sunset. Gaze at an heirloom passed down generations and ponder the day it was made. Stare dramatically at a houseplant for a little longer than normal — like really — romanticize your life. It might sound played out by now, but it will alter your brain chemistry. It’s science!

I’m not trying to gaslight you into denying yourself beautiful things you want to buy. I’m suggesting that before we click “add to cart,” we truly take stock of what feeling we’re chasing through that purchase. Is it beauty? Is it luxury? Something else? Our impulses tell us a lot about what it is we’re actually craving if we slow down and listen before we act.

You already have the keys to the kingdom

One of my favorite concepts I’ve adopted over the last few years is the idea that I don’t need to possess something just because I find it beautiful. Simply appreciating beauty is a luxury, and you can access that without ever swiping your card. Slow down, look around and admire something you find beautiful for a few minutes.

Did you know that witnessing beauty sends safety signals to your nervous system? Simply spending time admiring something you find beautiful tells your body that you’re safe and at ease, releasing oxytocin and lowering stress hormones. Google it!

Make it visceral

Feel the breeze on your skin and the sunlight on your cheeks. Hear the subtle rustling of leaves on the trees and remember they’re alive- and they’re home to entire ecosystems of life we’ll never pay attention to. You can’t bottle these feelings. You can’t pay for them. Luxury is a feeling, and it’s free if you know how to tap into it.

This is the magic of Alchemy of Home — we can make meaning of the mundane and find beauty in the “ordinary.”

Chasing the dopamine hit of buying that new piece of décor or overhauling a room means nothing if we don’t slow down and create meaningful connections with the process. Once you can witness beauty in the mundane and connect to what already exists within your world, you’re well on your way to connecting to your own sense of inner magic and creativity. That is truly luxurious.

Beauty is all around us, and we can harness the magic of it simply by noticing its existence.

Unlock the gate

Once we stop outsourcing beauty and luxury, we feel more present, more fulfilled and more grateful. We stop making empty purchases and start filling our homes and lives with things that make us feel something, that inspire joy and that reconnect us with meaning.

If you’re thinking about beginning a creative home project, and you want to foster intentional beauty and luxury in your home, I’d love to help you dig deeper than trends and surface-level aesthetics.

I created a hands-on design workbook called The Foundry Formula that’s chock full of guidance, practical design tips, and reflective questions to help you connect with what you find beautiful, and bring that vision to life — on your timeline and within your budget. You can download The Foundry Formula right here.

If you want a Formula customized just for you, book your free consultation with me today, and we’ll start the Alchemy of Home together.

Thanks for reading today.

With Warmth & Wonder

Liz | Alchemy of Home

P.S.

If you haven’t yet, be sure to sign up for my newsletter, The Alchemy Archive. It delivers every other Sunday, and when you sign up, you’ll get my free starter guide: Alchemy 101: The Foundry Formula.