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Kate's Five Things #53

1 week ago | housecall.substack.com | Kate Arends

Some ideas arrive like a full sentence dropped into your lap. Clear, sharp, whole. I've been paying attention to those lately. The ones I almost scroll past in my own mind. When I’m in a creation hole (where I currently reside), I am reminded that making is my kind of religion. I used to rush towards the product. Now, I see this process being just for me. Whatever I share becomes the thing I give up.
The 3 Spaces Where I Feel Most at Peace in Our Home

2 weeks ago | housecall.substack.com | Kate Arends

For me, the most powerful spaces in my home are the ones that help me slip into a sense of flow. They’re intuitive because they’re designed around what I do in them—not just how they look in a photo. A couple of weeks ago, I found myself sitting in the middle of the hallway floor. It’s not exactly a spot I would consider my space, but I had paused there to catch my breath before wrangling two defiant kids into the car for school.
Kate's Five Things #52

3 weeks ago | housecall.substack.com | Kate Arends

I spent last week at Esalen Institute, where the cliffs drop into the ocean and everyone wears the same expression of hopeful skepticism. I went to "work" on self-trust and inner wisdom, which is like saying you're going to schedule spontaneity. I know this because people make a specific facial expression when they're trying to feel something they're not feeling yet. I made this face for three straight days.
What I’m Eyeing from West Elm’s New Pierce & Ward Collection

3 weeks ago | housecall.substack.com | Kate Arends

Today’s bonus House Call post is brought to you by our friends at West Elm and is available to all subscribers. Thank you for supporting me at House Call!When I heard about West Elm’s latest collaboration with interior design studio Pierce & Ward, I immediately perked up. Known for their eclectic, layered, and soulful interiors, Pierce & Ward bring a fresh, collected feel to every space they touch—and this collection is no exception. This collaboration has soul.
What to Do If You’re Second-Guessing Your Taste

4 weeks ago | housecall.substack.com | Kate Arends

If you’ve ever second-guessed your taste—same. “Who am I?” is the question of a lifetime, so maybe let’s not expect ourselves to answer it perfectly every time we buy a rug. We like to make the small choices feel huge when we’re unsure of ourselves. It’s our way of staying safe. I have a bad habit of shooting down my own ideas the second they smack me between the eyes. Which is inconvenient, because most of my best ideas arrive this way—clear and bright, sometimes uninvited, and impossible to ignore.
My Guide to Mixing Patterns and Colors Like a Pro

4 weeks ago | housecall.substack.com | Kate Arends

Today’s bonus House Call post is brought to you by our friends at The Inside and is available to all subscribers. Thank you for supporting me at House Call! Welcome to a bonus issue of House Call. At the start of this year, I wrote down what I wanted to deliver in my newsletter, a tightening or reframing of sorts. Everything I feel called to write about is about feeling good at home through creativity and play. Designing a Home—and Life—That Feels Like You.
Kate's Five Things #51

1 month ago | housecall.substack.com | Kate Arends

I got a truly terrible haircut the spring of 2016. Too short, too choppy, impossible to fix. The cherry on top? I was seven months pregnant and 50 pounds heavier. I remember sitting in the car afterward, the warm breeze coming through the window, feeling absolutely wrecked over the injustice of it. How could the world keep spinning while I looked like this? But then, somewhere between May and June, I forgot about it. It grew out.
Kate's Five Things #50

1 month ago | housecall.substack.com | Kate Arends

I’m sitting on a pink couch, staring at my green walls. There is a book on the coffee table titled Who’s Afraid of Pink, Orange and Green?I bought it for that cheeky title. A coffee table confessional, a wink. Color hadn't taken center stage in all the homes I had lived in before. Color had been unpredictable. Hard to control. Beige, I believed, knew its place. Beige wouldn’t embarrass you.
I’ll Feel at Home Once I Get Rid of This… Right?

1 month ago | housecall.substack.com | Kate Arends

If it suddenly seems insane to expect perfection from a space meant to hold all the messy bits of life, welcome to the other side. I like to think I have a system for home organization. In reality, I swing between two extremes—some days, every object feels like a treasure, and other days, I want to throw everything away and start over. Once the garbage bags come out, nothing is safe. I know this: Too much stuff makes me anxious, but being surrounded by beautiful things makes me happy.
Kate's Five Things #49

2 months ago | housecall.substack.com | Kate Arends

We discuss:Encounters with zen at the mallThe virtues of navy eyelinerNo spend decoratingLying to ourselves when writing to-do listsForays into a natural curl era and my new favorite penTwo Space of the Week features (a series with a brand new name!)I was at MOA recently, getting my new glasses fitted at Warby Parker. I hadn’t realized they opened late—11 a.m.—which meant I had a half-hour to kill in my least favorite place in the world.