In search of a bigger picture

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the studio bigger picture

I am experiencing a micro panic attack as I stare at the paint, brushes, nails, hooks and endless rolls of wall paper in the giant B&Q store near Manchester. Remembering that I rarely go out without iphone6, and therefore feeling slightly relieved I tap the app folder on the screen, “bohemian studio decor ideas” I typed in Pinterest and there you have it, all kind of finished room ideas in front of me, from plants to shabby chic and weird.

With the finished picture in my head, I called the shop assistant and explained needed Pompeii Red, Orange and Blue colours mixed for the walls, eBay for rustic furniture and Habitat for the details that matter, like candle holders and cushions for the afternoon nap…

This was the story of our studio decoration journey, but really, is not life filled with endless paints, brushes, nails and everything else we need to create picture perfect lifestyle, in fact the choice of what we can have and access to is so overwhelmingly vast that unless there is a bigger picture of what we truly desire, it’s easy to get stuck in the details, right? or perhaps it’s just me;)

My latest decorating experience also got me thinking about the business, how with so many tools, and books, and everything
else that is available at the fingertips designed to make life easier, how easy it is to get stuck in the details so much so that we can sometimes miss the bigger picture of what we are building in the first place.

So what is the bigger picture anyways? Obviously, it depends to whom you are talking to at various stages of life. In my early to mid 20s, the bigger picture was to have fun with friends, travel and enjoy good company. While all of the above still stands, priorities have certainly shifted come late 20s early 30s. These days (like in my later 30s ;)) I enjoy saying no to a lot of things that does not quite fit the next bigger picture, but I still need a good App to remind me of the bigger picture from home decorations to lifestyle aspirations.

Philosophy aside, how do you build a bigger picture anyways?

These days you can easily find over 100 valid things to do in order to grow anything from clients to upside down plants, but equally with such choice comes an overwhelm and the inevitable moments of being frozen on the spot.

First of all…

(And that is my experience of course) The easier thing to do is to stop staring at Facebook, emails, books, Google, do this and do that step by step guides and just breeze. I am more of a … I’ll meditate when I am desperate… kind of meditator, but every time I do, it does make me feel less cluttered in mind. So doing whatever makes us feel less stuck in the details sounds like a good start.

Secondly…

Thinking of the bigger picture is an experience in itself, after all, why bother to do anything if it does not lead to something that really satisfies the needs of a person?

For example, over the last 3 years, we have renovated and rebuilt 3 apartments in Tbilisi, Georgia. Being from Georgia, for me, the bigger picture has always been to allow culture curious travellers enjoy the apartments in the most authentic way when they visited Tbilisi. It felt rather satisfying to know our guests would visit local bakeries, coffee shops, supermarkets, underground theatres etc, because all of those support the local economy that has a direct effect to the bigger economy and the well-being of the city we love.

With such picture in mind, it was an exciting experience to plan the look and feel of the apartments, picking items from the Flea Market gave myself and my husband pleasure knowing travellers would appreciate the localism and the piece of culture, and they do.

So I have learnt that the bigger picture is very personal.

Of course, other times my personal bigger picture can be directly linked to the next holiday destinations, but that’s my selfish side of course 😉

So, there you go. I have accepted that sometimes my bigger pictures are material and other times more patriotic in nature, and still learning, but hopefully not far from being a mini-meditator on the bigger pictures in life.

How do you build a bigger picture?
What does it mean to you? and do you ever feel getting stuck in the details? 🙂

Love,
Tamara x

P.S. Oh, here’s us getting stuck in the details of paint, brushes, and nails 😉

the studio details

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