The thing is, it wasn't always that easy for me either. I used to be one of those "theme decorators". You know the ones I'm talking about...
You open up a catalog or stroll down the bathroom aisle at Target and say, "Hey, that Eiffel Tower bathroom curtain is cute. It could be nice in the upstairs bathroom." Perhaps you continue throwing matching black and pink towels in to your cart with the matching soap dispenser, toothbrush holder, and $24 ceramic trash can. Before you know it, you've spent hundreds of dollars on a room that has no hope of transitioning into the rest of your house. Unless of course the rest of your house is complete with hues of grey, black, pinks and other memorabilia from France. I remember when I was first married (back in the mid 90's), our apartment was complete with a sunflower themed bedroom, mickey mouse bathroom, dolphin living room, and celestial kitchen! YIKES!!! It was a disaster! I WAS A DISASTER!! And to think, my poor husband had to live there too.
Perhaps getting older not only refines a person but, allows us a more open view of what life means to us. I've learned over the years that I love when people come into my home and feel comfortable and enjoy the little nuances hanging on my wall or sitting on a shelf. My home has become a conversation piece and I love that! I had to accept that I SUCKED at decorating and that I just wanted to enjoy the things that I liked. Granted, I like a lot of things and there are some parameters by which I hold myself accountable like, I'm not going to buy it if I don't love it. And, although I think that something is cute, it's not quite in the style I'm decorating my house in. These rules can be hit or miss and sometimes need to be readdressed. This was the case with my love for old grocery tins. I love looking at old California Citrus signs and crates from the 1950's. Del Monte cans and coffee tins from that same era. I ventured into an antique store and bought up all sorts of tins and left spending $60! Not only was it not fun shopping at an antique store but, when I put them on my shelf in my kitchen they just didn't fit. They had more of an Americana Country or Mission style feel and I ended up giving them all away. Lesson learned! Antique stores are not fun for me. Parameters and rules are good to abide by, and patience is the virtue you need to feel good about what you're trying to accomplish.
Now, I choose things that move me, inspire me, create a feeling, or inspire curiosity. Once I let go of the pressure of being brilliant, the house just sort of came together. My patience has grown. I've left rooms and walls empty for months until just the right piece of furniture or wall art motivated me or moved me to finish. I'm not afraid of color (including paint). I'm constantly moving things around and I've come to accept that a home is never done; It's always changing, just like your life and family.
For me, it all started with an online quiz I found at Sproost.com. The website shows you a variety of decorated rooms that ask you if you love, like, don't like, or hate a specific style of room. I took this quiz a couple of times just to be sure, since all the pictures aren't the same each time. 90% of the time the quiz reported that I had a French Eclectic style. I had no idea what that meant but in this day and age, we have a world of information at our fingertips so I took advantage of what a good old fashioned Google search could show me. I typed in "French Eclectic", "Vintage Country", "French Vintage Country", "Shabby Chic" and just perused pictures under images. I saved the pictures of different rooms I loved to my computer. I may not have loved the whole room but, if I loved a table setting, or a coffee table I saved it. I started to really grasp the understanding of what the quiz was trying to tell me and I was finding a whole new side of myself I never knew existed.
Here are some pics of some of the rooms that have inspired something in my own home.
The next time my husband was ready for a trip to our favorite thrift store to search for vinyl records, I was ready with a list in my head of things I might be looking for. Those first few trips were amazing and so much fun!! I came back with hat boxes, baskets, candle holders, and anything else that moved me. Weekend after weekend, I found more and more things and in fact started to become a little addicted! As I became more and more comfortable embracing my style I started seeing items as more than what they appeared to be. One of my first random finds was a bird cage. It had a dome top and an antique feel but it was an ugly cream color that someone had painted and added little stenciled on pansy flowers. Obviously someone's craft project. I loved the shape and the style and found myself starring at it a little longer. I wondered what it would look like black? For $2.98, I was willing to take it home, buy some spray paint, and find out. It turned out beautifully and that was the beginning of seeing objects for what they were. I now have a collection of spray paint cans in my favorite colors; mostly metallics.
As each room in my house started to become full of treasures I'd found at the thrift store I started adding up the amount of money I had spent. I have a two story home with three bedrooms, a loft, a living room, family room, large kitchen, and formal dining room. As it stands, I've spent probably close to $600 furnishing my house! That's an amazing price if you ask me. So not only has my treasure hunting journey been self fulfilling and fun but, it's been really inexpensive and 85% of the things in my home have either a story or an unbelievable price.
Here are some pictures of a few of my first treasures.
So the moral of the story and the answer to the questions I've been asked are simply this:
1. Know your style and get in touch with the things you love. This will help you foster the skill of looking past an item you see at first glance.
2. Build some sort of parameters or rules for yourself to help you hone in on what you're looking for and what your not only willing to buy but how much you plan to spend.
3. Open yourself up to enjoy the new hobby of decorating your home in a way that moves you.
This is the best advice I could give in replacement of helping someone decorate their home because its not about my taste it's about yours!
