Time Out Space : For Yourself

August 22, 2011 at 11:56 am
by Designer Dad: Stephen Saint-Onge


I visited a friend’s house this weekend for an outdoor party.  Standing in their yard, I took notice of a bench they had at the back end of their yard.  It was sort of set back away from the house, under a tree – but it caught your eye as you came back into their yard.  It seemed to invite you over to it saying something like: “take some time out and relax for awhile.” So that simple visual got me thinking.

 

I came back to my studio and searched for these images of a bench that I had shot earlier this summer.  There is something very basic about a garden bench from a design standpoint, yet it is very inviting and makes you feel at home.  It can be set on a path, in a yard, on a porch or be something you look out to from your kitchen window.  It can be moved around seasonally from place to place – which is something I appreciate.  Any way you look at it, it is a symbol that does remind you to sit down – just for a minute – and take a much-needed time out for yourself.

 

 

As the summer winds down, the kids go back to school and a certain routine settles back in – perhaps it is the perfect time to think about those simple ways that we can create “a moment” for ourselves to go to in the midst of that daily routine.  Even if it just for that morning coffee before everyone else wakes up or at twilight when the house is settling down after a scheduled day…An inviting place with a simple bench off in the yard, a set of Adirondack chairs under the big tree or even just a classic set of rockers on the front porch…A destination place for yourself to reconnect and it does not have to be something that costs too much to create.

 

 

As a kid growing up in New England, I can recall many evenings spent on the front porches of houses around me – sitting in rocking chairs  - passing the time away with friends.  It is such a simple thing – yet it can be very invigorating and refreshing – especially now in the midst of our busy world of today.  I suppose that is what seeing the bench in that backyard this weekend reminded me of…

 

Just something to consider for yourself.

 

 

Designer Dad :  Stephen Saint-Onge is Family Circle’s Contributing Home Editor
and author of the book

* * *
Visit his personal lifestyle blog at:
for more creative inspiration focused on the family home.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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