The Butterfly Effect and the Mudroom

I've had butterflies on my brain since the first post I wrote, which focused on my personal metamorphosis. It brought to mind the "Butterfly Effect". Have you heard of this?   The Butterfly Effect is a real, honest-to-goodness scientific principle, which, simply put, says that the slightest change to one thing can have a huge affect on something seemingly unrelated.  An example often given is that a butterfly flapping its wings in Mexico can cause a hurricane in Florida.  I got to thinking that maybe if I renovated my mud room, it would precipitate some ideas as to how I might re-invent myself, now that I've given up my career. You see, according to the Feng Shui map, or the "Bagua Chart," my mud room is in the Wisdom, Knowledge and Inspiration corner of my house. So if renovating any room in my house could possibly have a Butterfly Effect on my path to self-awareness, it had to be the mud room.  I don't think that sounds any more far-fetched
than a butterfly flitting around my backyard causing a tornado half way around the world, does it?
What the heck, I gave it a try. 

Here's what I started with...the mud room was off the charts in terms of the "blah" factor, and it was totally lacking function. You can see how this room was in no way, going to inspire my next evolution of self.  I was going to have to do something pretty dramatic if I had any hopes that its transformation would have a "Butterfly Effect" on my personal journey towards self-enlightment. 

The first thing I did was call my good friend, Nadine, from Closets By Design. We showed her a magazine clipping of some built-in cubbies we liked. She measured, sketched, consulted with her team, and measured some more. We barely had time to clear out all of the junk, before her team came to install it.

Pretty fabulous, right?  I was salivating at the thought of how organized we were going to be, and what life-changing revelation would come as a result. 
 

We painted the walls "Elemental" green, from Benjamin Moore's Affinity collection. This turned out to be an auspicious choice, because years ago, when I had a Feng Shui expert come to my house, she said that this room  needed to be green, given its location in the house. I really didn't remember that until recently, when I looked back at my notes.  So I was relieved that I hadn't painted it yellow, or grey, because that would have totally ruined any chance of my gaining wisdom and inspiration as a result of my mud room's face-lift. 

A few accessories finished the job. I'm still working on the long wall across from the cabinetry, and I'll post it as soon as it's done. 

I never used to let anyone walk through my mud room without blind-folding them.  Now, I'm so pleased with it, I'm thinking of serving Thanksgiving dinner in here next year. Unfortunately, I can't say that my mud room's transformation had any real affect on helping me to figure out what I might want to do next in my life...but I did just see a severe weather warning for a tornado in Kansas. Uh-oh. 

Amy

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