I've been obsessed lately with the idea of pausing a moment or two before jumping into the day. Before opening the laptop or getting ready for work, before taking care of kids or pets, taking a moment for yourself to enjoy a cup of tea or coffee, sink into a favorite chair, and overlook the beautiful home you've worked so hard to create.
It could be a perfect chair on your porch you enjoy with your coffee. Or it could be a breakfast nook table and chairs that are a delight to eat a little breakfast over. The point is, it's worth treating one special spot in your home as your morning ritual pause place — to help you start the day off right, or as place to come back to if the day's going wrong. Each person must define for themselves the perfect pause spot — preferably cozy and maybe even with a bit of a view of nature. We found several inspiring areas in recent Apartment Therapy house tours that would be perfect pause spots:
TOP ROW:
1) Wood-wrapped and tiny in Christopher & Merete's Truly Tiny Home on the Range
2) Bright and white in Tyler's Bright Bungalow in Silver Lake
3) Vintage and Charming in Rachel's Sweet Life
4) Bold on a Boat in Tracy & Marty's "Retro Metro" House Boat
5) Creamy neutral and collected in Chris & Jenna's Collection in the Castro
BOTTOM ROW:
6) Tucked away modern in Jamie's Something Old, Something New
7) Patterned patio in Robert & Hannah's 'Casa Eclectic'
8) Mod and artsy in Amber's Art-Filled Austin Apartment
9) Shared with a bike in Jessica & Jonathan's 'Like-Eich' Ranch
10) Glamorous in Kristina & Tyler's Whitley Heights Home
Do you have a spot in your home you use to pause in each morning? Or perhaps unwind in after a long day, free from distractions? What does it look like? Describe it for us in the comments.
(Images: As credited above)
Before & After: Emily Henderson Transforms a Senior's Studio Space
Danielle's Charming, Classic Walk-Up
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
White Enamel Flatwa...
On Saying No to Paleo: Why Eating Isn't One Size Fits All
Perfect Summer Cocktail Recipe: Honey Bourbon Lemonade
For me, anywhere there is a window with a pretty view.
I have way to much to squeeze into my mornings to sit anywhere. I do my sitting after work. Either in front of the TV with a classic O.C. Housewives episode or on our back patio watching an amazing desert sunset with some vino and a Marlboro.
My apartment is still in a little disarray after moving, but I have a love seat in my living room situated in front of 4 large windows that get great sunlight in the morning. I like to sit there with my cup of coffee, enjoy the sunshine on my back, and for one moment acknowledge that even though my place doesn't look exactly the way I want it to, I have this one spot that will be an indicator of how this new place can turn from simply and apartment into a real home.
It would be nice, but I'm pretty sure there's no WAY my dog would let me "pause for a moment or two" before taking her out or getting food...!
I've been on an year plus long renovation of my one bedroom apt. I am at the point now where my bathroom and bedroom are habitable (north wing) and the kitchen/living room are still in construction mode. Nothing give me more joy than to sit in my reading nook next to my bed in the north wing and enjoy the sunlight streaming through my windows and take in the not so pretty views of the ugly condos across the street and busy brooklyn street over a cup of morning coffee.
Precious Ramotswe always drinks her first cup of African Red Bush tea and considers the day before her while walking around her garden in the morning. (Thank you, Alexander McCall Smith)
I like sitting on the steps of the deck, drinking a cup of tea and listening to all the bird song. When it rains, I stay inside, but I open the door so I can hear the rain & the birds.
It's funny that no one commented on the fotos of supposedly "Perfect Pause Spots", because honestly none of those spaces seems calming "pause spots" to me! They're all to cluttered or staged looking. Furniture doesn't invite me to sit & relax for a moment. However, there is one exception- #7 the little patio off the bathroom. Why? Because it is the only one that truly shows a private quiet space, because, for all anyone else knows, you are "otherwise occupied"!
My mornings are hectic with taking care of the animals before all else happens. But, after I get that coffee brewed I take my cup & sit out on the back step outside the master bedroom. A full unobstructed view of the sunrise over the high desert mountains. Delicious! The dogs are out in the front yard so as to not disturb my quiet time. I don't even bother to sit on a chair. I just sit right on the step. Sitting on the patio chair would require me to wipe it off first from the sand & dust. Then I'd think about the bird poo on the table & have to wipe that off. And, oh! The bird bath needs filling.... So.... a concrete step, a cup of cafe, facing the sunrise. Heaven.
I agree that it's very hard to take that pause in the morning, but at night or on the weekend on the other hand, that's when I so need that peaceful and relaxing spot at home to relax and simply breathe. For me, that spot would be a balcony or porch. I say "would be" because we don't current have a porch in my apartment. But every time we visit someone with a nice porch, I just love sitting their with my cup of tea or coffee and listening to the nature.
For now, I have a fairly nice, peaceful view out of my biggest window and that view creates the best "pause spot" for me.