Alley Couch

We’ve been on a bit of a motivated DIY kick over here at the Lily… and it’s a fine line between trash and treasure. From experience, I've learned to never make any huge life changes during these kicks of design enthusiasm (you might end up with a teal room… or a broken bed… or… a room you want to redo every 6 months?!). 

So, I’ve conjured the mindset that the least amount of money put in, the better. Instead of quickly deeming an old scrap of wood or splint of metal “trash,” I’m more apt to call it a new curtain rod, or a headboard, or who knows… a new couch?! In this way, re-designing in my life could equally be called garbage-picking, perhaps for the less refined in their efforts. 

So - given my new outlook on life - I sent this photo to my roommate on a morning walk.

Excuse the blur. And just ignore the graffiti...

It’s obviously a dilapidated couch – but it has some potential right?! 

I later found out (thank you kind neighbor) that the couch has been there for weeks – probably rotting in mold and a new home for creatures that crawl.

Weeks?! Really?! ... Right next door?

I guess when you’re not looking for something, you rarely find it. But with eyes wide open on a hunt for apartment treasure, you find it’s all around you – in alleyways, under trainstops, hidden behind doorposts or wedged between shops.

How much beauty do I pass through everyday without a second glimpse? How many people may be struggling with a pain I have also been through sit next to me on the train? How many soft breezes or vibrant colors or still moments of peace do I experience and ignore?

Beauty is not something necessarily striking. It is found when you open your eyes to see it. And it is here. Because after I found that couch right next door, I suddenly noticed these lovely gems hidden on my street.

Neighbor's summer pots.

back of Starbucks.

red door. blue door.

finally, back home again.
even my porch steps bring me comfort & peace.

Sometimes all it takes is an upside-down couch to bring new eyes to the world HE has made.

What else am I missing because I’m not looking?

"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you." ::Matthew 7:7