i’m happy to feature kirsten krason of sixth street design school  for today’s monday mess.  kirsten is a momma of two, a blogger and an interior designer.  i love kirsten’s colorful style which often includes beautiful textiles.  i loved her recent series, good design with kids in mind, and the reveal of  her new land of nod  playroom (you know i love me some land of nod…see our land of nod playroom here).  kirsten has a great eye for design and many great tips over on her blog.  now for her mess . . .

My desk is always a mess. It seems that no matter how hard I try, I can not keep it clutter free. I usually clear a small space in front of my keyboard so I can work and I just pile things up on the sides. I would love to get this space totally organized and clean. It’s hard to design beautiful homes when I am surrounded by this mess!

Because I am an Interior Designer I like to have my favorite fabrics handy. I usually end up spreading fabric out on my loveseat in my office so I can see what I am working on and keep track of the fabric I need to order. Although this is a huge mess it’s a beautiful mess and I don’t really mind it. Beautiful fabric on display only makes me happy!

We live in a small home so I am constantly going through and de-cluttering each room of my house. I am very careful about the things I allow to stay in my home. I can never understand when I go to see a client and they tell me how much they hate a piece in their home and I want to say, “then just get rid of it!”. It’s as if they think they need to have something to replace it with before they can let it go. I say, live with empty spaces for awhile until you find the perfect piece. Don’t fill your house up just to fill it up. Make careful decisions about everything you allow in your house. If you don’t love something then get rid of it!

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beautiful mess, yes (that fabric!!!)?  i have loved that quote for sometime and pondered on it, thinking how i’d like to adopt this mantra, and always coming short in this area.  i so relate to the clients kirsten refers to that have pieces in their home that they kind of hate.  i have no problem with a space being empty until i can find (or afford) what i love but what i do struggle with is getting rid of something, even if i don’t like it.  i always think about how i might need it later or where it came from or how it is a good quality piece and what a shame it would be to get rid of it….all the while loathing it every time i look at it.  i’d love to know, dear reader, do you do this to or do you part easily with things that you don’t love?

i have a brown leather loveseat in my kitchen that i’m just not crazy about and this weekend i put it on craigslist….before i even read kirsten’s words.  i feel like i might be making some progress.  now fingers crossed, someone buys it.

images : kirsten krason