Happy Friday, my dear friends! I woke up this morning feeling full of energy and ideas, eager to get typing and share a few thoughts with you. I would like to discuss decorating – how I approach it – and I hope you will chime in too. To give us a jumping off point for our conversation, I’ve chosen a number of images from photographer Kristin Sjaarda, each taken for the Hello! Neighbor home tour series on The Marion House Book. Toronto-based blog author and designer Emma Reddington is such an inspiration to me and The Marion House Book is one of my daily reads, so please do go pay her a visit if you are not already familiar with her work! And now let’s move along to our discussion, shall we? Decorating from the heart…
If you are reading this blog, I can only assume that you have some interest or curiosity about decorating…or perhaps a full-blown obsession? Can you recall when it began? I have loved decorating from an early age, probably beginning with my doll’s house obsession and moving right along to rearranging my own room and poring over my Mom’s decorating books. :) As I became an adult, interior design was a profession I considered, but honestly, I was a bit turned off by the idea that a designer should be a dictator of taste. I see decorating as a very personal process, one that involves getting in touch with what you value, what you are personally drawn to, and what makes you feel good.
Of course, anything we are passionate about is bound to pop up again and again in our life until we pay attention, right? For me, this has meant pouring lots of energy into decorating my home – from my 200 sq. ft. first apartment near the beach in Santa Cruz, to various flats in San Francisco, to a tiny cottage across the bay in Alameda, to my first house here in Providence, where I currently live. I recall saving up my money to make a few purchases at Ikea for my first apartment which was basically a little prefab trailer, long and very narrow. I replaced closet doors with white curtains, hung lots of white twinkle lights for a soft glow, and used a wicker porch set in the living space…because nothing else would fit! We would sit on cushions on the floor to eat dinner when we had friends over. But I loved it! It felt like home, because I had put my personal stamp on it and made it my own.
When Domino magazine came along with its fresh perspective on decorating, I was so inspired by this – as I think many others were! A sense of home, of belonging somewhere, of making a nest that feels comfortable and looks beautiful is such an innate need that we all crave. I think part of the reason Domino was so wildly popular was that it took the realm of decorating and design back down to earth and made it feel accessible to us all. At the same time, design blogs were growing beyond what I think anyone imagined was possible. I began following first one, and then a handful of favorite design blogs, checking in daily to see what my favorite bloggers had their eyes on, and to gather inspiration and tips with a personal flair that were not available anywhere else. Today I am simply blown away by the wealth of inspiration and examples of good design that are out there, whether on blogs, in magazines, decorating books, on TV, web TV, and on and on. Lack of inspiration or accessibility to design is certainly no excuse, that’s for sure!
What do I mean by decorating from the heart? I do not mean a lack of planning – far from it! In fact, when I think of decorating from the heart I think of having a purpose and a clear vision of what you want your space to look like and how you want it to make you, and those who visit, feel. It can take time (sometime a very long time!) to “finish” a home or even a single room, especially when you are working with a limited budget, as most of us are. But if you stay true to your own personal vision, each step will be a pleasant one to take.
It’s also about developing the ability to zero in on what you love and ignore the things that do not suit you or are simply not right for your space at the moment. It’s being able to say “no” to something you may, in fact, love – because you can’t afford it, or you won’t use it and know that it would sit in storage. If you are decorating from the heart, you will avoid costly mistakes, waste, and visual clutter.
But what it really comes down to for me is that our homes should support us and those we love. Walking in the front door should feel like a big, comforting hug. From the moment we open our eyes in the morning, through each task we face during the day until the moment our head hits the pillow again, we have an opportunity to create moments of beauty and ease. And it really doesn’t need to please anyone but you and your family – so I say, have fun with it! Go for that quirky art or funky vintage find, hang a treasured textile on the wall, give your child’s art pride of place over the mantle, use your heirloom silver to stir your morning coffee, whatever feels right to you.
I’d love to hear your take on all of this! Have you thought much about your approach to decorating? And thank you so much for bearing with me, I know this post was a long one – though I hope you were able to gain at least a little bit of inspiration or food for thought from it! :)
Oh, and p.s. – this is a long weekend here in the States…plus it is my sweet hubby’s birthday, so I will be taking Monday off! Have a great weekend my dears! xoxo Laura
(all images: photographer Kristin Sjaarda for The Marion House Book)
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Laura,
I love this post! I am very new to this decorating/interior design thing. Although I guess like you I have been doing it all my life, from painting my bedroom as a child with black and white to now as an adult choosing wonderful, whimsical Etsy prints for my apartment walls and adding touches like sheep skin rugs draped over the furniture. I think you have it right when you talk about decorating from the heart. I think everyone’s home should really be a true reflection of their own joys and likes. When you hire someone else to decorate I think it takes away the true heart of building a home with the ones you love. Thanks for the fantastic inspiration!
I am so happy to hear that, Summer! Isn’t it kind of funny to think back to how we “decorated” or wanted to decorate our rooms as children? I distinctly remember a pink flamingo phase I had after a trip to Florida, lol! :)
I do want to clarify one thing, and that is – I want to make it clear that I have the utmost respect for interior designers and I think that the service they offer is extremely valuable. What I meant in my post was that there are many ways to go about designing or being a designer, whether you are doing it for yourself or for a client, and I prefer those with a personal touch. I know there are designers out there whose mission is to help their clients tap into their own personal style, use what they have, etc., now more than ever. That has been one of the wonderful outcomes from the DIY and accessible/down-to-earth design movement.
I found your blog right before I moved into my first home, and I’ve loved all of your decorating posts and the before and afters of your house. I’m in the process of decorating in a style similar to yours and the rooms you show – lots of white, clutter-free spaces – even though I have a six-month old baby and everyone says I’m crazy to buy white couches and rugs. I’m trying to add only things that I love and that fit my aesthetic, no matter what other people think. (Luckily my husband goes along with most of my ideas.) We’re on a budget, though, so it’s taking forever!
I mainly use white too; I have textured white fabric slipcovers on my sofa and 2 chairs. I love slipcovers. These are cotton so I can throw them in the washer, hang them to dry, and have them looking brand new in a day or so. Green is my main “color” — in lamps and plants. The tables are of natural fibers or wood. I also like to use lots of large mirrors, which expand my small house. I also tend to keep family items, and things that have a history for me. I have the painting my great great grandmother did of her dog, the rocking chair my public defender “sisters” gave me at my youngest daughter’s birth, and a table of both wood and metal that my grandmother bought at auction at least 60 or 70 years ago. Using lots of white and natural fibers, I think, makes it easier to fit in my keepsakes.
I’ve been crazy about doing my homes ever since I first got my own room. I was the oldest child and a girl so I was allowed to have the back porch conversion my dad built on our home. (My poor brother had to share with four smaller kids, at least it was a big room!) I was allowed to pick the paint and paint it, the fabric for curtains, and shelves for one wall. I played with moving furniture in that room for the next six years til I went off to college and marriage. I still love to make our homes personal as much as possible, ajob that is easier now that we are empty nesters.
I think I’m a bit of a late bloomer when it comes to interior decorating…and in all honesty I have been most inspired by your blog and just a couple of others! I had never really thought that my home could look and feel as amazing as other people’s, but with the years of inspiration of following your blogs I think I’m finally starting to come into my own. :) Moving into our new place in Oakland this summer helped me a lot (having a clean slate to start from and being willing to get rid of things that I had outgrown and that weren’t fitting in with the image/feel that I wanted anymore).
What I’m finding a little frustrating is being patient (since, on a tight budget, things take a lot of time!) and also figuring out what exact look/feel I want in any particular room. Following these blogs are super helpful, but sometimes I feel a bit stuck. So then I go online and scroll through all of the pretty photos for a dose of inspiration. :)
-Lisa
Hi Laura, I’m a bit late on this, but I wanted to let you know that I feel the same as you do about decorating – it should come from the heart. My home is my nest, my cocoon, a space where I want to feel completely safe, and where all I see makes me smile and feels better – like a virtual hug :)
Excellent post, thanks for sharing!
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