You guys. I had the weirdest dream last night.
Backstory: I’ve had a really hard time sleeping since we moved (which has never been a problem, I’m totally the type of person if I lay down for 2 minutes I’m out.) Its been rough to say the least! I think a lot of it is that I wake up and don’t feel my normal sleep orientation. Last night we repositioned our bed so that it was the same direction that it was in the old house. I was finally able to sleep a little but I had the craziest dream!
Want to help me analyze it?
I had a dream that we were back in our house (for those new to the party, we moved 3 weeks ago) and everything was different. Not in a different furniture, different family kind of way. The new owners had taken all of the things that we’d done and returned them to the original state of the house when we bought it. (This is the MLS listing from our house)
All of the brick and tile and paint were replaced with their beige counterparts.
I moved around the house in a hazy disbelief and just couldn’t wrap my head around why. Why would they take out the wood floors and put bad carpet down? Why would they change all of the lighting out for brushed nickel boob lights? WHY!? It made me feel horrible and after waking up I just can’t shake the feeling!
Do you think this is finally my brain processing the move?! Dream guru’s what does this mean!?!
You’re probably worried about permanency! I think it’s hard to leave a house with your personal imprint and allow strangers to come in and possibly change all your hard work. I think even the concept of moving into a new home, which feels more like a place in your heart than a place on the map, is such a foreign idea that it makes us remember how nothing is permanent. That’s scary, but also exciting! A whole new place to touch with your family’s unique stamp.
This is maybe a little bit of a Debbie Downer comment, but just another take – could be the Holy Spirit gently telling you that living in a home isn’t wrapped up in what it looks like. I love interior design and I’m a bit of a maximalist… Lately I’ve been really feeling called to pare down & focus on God rather than my stuff. Like I said… a downer when that need to design & create is a part of you, but maybe a reminder to put Him first before all of that? (Not assuming you’re not, just talking from personal experience!) Who knows! I also agree with McKenzie though in that I think it would be hard to leave a home you had put so much work, creativity & love into…. could be feelings of guilt like you’ve abandoned this thing you’ve given creative birth to…? Either way, love ya!
Maybe it shows you still feel a sense of ownership for the home and you are trying to work out that it is actually owned by someone else (who might have really bad taste). 🙂
I think this may be your brain trying to process that your old house isn’t yours anymore. You put a lot of yourself into that house, and you loved it, and this may be your mind’s way of telling you that you need to start letting it go and accepting that it is no longer yours.
When we sold our old house and when we sold my mother’s house, I kept having dreams about sneaking in. I wanted to see if they had done any renos, and I guess I just wanted to go back. In all of the dreams the owner’s would come back and I would narrowly escape being caught! So I think it is kind of normal. But, maybe in your case it also symbolizes a new beginning – starting over with your home.
To me (and I’m no dream wizard) it’s sounds like maybe your subconscious feels like your life has kind of reset back to its origin point. You’re living with family, don’t currently have or aren’t in your own space, and it probably feels somewhere inside like what the F? Did all this stuff even happen? Anyway, that’s my nonsense take on it, or how I’d take it if it were me.
Maybe I’m just a simple thinker. I think you’re afraid they are going to change everything you loved about that home as they put on their own personal stamps. You put your heart and soul into making it your home…and now it’s not your’s. You’re mourning.
I am with several of the posters above.
I think that there might be a bit of anxiety that they will not put the energy into it that you have.
It could also be the separation – blanking out those years of work you put into it – and it is no longer yours nor in your control. You are just no longer there. Either physically or with the power to change things in it.
I imagine that there was so much ownership beyond what a typical owner might have for a house.
I think it was to remind you that the creativity, the passion, the excitement, the drive, the life you breathed into that house were not left there; those things are not a part of that house, but a part of you! All of these things you will carry with you wherever you go. Excited to see what you will do with them next!
I adore Sarah’s interpretation. Yes, you left a beloved house behind but your creativity, drive, excitement and passion all travel with you : )
I would add that the house in it’s original form might represent your next space -in it’s virgin/as of yet untouched by You state..?
Best of luck on your new adventure!
I think its good for your body to be resting and your brain to be going into hyper drive. Who knows but you what it really means? You do know though. We can put our spin on it but if you ask yourself in a quiet space…don’t mean to get weird or creepy… your subconscious will tell you if you ask. If you don’t care, don’t ask yourself. My two cents are: Your home was beautiful. I loved it. Lots of people did. Target sure as H-E-double hockey sticks did! Being back to square one… starting over… there is fear in that and you talk about fearless DIY. Why say the word “fear” if there is not always that element there starring you in the face? It is what is so extraordinary though about you and what you and your husband have accomplished with this blog and with your home. You overcame that fear. But now its back to square one! It is scary but exciting!
I moved 8 years ago and I still have dreams where I sneak into my old house and look around at what’s different. It’s always awkward when the new owners come home and find me there again.
Perhaps some of your identity is tied to that home because of all the energy you put into it. And perhaps you are subconsciously anxious that leaving that home means you are leaving behind that part of your identity. Don’t worry though- you are still you!!
Change is hard…leaving a house you poured your guts into has got to be tough. Take it a day at a time and just know we are SO SO excited to see all the fun adventures you have ahead of you! xo
Shonee
Amazing to hear all of these comments! I’ve had very similar dreams spurred by the actual changes I’ve seen to our old home (they cut down our tree!) and such… I totally thought I was a weirdo but I’m very glad to hear I’m not alone. Almost getting caught by the new owners is terrifying as you realize you don’t belong/aren’t allowed there anymore.
Thanks
I am constantly dreaming of houses (my previous ones & also imaginary ones). So much so that I started researching what dream interpretation guru’s say it. What I learned is that (supposedly) a house is a peek into your own psyche, what you believe about yourself deep down. The house is you. So if, in your dream, you discover a secret room or treasure in the attic, maybe you believe you have an untapped talent or ability you want to explore. Or if the house is dilapidated, maybe you’ve been neglecting your own needs, etc. In this case I would agree with Sarah & Laura above. You’re appreciating how far you’ve come, how much beauty and creativity you have brought into being- and you never want to go back.
Heart is still tied up there because of all the energy you put forth to make it a positive place where light permeated every corner:) Anxiety creeps in and our mind says “what if someone undoes all our important work putting love and happiness there and they are meanies and ruin the beauty I made with their negativity-and negativity can take on various forms like BEIGE and SAD CARPET..” I feel you, it took me months to shake our old residence, and the only positive thing that happened there was our family’s love-lots of sad stuff during our time there, health issues for both my husband and I. Sometimes I remember standing in the kitchen at the stove cooking, or pulling open the curtains in the morning…and I feel less and less anxiety about our current situation as time goes on. We moved back in with my parents for a year and are on the tail end now. I am so glad that you have a good relationship with your in-laws, that will make the time go by quickly. I know you will move on to something GREAT:) And the content will be fabulous!!