When I was much younger, every time I started a new job, a new class, a new social group, I always saw it as the opportunity to be the perfect me.
You know, the one with the cute laugh, not the obnoxious laugh.
The one who seems ultra-organized and a real go getter.
The one who never says anything negative and is a radiant beam of positive energy.
Then, life happens and someone tells a funny joke and the obnoxious laugh surfaces and you loose an important piece of paper with important signatures on it and you find your beam of positive energy is flickering like an old flashlight found under the kitchen sink. Gah! Rewind!
That is just what I did recently when I posted my Master Bedroom updates. I tried to be someone I’m not. I tried to embrace a new design style and thought I would be comfortable in this new color and textile palette. I was so wrong.
Just and FYI…I’ve painted my master bedroom twice, yes twice, since I posted that just a few days ago.
So, what do I do when I take a wrong turn? I visit the shop around the corner that I adore so much to get me back on track. I love, love, love this store. That’s three loves people. It’s soooo good. I thought I would share my little field trip with you today and my five ways to create a warm, textural and interesting home.
I just love the bird and the bright blue lamps. They have the best lamps.
Oh the blue and white! I could take all of these pieces home if my bank account would let me. The dark wood and the bright blue…love!
How pretty is this little set up? I wish I had an old farmhouse table where I could set something up like this just to walk by it every day. It feels so homey.
Red isn’t really my thing but I just couldn’t help capturing this sweet little kitchen table with the pops of red. Don’t you feel like it came from a French farmhouse?
I could take everything on this console and the console to boot. I love the idea of candlesticks with boxwood balls on top. What a great little quick topiary look for really no effort. I bought a few of these boxwood balls that day…so cute.
One of the last times my mother-in-law was in town we meandered through this shop and she fell in love with this starfish lamp. She has a beachfront condo that it would look perfect in.
I adore these old jugs. They would add such great texture to a display. A loaf of bread, a jug of wine and thou? Anyone?
More blue and white beauty…and that little buffet. Gorgeous.
It’s turtle season around here with nests marked off on the beach. Everyone is waiting for the turtles to hatch. Aren’t these framed prints incredible?
This little nautical mirror is just so adorable. It would look wonderful in a coastal entry or in a child’s bedroom. The lamps were so pretty in person, they had such a pretty patina to them.
The blue and white lamps are such a great departure from a traditional blue and white motif. I couldn’t help but photograph these lamps because they added an unexpected touch to the more traditional blue and white pieces. The Greek key burlap place-mats? Yes…please!
For the man in your life…what a masculine set up.
I love the color of these lamps mixed with the traditional rug. Every time I visit this store I am always inspired. I love the traditional/coastal/relaxed feel it has. That was my operation rewind. I’m back on track for my master bedroom. My advice? When you find yourself moving in a direction that isn’t the authentic you, visit your ultimate store and photograph it. Take time to think about what it is that makes you love it so much and then recreate that in your own home.
For me, I took away these important lessons…
1. Pick a style- I love traditional furniture. Painted or unpainted. Furniture with character is my jam.
2. Porcelain Pieces- I love the mix of blue and white in my decor. I have to include it throughout my house in each room.
3. Lighting With Character- I have a thing for great lamps. I love a lamp that is so beautifully designed it is a work of art in itself. I’m banning the boring lamps.
4. Good Art That Moves You- I like animal art. I love coastal bird art and other nautical critters beautifully painted. Save my pennies for great art and frames.
5. Layers and layers- I love a layered textural feel to a room. I don’t think you can have too much texture. Just make sure elements are repeated. I have to incorporate wicker/rattan/bamboo in my rooms and mix that with more refined elements.
Now for the exciting news! Check back here on Friday because I’m hosting a party! You’ll have to come back Friday to see what the party is all about. But it should be good!
Nancy
Hi neighbor! Where are those turtle prints? I have been seeking turtle shells but just found out they are illegal to posses. Such beautiful works of nature.
Hope to see you soon.
S
Hey Sheila! They are at the Plantation Shop. Thanks for commenting!
Ahhh, I see you have fallen into that blogger decorating identity crisis trap!! I know how you feel. I have had to hit the rewind button a few times in recent years…especially since I started dabbling in the world of blogs. I have had that same sort of a decorating identity crisis (a few times)… and I blame it ALL on all those other great blogs and bloggers out there with a keen sense of style and design (and an endless pocket book and a million sponsors to give them FREE merchandise)…Not that I am jealous or anything, hehehe. Now I won’t say that I never made decorating mistakes before blogging (like in choosing paint colors) but I never had to decorate and redecorate a room a hundred times to get it right for me. Those identity crises have also cost me a LOT of extra money that I could have used elsewhere (rugs can get awfully expensive, know what I mean) (so can paint for that matter), haha. However, I am thankful to have learned that one very important lesson too, to stay true to myself no matter if it’s considered “untrendy”, “out-of-style”, “outdated” or different than everyone else’s idea of perfect design is. You know, the great part about life is that we each get to choose how we live it and we don’t all have the same taste or style to have a nice (and pretty) home. In the long run, no matter if it’s trendy, traditional, farmhouse style, eclectic or whatever, I want my home to be a place that I and my family love and are comfortable in…after all we are the ones who will be living there, right!
Oh and by the way, love that store and you should really buy your mother-in-law that lamp (you know the starfish one). Just a thought. I might make her day and perhaps God will bless you in return with something you want.
Sheila, thanks for your great comment. I’m happy to know I’m not the only one who has a design crisis every once in a while. I think for me, a lot of my design confusion came from the idea of moving to a coastal location and feeling like I should do a lot of coastal. When I first moved here I would see people’s homes and think, why wouldn’t you decorate coastal? Now I get it. Thanks for commenting…it means so much to me.