This post has been a long time in the making. A LONG time. Trust me. So excuse me if I ramble.
Here are some spaces from my Pinterest board that are really inspiring me:
I seem to be drawn to warm white walls, black (or very dark) accent walls, reclaimed banged up wood, ethnic prints and textiles, textures (like woven baskets, reclaimed wood, velvet...), fairly traditional or classic furniture (this was a bit of a surprise to me!), unique accents that looked like they travelled miles and miles, warm metals like gold and brass, and a touch of femininity (this surprised me too). My favourite images were the ones that felt eclectic (though I have mixed feelings about that word), traveled, warm, maximal (minimal looks nice but is just not for me), personal, ethnic, like they have a story to tell and some history, but I also like things that are simple and not super fussy. It's a fine, fine line....
So with all that in mind, here is my overall vision for my space:
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This time I'm all about keeping a fairly neutral colour palette complete with warm white walls, reclaimed wood, green in the form of plants, a bit of brass for some shine, and black to ground it all. I love pattern (more ethnic patterns as opposed to symmetrical patterns) and colour and I plan on incorporating this with the use of rugs, artwork, and pillows. I've long wanted an english roll arm sofa and if I don't find one used, then I'm going to pony up and invest in one. I'm torn whether to keep it neutral (like pictured) or to go for mustard yellow which I absolutely love the idea of (and have loved for a long time as evidenced by this old post!). I thought long and hard about what kind of chair would go with a traditional english roll arm and then noticed that in several of my inspiration pics there were leather wing chairs and well...I think they look perfect together. Both are traditional styles but the different textures (velvet sofa vs worn leather chair) create a nice tension I think. I'm really into the vintage farmhouse look that is popular right now and a perfect way to incorporate a bit of this is with a banged up enamel pendant - I've tracked a few down locally and they are perfectly imperfect - and reclaimed wood...probably in the form of some floating shelves or a console table. I plan on framing some of the many photographs I took in India (and some from Ireland) and recently bought 18 picture frames of various sizes from this place; their recent 50% of sale was just too good to pass up. Last year I invested in this persian rug that I'm in love with and can't wait to unroll, and I recently bought not one but three african mud cloths similar to the one pictured above...they'll help to infuse the space with my love and appreciation of travel. That wood thing pictured above with all the little squares is a vintage printers drawer...which I also tracked down locally (and has been sitting in my trunk for months) - I'll use it to display little trinkets I've brought back from abroad and other little things (like this). And yes, if the backsplash in the kitchen isn't tiled, because rarely are they in rentals, I will invest the $100 or so bucks to apply white subway tiles with dark grout because I love the look and think $100 bucks is a small price to pay to pretty up a space I'll be in for a little while. (Some investments I wouldn't even consider doing to a rental but a little one like this will make such a huge difference and for not a lot of money). Oh, I have so many ideas......
I'm drawn to spaces that feel "light and natural" but not empty or cold -- I like stuff. I like piles of books. I like pictures and artwork displayed. I like spaces that look lived in and tell the story of the the person or people who call it home. I like things that are kind of old and a bit beat up. I like layers. I like texture. I'm drawn to pieces that aren't perfect; chips, etc don't really bother me, I think they add character. I'm fully aware that all of this could go very wrong and feel very cluttered and like a bit of a mish mash - but, at least to me, it could also go very right.
As the time gets closer and closer to moving into my own space I hope you don't mind more of these types of posts - decor related posts. It's about to get all decor-y up in here folks. And now you have an idea of where I'm hoping to go in my decor adventures.
So, what do you think? What type of design are you into...or how is your own home decorated - any particular style? Should I go bold and do a yellow sofa or stick with a neutral? Let's talk design!
I'm just about to gear up to start apartment hunting again, and well...it's never too soon to start thinking about decorating! I've been thinking about decorating my new apartment WHILE I was packing up my last apartment in 2010. (Holy crap! Has it already been over two years!!) Then I somewhat put it out of my mind as I got ready to volunteer in India for a year. And then promptly started thing about it again when I arrived in India and started to come across beautiful and unique things I could bring home with me to remember my time abroad. And then started thinking about it again when I moved back home this time last year and set out on my apartment hunt...
Fast forward to today and I couldn't be more excited to finally bring my vision to life (finally as in this Spring - that's my goal!). This time around, I have a very clear vision of what I want my space to not only look like but also to feel like...and to help really pin down my vision I sat down and went through the many inspiration pictures I have pinned on Pinterest; I was happy to see that many of them had a lot in common making it really easy to put my finger on exactly what I liked and want to incorporate into my own space. I found this little exercise of really trying to narrow in on what I liked about the images I had pinned fun to do. It helped me to really define my vision and design direction which I think, I hope, will help keep me focused (because sometimes I see things that I like but know they wouldn't really work in my future space).
Here are some spaces from my Pinterest board that are really inspiring me:
 |
| one / two + five / three / four / six |
I seem to be drawn to warm white walls, black (or very dark) accent walls, reclaimed banged up wood, ethnic prints and textiles, textures (like woven baskets, reclaimed wood, velvet...), fairly traditional or classic furniture (this was a bit of a surprise to me!), unique accents that looked like they travelled miles and miles, warm metals like gold and brass, and a touch of femininity (this surprised me too). My favourite images were the ones that felt eclectic (though I have mixed feelings about that word), traveled, warm, maximal (minimal looks nice but is just not for me), personal, ethnic, like they have a story to tell and some history, but I also like things that are simple and not super fussy. It's a fine, fine line....
So with all that in mind, here is my overall vision for my space:
This time I'm all about keeping a fairly neutral colour palette complete with warm white walls, reclaimed wood, green in the form of plants, a bit of brass for some shine, and black to ground it all. I love pattern (more ethnic patterns as opposed to symmetrical patterns) and colour and I plan on incorporating this with the use of rugs, artwork, and pillows. I've long wanted an english roll arm sofa and if I don't find one used, then I'm going to pony up and invest in one. I'm torn whether to keep it neutral (like pictured) or to go for mustard yellow which I absolutely love the idea of (and have loved for a long time as evidenced by this old post!). I thought long and hard about what kind of chair would go with a traditional english roll arm and then noticed that in several of my inspiration pics there were leather wing chairs and well...I think they look perfect together. Both are traditional styles but the different textures (velvet sofa vs worn leather chair) create a nice tension I think. I'm really into the vintage farmhouse look that is popular right now and a perfect way to incorporate a bit of this is with a banged up enamel pendant - I've tracked a few down locally and they are perfectly imperfect - and reclaimed wood...probably in the form of some floating shelves or a console table. I plan on framing some of the many photographs I took in India (and some from Ireland) and recently bought 18 picture frames of various sizes from this place; their recent 50% of sale was just too good to pass up. Last year I invested in this persian rug that I'm in love with and can't wait to unroll, and I recently bought not one but three african mud cloths similar to the one pictured above...they'll help to infuse the space with my love and appreciation of travel. That wood thing pictured above with all the little squares is a vintage printers drawer...which I also tracked down locally (and has been sitting in my trunk for months) - I'll use it to display little trinkets I've brought back from abroad and other little things (like this). And yes, if the backsplash in the kitchen isn't tiled, because rarely are they in rentals, I will invest the $100 or so bucks to apply white subway tiles with dark grout because I love the look and think $100 bucks is a small price to pay to pretty up a space I'll be in for a little while. (Some investments I wouldn't even consider doing to a rental but a little one like this will make such a huge difference and for not a lot of money). Oh, I have so many ideas......
I'm drawn to spaces that feel "light and natural" but not empty or cold -- I like stuff. I like piles of books. I like pictures and artwork displayed. I like spaces that look lived in and tell the story of the the person or people who call it home. I like things that are kind of old and a bit beat up. I like layers. I like texture. I'm drawn to pieces that aren't perfect; chips, etc don't really bother me, I think they add character. I'm fully aware that all of this could go very wrong and feel very cluttered and like a bit of a mish mash - but, at least to me, it could also go very right.
As the time gets closer and closer to moving into my own space I hope you don't mind more of these types of posts - decor related posts. It's about to get all decor-y up in here folks. And now you have an idea of where I'm hoping to go in my decor adventures.
So, what do you think? What type of design are you into...or how is your own home decorated - any particular style? Should I go bold and do a yellow sofa or stick with a neutral? Let's talk design!