A little over a year ago, I entered the blogosphere, writing about my life in the mama 'hood. As a stay-at-home mom to a now 19-month-old, blogging turned out to be a most useful venue to
So what's this mom know about decorating and design? I know I spend ridonkulous amounts of time at home. And if you're a parent or designer, you know how hard it is to create a kid-friendly home that doesn't look or feel like Toys R Us staged a hostile takeover. A home that's inviting to both kids and adults. A home you want to hang out in. And oh yeah, and it has to be safe, too. Safety. Right.
For me, creating my home is quite literally a work in progress. I scour the stream of catalogues that grace my mailbox, I flip through magazines, and I clip the stuff I like. Old school. With scissors. I collect paint chips of colors I adore. And here's where all this
I understand. Really, I do. To the untrained eye, this looks like a coupon organizer, right? Oh no. Check this out:
It's a veritable design inspiration mini mini portfolio complete with labeled sections (our room, office, porch, living room). So I'm a little Type A. What of it?
Want a little peek inside? Well, since my living/dining room could use a major facelift, I'll give you little lookie at some of the things I like. Here's the Chloe sofa from Macy's:
We already have the Brandon rug from Pottery Barn, but I want the Franklin rug, too:
I also love this floor lamp (Torsade floor lamp by Visual Comfort and Co. from Circa Lighting). It's totally not in my budget (well, unless I'm cool with my son skipping college), but hey, a girl's gotta dream a little. And besides, it's all about inspiration, not replication.
And how about Nantucket Fog or Van Courtland Blue from Benjamin Moore? Pretty relaxing, right? Like I'm a tired mom and could use a nap relaxing?
These are just a few my happy little nuggets. It's true; collecting these pieces, if you will, make me happy. They inspire me, allow me to create (even just in my mind for now) my vision for my home. Hey, I even let the hubs in on it (but only if he produces some quality ideas). How's that for adding a little fun to your marriage? Who needs a dinner out when you can collect paint samples together in the aisles of Lowe's with a child clinging to your hip? Pure romance.
You may chuckle a bit (believe me, I do, too) at my little organizer. It has to be the least technologically savvy way to do this. Recently, Sarah introduced me to snipi.com and I'm loving it. I'm not sure I'm ready to put my cute pink folder to rest and lose the tangible take-it-with-you option, but I admit that the thought of organizing (oh organizing, how I love you so) my inspirations electronically...well, that just brings me to an extra-happy place. I confess I'm a bit of a techno-moron, so while I'm sure there's a way to do this electronically and take it with me, my head might explode. Baby steps.
So how do you get (and keep) inspirations for your home or for those of potential clients? Any tips or tricks? Please let me know...okay, even if it involves more technology. I'm ready for it; bring it on.
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I love that sofa! Can you tell me if there are sofas out there that are bigger than a love seat but smaller than a standard couch? Our living room is so small that our couch just overwhelms it.
ReplyDeleteHi Tuuli,
ReplyDeleteThere are sofas that fit in that size range, albeit a little more difficult to find at retail these days. What are the dimensions of your room (length/width) and what is the measure of the wall/area where sofa will go? That information will allow me to get a better sense of what size will fit.
Thanks for stopping by and for leaving a comment this morning!!
Hi again, OK, so now that I've read the entire post and realize my mommy friend wrote it I can share my nerdy home design secret (because I suspect she will understand): I have drawn several scaled floor plans of our home with scaled cut outs of our furniture so that I can try to figure out how to remodel and place furniture... and I do have a folder with clippings from catalogs and magazines of my favorite design ideas too! Anyway, the wall where the couch would live is 9ft. our current couch is 7ft long so it just about leaves room for an end table but just overwhelms the room. We only have room for one other chair in the room, so downsizing to a loveseat would cut back on seating too much.
ReplyDeleteI lied, the wall is 10'6". (not much of a change). The room itself is 13x9 but there's a doorway along the wall where the couch would go. There's a fireplace along the short wall on one end and an open staircase along the other short wall. I'd love to place a couch facing the fireplace but this couch won't leave enough room to get around it!
ReplyDeleteAs I posted on Facebook before seeing this post, "smart thinking". Its always wise to do a scaled plan or even use blue painters tape to mark off areas and get a sense of how they will fit.
ReplyDeleteFor the table issue... a sofa, with a small, low basket on the ends for magazines, etc. will help w/out taking up too much space. You may then want to consider a coffee table that doubles as ottoman/table in one.
Someday...when I'm in my forever home, then I can wish and dream and design. For now, unfortunately, it's just fiscal function for us. :(
ReplyDelete"All things in time"... for now you are obviously collecting your ideas, inspirations and "loves" so when you do find that fabulous forever home you'll know exactly what you want!
ReplyDeleteHey Marie, I hear you on the forever home thing. I'm not in my forever home (I hope!) either, but in most rooms, I've found ways to choose pieces I love that could work in another home (and potentailly in a different room). For example, my dining table is small b/c that's all we have room for in a living/dining room combo. But it could easily serve as a kitchen table some day. My porch sofa would look great in an office; living room rug in a bedroom...you get the idea.
ReplyDeleteOh, one more thing! I also wait a long time to do stuff/purchase items. I'm a chronic researcher. I tend to spend more on pieces and have them for a long time, so I've had some of my stuff for quite a while. I search and search until I find what I really want. I'm not afraid to wait b/c it's a commitment!
ReplyDelete