I believe your home tells a story about who you are and who you aspire to be. We represent ourselves through the things we own. I don't believe in trends. I believe in collecting things that you connect with. We should surround ourselves with things we care about, that have meaning.
Interpretation
Your home reflects your identity and aspirations through the things you choose to keep.
In this quote, Nate Berkus emphasizes the importance of personal connection to the items we display in our homes. Rather than conforming to fleeting trends, he advocates for a curated collection of meaningful possessions that represent our individuality and values, suggesting that our living spaces should be a true reflection of who we are and what we cherish.
In practice
During a home decor workshop to inspire personal expression.
About 80 percent of the stuff I live with is old. I like letting things take on the character they’re meant to have by really being used. … when you own things that have the imperfections they deserve, that they’ve earned from a well-lived life, it frees you from feeling as though they’re untouchable.
I see it every day: People trying to create a home that somebody else tells them they should have. I don't care if it's a magazine or a bossy friend - when somebody says, 'This is what's elegant, this is what's trendy,' if it doesn't represent you, you're not going to be happy.
In improvisation, there are no mistakes.
I understand that people want to just listen to a track and put it on their iPod, and that's fine, there's nothing wrong with that, but why can't that exist hand in hand with an album? They're such different experiences.
I just assumed the world was full of solo percussionists. I couldn't find sticks or music or anything where I was, but that was expected because there was nothing there anyway. And I think that was possibly the greatest asset for me, just not knowing.
The artist appeals to that part of our being...which is a gift and not an acquisition - and, therefore, more permanently enduring.
The fantasy that appeals most to people is the kind that's rooted thoroughly in somebody looking around a corner and thinking, 'What if I wandered into this writer's people here?' If you've done your job and made your people and your settings well enough, that adds an extra dimension that you can't buy.
All writers write about the past, and I try to make it come alive so you can see what happened.
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