When I moved into this little rental house after our honeymoon, I wanted to make it comfortable... but not too comfortable. We were only supposed to be here a year, you see. It was our "temporary home," before we bought a "real house." I didn't want to get too attached to it, so I didn't want to make it too cozy.
Well, years have passed, and it doesn't look like we're moving anytime soon. The time has come to make it feel really comfortable, because, by golly, it's our home!
But I've never really decorated before. I mean, my dorm room at college had some nice artwork cut out of a book and sticky-tacked to the wall, but I could hardly pull that off here.
I don't know what my style is. Simple, I think, but functionally
elegant. I don't like clutter, or little breakable trinkets that need to be dusted
and carefully guarded.
Painting, sconces, ironwork, artwork, candles, mirrors, wreaths, curtains, rugs, pillows, topiaries, furniture... I'm not quite sure where to start.
For now I think I'll start by straightening the picture on the wall.
What's your style?
13 comments:
Hah, you sound exactly like me! I got married 2 weeks ago, and we're in a 1 bedroom apartment that we hope to be out of by November. I feel like decorating is a "waste" as you put it, and I also don't have a decorating bone in my body! :-) I feel you there!
Decorating is TOUGH STUFF! I decided that even though we won't be anywhere long (we've only been in our current house for 4 months and are moving this Friday!), I want everywhere we live to feel like home. So my friend made some colorful pillows and curtains and we got a bright area rug. Colors make me happy. :)
Good luck to you!!
Yes, that's exactly how I feel, Kendra! Because we're renting, I didn't want to decorate somebody else's house. But we've lived here long enough I feel it's our place :).
Thanks for reading! :)
Oh yes, colors make me giddy. I think bright colors make my husband... um... not very happy :). In the "dream house" I'll have a crafting room / office filled with bright colors!
Ooh, I like colors too. :D
Depending on the strength of your husband's taste, colors can be compromised on... I have sheer gold curtains in the living room with a soft, dark red drape; the kitchen has light, sheer yellow and green.
My own style: lots of books, houseplants, wedding pictures, and a few well-placed statues and crucifixes and paintings. I have a strong dislike for knickknacky decorations that need a lot of dusting, so that works well. It's amazing how little it takes to make a house homey, I think.
Well, our house isn't filled with tan and brown :)... there are lots of muted greens and reds and a few blues... but bright turquoise pillows or bright green placemats or color-popping accessories aren't to be found (except in my dream office) :-D.
Yes, I completely agree with your last sentence! :)
We've been in our house for 13 years now. It is still a work in progress! Since my husband likes mountains and climbing them we have two huge wall pictures of Mt Hood and Mt Bachelor in our front room. I would like to continue the 'cabin' theme, we have light-wood paneling in the main room also, with our wood stove we use for heat. Still looking on where to go from there. I did pick up some books at the library once about cabins and just looked through them for ideas.
Paint is always a great way to change the look of any room. And curtains/fabric. Oh and pillows. I love pillows and quilts.
I struggle with this as well. We've been married 6 1/2 years but since we got married we've had 4 children and moved 3 times. We've never owned a home either. All that has made decorating a bit of a challenge.
However, I have been working on it and I have a twofold approach. First, I have given up trying to make my furniture and decor match whatever house I'm living in. I move too much to do that. So I just go with my favorite style, which is along the lines of a log cabin/cottage. I figure regardless of what building I'm living in, the inside should feel like home whether it "fits" or not. Second, I adopted a quote Katherine used on her blog Evlogia (http://evlogiaonline.com/): "Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful." (William Morris)
Slowly things are coming together, clutter is being donated,sold or thrown out and we are finding our balance.
Oh I totally know that feeling! And we have the exact same arrangement. Most of our house is in muted greens, blues, and yellows with minimal, well thought stuff hanging on the walls; then you go up to my office/sewing room and it's Firecracker Red and Caramel Apple gold, and there's all kinds of stuff hanging around - pictures, metal art, mirrors, pictures, strings of mini pennants!
What a cozy place you've created! :) Sounds perfectly inviting and wonderful.
Clutter is the bane of my sanity :). Just when I think it's under control, a new pile comes! :-D I love that quote!
I love it, Kathryn :-D. Sounds incredible :).
What I did to find my decorating style is that I did a little bit of brainstorming with myself. I asked myself what mood I want to show. It also helps to think about the places you love. In the end, I chose to have a beach theme for my bedroom.
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