Decisions: That which makes grown (wo)men cry.

In the years that I have been "living on my own" (I put that in "quotes" since I've always had roommates--I'd hate to live totally by myself. The loneliness would STANK) and thus in charge of making my house into my home, I occasionally have felt quite confused about what exactly "my style" is. Sure, there are lots of things that I like--whenever I flip through a magazine, go shopping, or browse online, I see many individual items or even whole rooms that make me say, "Ohmuhgersh! I lurve that so matsch!" (yes, I sometimes talk in strange voices when I am overcome with excitement). 

But, then, there is that awful moment when I am working on a room (like the living room and the bedroom in my former house) and I suddenly don't like any of the choices that are in front of me because [1] they don't flow with the style of of rooms in my house, [2] I am not thrilled by the thought of living in the space that these particular options would create, [3] all of a sudden I hate everything in every store I shop, or [4] whatever other reason my brain all of a sudden makes all options look blah.

This is where Pinterest has been quite helpful to me. If you don't know what Pinterest is, then educate yo'self. 

Anyways, Pinterest. Ah, yes, it is a place of many possibilities. Some people observe/complain that it affords viewers too much possibilities, rendering them unsatisfied with what real life has to offer them. While this certainly can true, I discovered it not just a place of inspiration ("pinspiration" as some might say), but also a place that helped me better determine what is "my style."

Rummaging through my 1,500+ pins (don't worry, that number pales in comparison to some others), I see a definite trend. I am all about rooms being cozy and home-y. People gots to be able to relax!

a good chair for curling up to read a book

Rooms that are well-lit. I prefer natural, accent, or soft, ambient lighting, as opposed to harsh or ceiling light. 

Design elements and details that recall earlier times are quite charming to me. Whole rooms that come straight from a catalog or a hotel are most unpleasant. I love personal touches, a room that tells a story because it looks like it is lived in by real people. 

family photos

Also, I looove color! At a certain point in time, I thought my style might have been eclectic (an "official" style, in design lingo). I've come to realize that, no, I am not a pure-bred eclectic in taste. Perhaps it is because of my OCD tendencies, but a room that has too much going on (too many contrasting colors, patterns, or styles) begins to feel a little claustrophobic to me.

this is probably as eclectic as I could ever go. even then, it might overwhelm me on a bad day

A good vintage floral print can make my heart swoon (mixed metaphors? oh well). Though, I don't think I'd like a room that is overladen with vintage prints or too much florals. The right amount, however, can be perfection.

gotta be careful waking up under that slanted ceiling. 

Another thing about florals is that, wen done right, it can go marvelously well with other prints and textures!

As a person who notices details (sometimes to an embarrassing extent--seriously) I particularly appreciate where someone goes the extra mile to decorate a little niche in their home. Perhaps this comes to me from my grandmother, who thinks of making the most insignificant thing beautiful. 

I could hang out in this bathroom for a lot longer than I needed to

I would be remiss to not note that I am a sucker--a totally sucker--for things that are used in unexpected ways. Some people are just so darn creative! The creativity of others completely delights me, while maybe also stoking my competitive side, "how did they think of that?!"

lampshade used with a pendant light

create two rooms with curtains 

Last, and this is related to the first: What is most important to me in a room is that it is comfortable. Comfortable? Isn't that a little subjective? Well, yes, I suppose it could be. Ultimately, home should be where you feel most comfortable. But, I also want my home to feel comfortable to other people too. 

i'd hate for my design choices to turn out like this

There it is, folks. I'm not sure if I have a quick fill-in to this statement year "my personal style is _____." I am feeling much more confident in my design adventures. Though Pinterest didn't give me my style, it was quite helpful in helping me hone it down. So, for that, thanks, Pinterest! 

But, more importantly, thank you for also giving me a few hours of good laughs:

every parent wants one of these

honest abe. you can always count on him.

i totally hate when that happens

Barbie without makeup. Priceless.

this is how cats really are. i'm not kidding.

Dream House, Round Deux

Do you remember when I told you about my dream house? Well, good thing dreams are malleable concepts because I need to make some changes/additions to my dream house.

I don't care about bad puns: This facade is dreamy. 

Blue is not my favorite color, and I doubt I'd ever paint a whole room blue (ceilings included). However, I love the little window nook of this room. The ornamental work work is fantastic. Please, mother may I?

Besides this room being absolutely darling, cozy and chic, I find myself increasingly drawn to rooms with visible ceiling beams. There is something so charming about this architectural element in a room.

Okay, this is all for now with my dream house!

UPDATE: For those interested in how it is coming with the lamp project: It is coming along! I had hoped to be finished by now, however I have run into a bit of a snag with the lamp stand. More details to come on that. I have, however, finished the lampshade! Here is how that is looking:

Keep your fingers crossed for the bottom half!

Pollyanna-ing

My life has been going pretty well lately. I have great friends and a wonderful family. My roommates are pretty sweet. My house is pretty much all settled into (we hosted our first party last week!). I've lost ten pounds. I still have my job (not that I was really ever close to not having it). Autumn weather is setting in (my favorite season!) The Apocalypse is still yet to occur. Yes, I am indeed doing pretty well.

But a girl can still dream, right? You bet!

The imagination is one of the best things about being human (okay, I know that there are some of you out there who will think of all the exceptions to that statement...just go with me for a sec). But, anyways, when used well the imagination is the bomb-diggity. I use my imagination a lot, especially when it comes to decorating a room , scoping out and designing my next project, or trying to MacGyver some thing or other.

Today, I would like to invite you to take a tour with me through my dream house. Cooome alooong with meeee. Our tour starts in

Three.

Two.

One.

Welcome to my dream house! I am so glad that you could stop by today. I can't wait to show you around. Please, come in (yes, I am having an imaginary conversation...don't worry, totally normal).

This would be the foyer. It is done in a "Swedish Country" style. If you would, please, ignore the yellow bench. Because in my dream house, that would be replaced by this lovely bench. Complete with toile and all.

Yea for toile!

Now, we will go around the corner into the living/family room.

This room is oh-so-cozy. Please, imagine yourself sitting on that uber soft sofa, having a conversation with about...home decorating. When we get bored with that, we can walk across the room to the library...

..and look at some decorating books. There also will be other books, don't worry. So you can read about other things like psychology, philosophy, theology, political science, fiction, non-fiction...etc.



Going back in to the foyer and hallway, we will walk back to the kitchen. What do you see? Checkered floors!

The kitchen is in a rustic country style. I love the red accent cabinetry (in my real house, that window trim would not be red). The red with the black-and-white of the floor gives a cozy feel, I think. Perhaps I'd add a little throw rug in case I forget my slippers one morning. Oh, and maybe I would add a bit'o'wood polish to that table, looking a bit too rustic for me as is.

Now, I am always late, so this too would be fixated in my kitchen. With it, I most assuredly will never be late again.

Oh, also on the first floor there would be a dining room. the dining room would d have a wicked awesome chandelier made of Italian Christmas lights, wrapped around a wreath of branches.

Off of the dining room, there would be French doors leading back into the sun room.

Now, I probably would ditch the pallet wood and burlap table. And I would mostly elect to hang the mirror rather than just leaning it up against the wall. Why? Because, in all honesty, as much as I can like the look of a large mirror leaned against the wall, I can't seem to successfully pull off the look (or at least be satisfied with my attempts). So I know that I wouldn't have a mirror leaning against a wall in my dream home because I don't know how to do that. Oh, and please note, too, the Italian-Christmas lights that reappear in this room on the ceiling. Can you say "awesome"?

Down in the basement would be the laundry. My laundry room would be beautiful like this.

Since I clean my clothes when I do laundry, I prefer to do my laundry in a stylish environment to reflect how incredibly stylish of a dresser I am. That is why there would be a mirror (hanging on the wall) in the laundry room, so I can look at myself why I fold my underdrawers.

Across from the would be a little table booth. it would be very colorful--particularly with pink.

Why will this nook be in the basement? I most likely will end up married to a man who hates being overwhelmed with pink, I will relegate all of this glorious pinkness and frilliness to the basement because I will be so in love with him that I don't want him to drive him crazy. (I know, I am such a nice person).

Okay, back up the stairs, let's take a look at the rest of this dream house!

I cannot decide which of these two rooms would be my room and which would be the guestroom (or the children's room...actually I probably would need five children's room for the offensive number of kids I plan to have).


I like both of these rooms so much. the canopy set up of the first room is just dreamy. The bright and fresh colors are so relaxing too. The second room I find to be very cozy. Though there are the black accents, there is so much white (and a little gold) that it is not overwhelming. In fact, I find this room almost cozier than the first room. And those curtains are fabulous...Hmm, I think the second room would be my room. Which might be a good thing, because the black and white would much better match my jewelry box.

Oh, yay! Look at that jewelry box. For those of you who know me, I am sure you get a bit of a chuckle out of that jewelry storage, because you know how much I like my jewelry. (I admit, though, I would be slightly embarrassed if all of my jewelry filled this up. That might signal a problem...).

Last, but certainly not least, There would be an office area.

The office would be on the large side: Large enough for more than one person to work there at once, though only one person could get the desk. There would be the window nook with plenty of room to sit to read, work on a computer, take a nap, stare at whoever is at the desk...possibilities are endless, really. The nook is also large enough for multiple kiddos to occupy it. When they got bored of sitting there and whacking each other with the pillows, then they could practice piano.

Now THAT is a piano worth practicing on!! And I plan to practice upon it as well; there are few things in the world more magnificient than piano music.

Thank you so much for coming along with me on this little dream house tour!

(For links to all of the above pictures, please see my pinterest page. Thank you!)

When I grow up...Checker Floored Kitchens

I am going to dedicate this post to some dreaming....

All of us, or most of us at least, have memories of going over to grandma's house while growing up. Perhaps such memories are filled of happy thoughts and accompanied by warm, fuzzy feelings. I, for one, can easily pull from the great expanse of memory that fills my brain's storage recollections of summer and autumnal afternoons spent running around Grandma's back yard, walking very briskly around her house (because running wasn't allowed inside, of course), and sneaking M'n'Ms from the candy bowl on the counter by the kitchen sink.

One thing that I always will associate with my grandmother (of my maternal heritage), is checkered floor tiles.

Grandma always has had black-and-white checkered floors in her kitchen--even when she and Grandpa moved to a new house, this flooring appeared in the new digs. My grandma is a very chic, polite, glamorous and ladylike woman. This is reflected not only in how she carries herself, but also in how she keeps her house. There are always new updates to be found; little new "touches" being added. In my mind, she is the quintessential homemaker and home-entertainer: Her house is ever-ready to receive guests and you always feel at home because she has made every little thing in her house special. So special, in fact--even to the little things that could go unnoticed--that you would feel it were just for you.

But I digress (I told you that I am just like everyone, can easily fall into reminiscing about grandma). What was I talking about? Oh, yes, my grandma's kitchen floors. Yes, they are and always have been black-and-white checkered tile. Now, some may think that such a choice is too retro. Too casual. Or even too restricting...the floors so dominant that you can't be too bold elsewhere. Never mind what these opinions may opine (I love how the word "opine" rhymes perfectly with "whine"). I am here to say that I lurve checkered floored kitchens and I dearly wish for such a kitchen floor in the dream house I hope to live in one day.



A kitchen like this one would set me up for life.

I can understand that checkered floors might not be just any one's cup'o'tea. That is fine...so long as they don't live with me. Though I don't have my dream house now (and I don't know when that will be either). I do really hope that it will have checkered floors. If my husband doesn't like the idea; it will be a wonderful act of sacrificial love for him to let me have checkered floors. Now, I don't want to come off as being high-maintenance. It is just that I will most likely be the one spending a lot of my time in the kitchen, so why not make the place a little more enjoyable to inhabit, eh? (Yes, I am totally aware that my feminist forerunners are rolling in their graves at what I just said.)

Now, in the interest of the love I will have for my husband, I will be willing to compromise. Look at this...they have checkered floors with small black tiles.

Flooring totally designed with compromise in mind

I mean, really, I think he can at least let me have that kind of tiling. While it still might be checkered, this kind of tiling looks a bit more upscale. Some people have this kind of tiling in their bathrooms. And I've even seen some hotels, etc., choose it for designs. Heck, it's not like I am asking for a kitchen like this: (though, I admit, there is a certain appeal to it....)



For the eccentric types...

So, perhaps one day I will have a dream house that will have checkered floor tiling in the kitchen. For now, I am quite content with simply having checkered curtains above my sink.

How quaint

Yes, that indeed is one of the more lovely things about being young, right out of college, there are so many happy things to look forward to--like checkered floor tiling in your kitchen--while still enjoying the little things in life until you get there--like checkered kitchen curtains. I'll even go so far to say that I don't need the checkered tiles right now. I have the rest of my life to get 'em. And if I don't ever get 'em, at least I got to dream about it for a little while today!



Okay, done with dreaming for today...

P.S.: In case some readers are not aware, I can be a horribly sarcastic person. So my obnoxious rant about husbands, feminists and compromises are all (mostly) in jest. I would never tyranically insist of a husband to have checkered floors in my kitchen. Though the home can be a women's primary work place and thus "her kingdom" (as some may say) there are far more important things in life to bother and bicker with one's spouse about without worrying about flooring choices...