I LOVE rearranging my furniture...
You might say...I am obsessed with rearranging my rooms...
and
Have you ever noticed,
that whenever you rearrange your furniture, you like your New room better?
Every time.
And have you ever noticed that your room feels bigger, prettier, more invigorating - even if you rearrange it BACK to a prior layout, one which inspired you to rearrange it previously? I am not talking about "makeovers" where loads of money is spent and architects are brought in and new things are purchased. I am simply describing that high that comes with moving your sofa to the other wall. Are you with me?
Well, I am happy to tell you that you are not alone and that in fact, there is an actual word for this "state". It is called "The Hawthorne Effect".
In a nutshell, basically the Hawthorne Effect was named for the way that subjects in a study seemed to perform better and reported higher levels of energy and self satisfaction after they changed their environments. And it is not so much how the space ACTUALLY looks, but rather that the RESULT is a change.
Change is good.
And in addition to our response to change, the original coiners of this term found a side order of information: that if the subjects were aware that they were being studied, that their energy was higher and performance was more productive.
I ALWAYS feel better after I rearrange my furniture.
It is like getting a new room. And then add to this my absolute joy at changing colors and patterns and scoping out deals to make these changes happen, it is like the Hawthorne Effect on steroids. I bet if I had certain hormones measured before and after after I rearrange a room, or paint a wall a new color, they would be higher than when I started!!!
...so give it a try...what do you have to lose?
Except maybe a little boredom!
shake it up.
Life is short!!!
There are 64 crayons in the box man!
Time to try a few more out!
Do you have a favorite room to rearrange?
I'm with you on the 'rearranging high!' I always feel better after I do so and it also allows me to clean under and around things that I don't always get to.
ReplyDeleteLooking at your pics: do you have 2 living rooms and no dining room?
Hi Carol-Anne, Yes I have 2 living rooms AND I have a dining room across the hall which adjoins the kitchen. The DR did used to be in the pink room, which you can see at the top right of the blog where it says...."my dining room in House Beautiful.com", have a great weekend and keep shaking things up! Lesli
ReplyDeleteMy house really only works one way (although you are more than welcome to come over and help me figure out another way!). So I rearrange my garden. And that makes me pretty darn happy.
ReplyDeleteI am obsessed with rerranging also.Not only does it make me feel better, it makes everything cleaner. I get to really clean behind things better because I have moved all of the furniture. I don't do this in every room. Just the main rooms I stay in.
ReplyDeleteHi Lesli, Thank you for the nice email response about Buddy- you will more from me about that. I LOVE re-arranging rooms! Just took a little break form it, actually, to see what my bloggy friends are up to! Ironic! Your rooms are so gorgeous- you make me want to try pink in my living room.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a teen, I used to rearrange my bedroom furniture every couple of months. My mom would never be surprised to see me dragging furniture around the room.
ReplyDeleteThis post has made me laugh out loud, because - you guessed it - I HAVE JUST FINISHED REARRANGING MY FAMILY ROOM - LOL! I'm SO glad that there's a name for it. Now when my husband comes home in the evening and tries to park his bottom down in a newly emptied space, I will say that it's not my fault - it's a known condition with a name - Lesli said so! ha ha! Paula x
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the comments, we should start a Hawthorne effect support group! This morning I was feeling bit like the score was HOuse-100 and ME-10 and then I read your comments and it boosted my spirits...I do understand now why the last remaining inhabitants (aged 80 and 100) closed off the entire upstairs...sometimes you just just got to eliminate the opponent!!!
ReplyDeleteNothing I love better tha a little rearranging!!! I can totally breath new life into a room......plus there is always a bag left over to go to the Goodwill! Win.....Win.
ReplyDeleteI love to rearrange too, so much fun! Your living room looks fabulous too, you can really mix up and use pattern well - I wish I could....
ReplyDeleteMy son, during teenage years, HAD to turn on lights when sneaking in...because Mom was known to rearrange furniture at drop of a hat. I still do. If you cannot buy new furniture - rearrange.
ReplyDelete