Living Artfully: Everyday Rituals to Romanticise Your Life

There’s a quiet kind of rebellion in choosing to live artfully.

In a world that rushes, demands, and distracts - to slow down and notice, to infuse beauty into the seemingly mundane, is nothing short of radical.

But what if your life could feel like a painting? Not in a glossy, curated way, but in the raw, intimate, imperfect way that real art often is. Full of colour. Emotion. Nuance.

To romanticise your life is not to escape it, it’s to engage with it more fully. To find meaning and magic in the everyday. To live not on autopilot, but with intention. When I moved to London, I was determined not to get bogged down in what I affectionately term “London Grey”. So many Londoners seem to spend their time complaining about living in London. The commute. The crowds. The weather. But for me, moving to London fulfilled a romantic notion I had of my life.

Weekends spent writing in coffee shops. Picnics in London parks. A crisp glass of wine in a pub by the Thames. Wandering the halls of the National Gallery. And that is in fact the life I have created for myself in this wonderful city. But it’s not always easy… it requires me to anchor into this way of living. Over the years I have cultivated daily rituals to help me make art of my life.

Here are a few of my favourite rituals to help you live more artfully too, beginning with where you are, right now.

Begin Your Morning Like a Ceremony

There was a time when I used to wake up and scroll immediately. I'd barely opened my eyes before I was swept into a digital tide of notifications and noise. Ok let’s be honest, sometimes I still do this but most days I try to start my morning more consciously. I make a cup of Green Tea, sit back down on my bed and just lat myself be. I don’t do anything monumental. I let the silence speak. Sometimes I journal, sometimes I will do a guided meditation, but other times I just settle in to be with myself.

It’s a small shift that has the power to change everything.

To begin your day as a ceremony is to honour the sacredness of a new beginning. Instead of leaping into the chaos, create a gentle threshold. For you it might look like slowly brewing a cup of coffee, journaling a single sentence, or watching the light change outside your window. You might play a French jazz record, or simply stretch and whisper a quiet thank you. Start your morning not with urgency, but reverence.

This doesn’t have to be elaborate. It just has to be yours.

Take Walks Without a Destination

There’s a specific kind of magic that happens when you walk with no intention other than to be. I remember one Sunday afternoon in late spring, wandering through the streets of a city I barely knew. I had no map, no agenda. Just the soft pull of curiosity. I discovered a secret garden tucked between buildings, a mural that made me cry, and a café where I sat and scribbled thoughts on a napkin.

When you walk without a goal, you allow the world to surprise you.

Leave your headphones at home. Notice the cracks in the pavement, the scent of a bakery, the couple laughing on a bench. Collect details like an artist gathering paint - rusted iron gates, faded shop signs, scattered petals on a doorstep.

Wandering helps us see our lives through a softer, more open lens. And often, it's in these unplanned moments that inspiration finds us.

Turn Meals into Moments

I once stayed in an apartment in Montmartre, Paris, with a creaky wooden floor and a table by the window. It had been a ling day of exploring the city and I put together a simple dinner - artichokes, cheese, red wine, a warm baguette. As I ate, I watched the street lamps flicker on and the sound of someone playing piano drifted in through the window.

That dinner cost very little, but it felt priceless.

We often rush through meals or eat distracted. But when we treat food as more than fuel, we open ourselves to joy. Lay out a cloth napkin. Use your nicest dishes. Pour water into a wine glass. Add fresh herbs or edible flowers. Even a solo lunch becomes an experience when you let it.

Put your phone away. Light a candle. Play music in the background. Savor each bite like you’re tasting life itself - because in many ways, you are.

Final Thoughts

Romanticising your life isn’t about aesthetics. It’s about awareness. It’s not about escaping the real world, it’s about enriching it. We’re taught to fill every moment, to stay productive. But stillness is not a lack, it’s a presence. Living artfully means making room for these quiet moments. For being, not doing. For feeling, not forcing.

When you treat each day as a canvas, the ordinary becomes extraordinary. You begin to notice beauty, not because it wasn’t there before, but because you’ve trained your heart to see it.

So go ahead. Wear perfume to the grocery store. Take yourself out for coffee and cake. Write love letters to your future self.

This is your life. Let it be art.