What You Can Do to Express Your Own Style.

IT'S PERSONAL: This room is an excellent example of what many of us realistically aspire to for our homes. Most will not have their homes featured in a magazine, don't have an unlimited budget, nor the time it takes to pull off a supremely divine interior design.

What we all CAN do is: a) seek out quality - "Buy quality, buy once."; b) Acquire pieces you love - every piece should illicit some sense of joy, trigger a positive thought or feeling; & c) make it personal!

Forget about what your neighbors, relatives or friends think - their opinion really doesn't matter - they don't live there day-to-day and, in most cases, don't know how you really live your life 24/7.

What you will end up with, if you stick to your own personal aesthetic and daily needs rather than the "shoulds" of interior design, is a home that lifts your spirit, outwardly expresses what brings you joy, and above all, a home that is not only pleasing to YOUR eye. It also needs to provide the kind of comfort that you can sink into without regret, stress, or feelings of inadequacy from a design perspective.

Décor tips, advice and how-to guides for the lay person are meant to provide a general overview of principles you can use when you are selecting the things you love for your home. While you may simply adore that cool floor lamp, it should relate well with the other pieces you have or are looking to get down the line. If it is the wrong size, or shares nothing in common with anything else, the disconnect will stand out, glaringly, and throw off the harmony.

The other key concept, in addition to "making it your own", is HAVE A PLAN! Take the time to create a road map for purchases and projects. Come up with a color scheme and stick to it. Be honest with how you really live and use your space and decorate accordingly. Lastly, and most importantly, if you see it, love it and it fits your plan, BUY IT then and there. I cannot tell you how many times clients have gone back the next day after sleeping on it only to find the item was snatched up by someone else. (This applies to one of a kind items, not mass produced and currently available products from multiple sources.) 

Scroll back to the top and look at that first photo again. Each piece is unique, relates to at least 2-3 other things in the space, and thereby creates a comfortable, individualized set of rooms. With all the pressures on our daily lives with work and responsibilities, the last thing anyone needs is to be burdened by the expectations and opinions of others when it comes to our homes.

The mantra: 
"A room should feel collected and not decorated" (anon).

We'd love to hear what you have to say on the topic. Do you feel pressured to create the magazine perfect home? Does that stifle your own desires and sense of beauty? Does the fear of "doing it wrong" stop you from doing anything?