Valentine’s Day — custom-made
Valentine’s Day is right around the corner—in 10 days, our annual celebration of love will be upon us. While its associations are, of course, pretty romantic, I personally believe in a broader approach to Valentine’s Day. Love is a big, multi-faceted, complex thing, with a thousand shapes and forms. It manifests in all sorts of relationships: the love we have for significant others, certainly, but also our love for our cherished family members, our close friends, our community, our home, our world. The best way to move through the world is with love—with availability to love, however it may reach you, and however you can reflect it back. Our bonds with the people in our life are what make our lives rich, real, and meaningful. I think a day set aside to celebrate that love is a wonderful thing.
When my daughter was little, I remember picking up or making sets of Valentines with her for her classmates (remember how festive that moment was? And how fun to hear about the tasty candy treats and little trinkets received?). We always, of course, spent some time making Valentines at home, too, for our family members, our friends, and little cards for each other! It was a treasured activity—a few hours of crafting, cutting and pasting colored and patterned construction paper, trimming borders out of paper sheets of lace, dousing things in glitter and little Xs and Os sparkles that, to this day, we’re still finding around the house (those things just get everywhere!). There was intention to the act, sincerity to the practice, taking time to sit and make something handmade as an expression of love, both love of creation and love for the person who’d be receiving the Valentine.
Making something for a loved one is one of the most rewarding activities there is, I think. Not only do you get to take time to create something new—always a blessing, enriching to the spirit and the mind—but you also are able to gift someone more than just an object. A handmade gift is imbued with time, with love as translated into time. You give a little piece of your life, dedicated to your loved one. I have always found that beautiful. As a lifelong baker, seamstress, and crafter, handmade gifts are a go-to in our house. And there’s nothing we love more than when our neighbor drops by with some fresh-baked treat!
A handmade, custom item always carries a greater weight of meaning, I think. So let’s bring this around to your home: when you populate the spaces in your house, what do you want to find? Well, for one, you want quality—your furniture should embrace form and function, should be able to both meet your needs and meet them with beauty. But more than that, your home is a deeply personal place. Its borders represent a contained vision of you, the life you live, and the things you love. You house and host family and friends here—you spend so many of your hours in this space, shaping it to you. It’s a reflection of who you are and who you want to be, how you want to live.
So when you’re furnishing your home, you want your pieces to have meaning and intention—you want them to represent your needs and your tastes to the tee, without having to compromise (it’s your space, after all). And what better represents who you are, fully and truly, than an item custom-made for you?
Custom furniture is never out of reach, especially here at Woodside Home. We specialize in customization—shapes, styles, textures, fabrics, finishes, we can change and refine it all to suit you, suit what you love, and match your style. Custom, high-quality items are a way to imbue your home with authenticity—much the way a handmade, personal gift is able to convey such a weight of authentic love to the recipient!
Treat your home, and yourself, with the same kindness and attention that you’d treat a loved one. Opt for custom furnishings that are made with quality and stay true to you.
Are you ready to secure those custom pieces? Drop me a line—I’d love to help you put together the perfect, unique piece for your home!
I wish you all the happiest of Valentine’s Days. May you find some time to embrace all the varieties of love in your life—it’s a wonderful thing.