Angled wall with two windows and a door in our breakfast nook. The left window has the blinds open as slats. The window in the middle has the blinds pulled all the way up. The door has a full glass panel with white mini-blinds open inside the glass. To the left, in front of the left window, there is a yellow cart with a plant on it. A yellow light fixture sits on the floor next to the cart.
home observations

Waking Up the House

by Mary

In a new house, I’m forming new habits.

One thing I’ve found myself doing every morning is opening curtains and blinds room-by-room. I refer to this as “waking up the house.”

Our living room with dark turquoise couch against dark blue curtains that are closed. There are white shelves serving as end tables on each side of the couch with lamps on them. There is a wood coffee table in the foreground.
Our living room with dark turquoise couch against dark blue curtains that are closed. There are white shelves serving as end tables on each side of the couch with lamps on them. There is a wood coffee table in the foreground.
Our living room with dark turquoise couch against the window. The dark blue curtains are open. There are white shelves serving as end tables on each side of the couch with lamps on them. There is a wood coffee table in the foreground.
Our living room with dark turquoise couch against the window. The dark blue curtains are open. There are white shelves serving as end tables on each side of the couch with lamps on them. There is a wood coffee table in the foreground.
Our formal dining room with no table. It has a credenza on the right side with two lamps and a painting of an iceberg by our son Ian on the right. The curtains over the sliding glass door are closed.
Our formal dining room with no table. It has a credenza on the right side with two lamps and a painting of an iceberg by our son Ian on the right. The curtains over the sliding glass door are closed.
Our formal dining room with no table. It has a credenza on the right side with two lamps and a painting of an iceberg by our son Ian on the right. The curtains over the sliding glass door are open to reveal the sun room beyond.
Our formal dining room with no table. It has a credenza on the right side with two lamps and a painting of an iceberg by our son Ian on the right. The curtains over the sliding glass door are open to reveal the sun room beyond.
Angled wall with two windows and a door in our breakfast nook. The windows have closed white blinds. The door has a full glass panel with white mini-blinds closed inside the glass. To the left, in front of the left window, there is a yellow cart with a plant on it. A yellow light fixture sits on the floor next to the cart.
Angled wall with two windows and a door in our breakfast nook. The windows have closed white blinds. The door has a full glass panel with white mini-blinds closed inside the glass. To the left, in front of the left window, there is a yellow cart with a plant on it. A yellow light fixture sits on the floor next to the cart.
Angled wall with two windows and a door in our breakfast nook. The left window has the blinds open as slats. The window in the middle has the blinds pulled all the way up. The door has a full glass panel with white mini-blinds open inside the glass. To the left, in front of the left window, there is a yellow cart with a plant on it. A yellow light fixture sits on the floor next to the cart.
Angled wall with two windows and a door in our breakfast nook. The left window has the blinds open as slats. The window in the middle has the blinds pulled all the way up. The door has a full glass panel with white mini-blinds open inside the glass. To the left, in front of the left window, there is a yellow cart with a plant on it. A yellow light fixture sits on the floor next to the cart.

While I used to open curtains in the morning in our old house, there weren’t as many to open (just a couple) and I didn’t open them one after the other, like I do in this house.

I just have to let the daylight in and, in the process, wake myself up, too.

In the evening, as dusk falls, I reverse the process and put the house to sleep.