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.

House Crashing in the Bluegrass State (part one)

Hello-hello there, Sports fans! Welcome to the newest series here at MKDesign & Decor...House Crashing!

A lot of other home/D.I.Y. bloggers will have the occasional house crashing post. Seeing that I am a somewhat-dilettantish blogger, I am taking a whack at house crashing. What better way to start such a series than to show case the house "where the magic began"? That's right, folks, I am house-crashing the house where I grew up!

My love for interior design and all things homey can be definitely traced to my origins. Growing up, I always held the spot as faithful sidekick to my mom in most of the home improvement projects she took on. I just couldn't get enough of it!

Last week, I took a few days off work to visit my family. When ever I go home, I love to wander around and see what new changes or additions my dear mother has added to the family home since I was last around. You could say it is one of my (many) quirks. It's just something that I do! Although there were not any major changes discovered on this last visit, it still struck me that I wanted to share with you this bit of myself. So, sit back and enjoy a mini tour of my family's home.

As you know from my last post, the bathroom is a highly esteemed room in my book. So let's start there on this little home tour.

Now, I realized after the fact (as in, when I was upload the pictures to my computer after I returned from my visit home) that it would have been waaay classier if I had closed the toilet before taking this picture. As well as folding/hiding the hand towel that is so delicately draped over the drawer. But, alas, such a thought didn't even cross my mind. #comfortsofhomegonewrong Sorry, Mom!

Anyways, in the last six months, my mother re-painted and re-styled this bathroom, which is on the first floor of our house and the recipient of a lot of traffic. My mom painted that wall free-hand. You should be impressed. I am. You might notice in this picture and the following pictures that the patter doesn't show up on all of the walls. This was on purpose. This is a small room and Mom thought that the pattern would become very overwhelming, perhaps even dizzy-ing, if painted on all of the walls. She opted to reserve painting the fun pattern on only the opposing walls of the room. I couldn't agree more with this decision (especially considering the large mirror over the vanity).

I lack "before" pictures. But, trust me, this makeover is an improvement of divine proportions. Not that I necessarily hated the "before." It never really occurred to me to make a bathroom so darling and cute. I am in love with this new look!

Moving on from the bathroom, here is a shot (from the doorway of the previously shown bathroom no less) of the family room. Excuse me for bragging, but I crafted that gallery wall. Though I didn't plan on this being the only picture from this room, it turned out I didn't document this room from any other angle. But you can see that a similar color scheme is continued through the first floor of the house. I am pretty sure that my mom would describe her decorating style and preferences to be in the are of "English Country".

Here is the living room. Again, you will observe a consistency in Mom's decor choices. The look of Mom's style definitely has evolved over time, but I would say she has been pretty consistent in the vein of English Country/English Cottage. Trust me, I am in no way complaining. I love home! In fact, the living room is one of my favorite rooms in the house. It is so cozy. Oh, and the piano is also in the room. I spent many-an-hour at the piano in my youth. (But I failed to get a good picture of the beautiful instrument. Sorry! Better luck next time, I suppose).

The living room is right off of the foyer/front entry. I think this area was a bit of a thorn in my mother's side for some time. You don't see it here, but there is a very boring chandelier above. After living in this house for almost 15 years, I think things are looking quite nice. It helps that the living room is right off of the entry, so our guests have a loverly view as they are walking in.

View from the front door

Next up is the basement. We re-finished the basement about four years ago. It was a big to-do. Although the basement was technically "finished" when we moved in, it was nothing special to say the least. Mother schemed (in the most positive sense of the word) for years about how she would re-style the area once the majority of her eight kids were out of the destructive ages. Her patient, loving waiting paid off for sure. Don't'ya think?

I really like that lamp and table combo in the foreground

 This area previously was a (very) large, double closet. With the makeover, my mom had one side converted to a reading nook slash extra guest bed (i.e. when a lot of guests come one of us kids forfeits our bed to the guest and we get to sleep in the basement book nook). The other half of the monstrous closet became a sitting booth, as you can see. It is great for family movie nights. (We call them "picnics" even though it has been a long time since we spread out a picnic set-up in front of the T.V.).

It was fairly difficult to get a good shot of the basement in such a way that did it justice. Here is the best-of-a-bad-lot of attempts to capture the book nook plus sitting booth relative to the couch area.

There are many more beautiful rooms to share with you from my family's home. However, as you might imagine, time with family is so precious that I got distracted after photographing the above rooms. Thus I didn't finish capturing the rest of the house during my stay. Thank goodness I don't live an egregious distance away, so I am able to travel back with relative frequency. Next time I spoil myself with a visit home, I promise to get the rest of the house and share it with you after the fact. Until then, I hope you enjoyed this house crashing adventure!

Bathroom Bonanza, round deux

Get excited people--We are back to talk about business going down in the bathroom! Woohoo!

Everyone has to use the bathroom, right? After the bedroom (and maybe the kitchen?), the bathroom is one of the highest-traffic rooms in your house. I am sure that there is some researcher out there who has done the  work to figure out "how much of his/her life the average person spends in the bathroom."

If you are like me, you might be in the "above average" category for how much time you spend in the bathroom. I am not admitting to having a spastic colon or anything (that would be totally TMI and I am known for my attention to delicate discretion). Rather, I spend time in the bathroom to do what any girl does--getting beautiful. In this regard, the bathroom is kind of like a secondary office for a woman. It is a sacred work space.

Just like I fancy up my primary office at work, I prefer to a pretty space to get my pretty on. Last time I updated you on the bathroom, this is what was going on:

I was quite pleased with these little improvements. That was all well and good, until I stumbled across an awesome, picture-less frame at an antique warehouse.

This is the closest thing to a before picture that I have. Sorry.

It was gold. It had great details. It was super affordable. It made me think of this

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and this

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 And this:

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Okay, just kidding about that last one. At least for now.

Long story short--I think it took me about 57 seconds to decide to buy it. For the first time in my life, the hours I dedicated to Pinterest paid off and I experienced what has been called a "pinspiration."

Within 48 hours, the mirror (which I forgot to take a "before" picture of due to my excitement) was hanging in the bathroom.

Don't you love it? I do. In fact, there might have been some jump-up-and-click-my-heels-love going on after I successfully rigged the mirror to support the frame. (Again, totally forgot pictures of this process. But it was totally easy).

Here are a few close ups:

As you can tell, there are a few dings and cracks. I will get around to touching it up one of these days. For now I am still basking in the afterglow of this upgrade.

I have an Eyedia. I think it's *just* right!

Perhaps no one will know the song to which I am referring to with this post's title. I think it is from a Christmas play I was in during my very formative grade school years. I don't even know where to begin to find any information about the song's title, the composer, or even the play's title. So let's get on to the rest of the post, shall we?

I visited my family a few weeks ago and took the opportunity to hit up an awesome local consignment shop.

It is called eyedia and did I say it was awesome? It's like a paradise.

One thing I really appreciate about this store is the way in which the owners "style" the items for sale; creating vignettes, niches, and the like. I understand that this is a sales technique: People want to buy things that [a] look nice and [b] they can imagine having in their homes. But it also is so helpful in the way of being "food for thought" for people like me. Although I don't buy much from the store, I get tons of ideas! (No pun intended, seriously) Ideas of how to arrange furniture, how to style displays, how to make the most of an eclectic array of items. So much fun!

This latest time I visited the hallowed store, I did walk away a bit poorer in my pockets but all for a good cause, of course. I bought a lovely green detailed pillow and a pair of candle sconces.

The candelabras most likely will be painted another color. Perhaps a sunny yellow or avocado green?

Speaking of avocado green, my mom scored a sweet avocado green urn from the store. 

That is one of my sisters striking a sassy pose in the background. I cut her head of to protect her anonymity, and because I can't cut her head off in real life (just kidding). 

The green urn originally was one of a pair of matching green urns. Mom only wanted one. Initially the sale lady wasn't going to let her have it. But, then, after she "checked on something in back," she said it was a-okay for Mom to have the one and for a discounted price too. Yeehaw! (Oh, yeah, and Mom also bought [another] cherub figurine for the house. She is a fan of angels.).

No witty title is coming to me right now

Hey there, everyone!

Just a little note to let you know that I haven't forgotten about you, the blog, or life in general (just covering all my bases..).

I have been a-working hard at that lamp. Had a few "social setbacks" this week (i.e. being social with other people kept me away) which put me behind schedule, but I am not complaining! In the meantime, here are a few pictures of  what I have been up to.

I spent at least an hour wandering around WalMart looking for something, anything for my bedroom (not just the lamp). After all of that time this is what my cart looked like. Do you see what I see? MONOCHROMATIC!! How boring. I looked at this sight and thought, "This will not do. Major fail."

Champagne is a very elegant color, it can't be the only one. So I put back pretty much everything you see there and hiked it over to Target to see if I could do any better. This display greeted me as I walk in.

"Color Changes Everything"

Ahhh, I couldn't agree more! With this kind of welcome, my spirits were buoyed and the spring returned to my step. Alright, Target, let's see what we can do!

Although I didn't buy much at Target, I did see a number of items that sent my brain gears turning. The above lampshades, though simple, have wonderful texture. Not too much, not too little. Just enough to make a statement, be elegant, as well as get the job done as "lampshade". You might be thinking, what is the job of a lampshade other than to shade a lamp? Oh ye of little faith. Every little detail counts!

I walked out of target with neither of the above lampshades. Instead, I bought a boring old white one.

Rawrr!! It's an untameable monster!

 But I have big plans for it.

Like, really big plans.

That is a picture of me beside the lamp. Note: I am 5'10"--this is going to be a statement lamp in more ways than one. I can't wait to show you what I come up with!