One summer, I went with my friend Hope and one of her friends to Cape Cod. I have had an affinity for decorating elements that remind me of that trip ever since. So when Mel got married and moved out of our apartment, this little bathroom shelf – charming, quaint, Cape-Cod-y – was one of the items I commandeered. It’s still one of my favorite things in my apartment.
One of my other roommates was a Drawing/Painting major, and then she switched to Fashion Design. I loved living with her. Not only do we get along really well, but our apartment looked like an art gallery.
That was also the downside. There was barely an inch of the wall that wasn’t covered. For someone who enjoys a lot of white space, this could be stressful.
To combat the stress, she and I made a deal: I got one shelf in the house that was my point of sanity. It would be decorated, but nothing else could be stacked in it. Ever. It would remain the one place I could look if I ever just needed to see a space that wasn’t packed as full as it could possibly be packed.
She happily obliged.
Now I live alone, and most of my shelves stay pretty uncluttered. They hold books and the items that they’re meant to hold, but shelves are the least likely place in my house to get cluttered.
Every time I look at this shelf, though, it reminds me of Cape Cod and my point of sanity shelf. It makes me feel peaceful.
What place in your house is designed to bring you peace?
I am taking 31 Days of Shelfies and writing about them.
M. Suzanne Terry 
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