Grown-up Decorating

from Cottage Living

I have had some decorating dilemmas over the past few years, and all of them seem to revolve around trying to find my style.  I was grateful this morning that Grace at Design*Sponge voiced the same concerns - who are we as grown ups?  I know what I like in a magazine, but does that mean I could live in the space?  

When Mr. Hedin and I first got married I made our house a very "grown up" space.  It included gold drapes, an Oriental carpet, oversized furniture, and lots of colors.  It didn't take long to realize that it wasn't really our style.  

Only a few years into it, we went to Hawaii and walked through an open house (that's another story - I'm addicted to open houses).  The house was a Hawaiian style house on the beach with white wood walls, dark hardwood floors, and sparse furniture.  In retrospect, it could have been sparse because it was staged to sell, but at the time it was a breath of fresh air for me.  And a lightbulb moment.  I felt really at home in that space.  Granted it was a $12 Million estate on the beach - I could have been very happy there.  But the feel of the space was refreshing and exactly what I wanted.  

from Design*Sponge

So we came home and almost immediately laid down a new dark hardwood floor, painted all of the walls white, took down the curtains, and rolled up the rug.  I knew it still needed work, but we were so much closer to making our house something that reflected us.  That was five years ago.

Since then I have gotten rid of the oversized couch and recovered the black chaise lounge into a lovely grey ostrich.  I found a vintage Danish Modern sectional that I love - but with cushions I hate.  I've picked out the fabric and know what I want them to look like - the budget doesn't allow for those changes now.  But it's waiting in the wings. 

Meanwhile, I pour through inspiration and find myself drawn to things that don't look anything like what I have.  And as we look at moving into a new house I have the added struggle of making my furniture work in a new space.  Since the new house is (hopefully!) bigger, we'll have that to manage too.  

And the constant struggle still is trying to figure out what my style is as a grown up.  And how do those changes incorporate with the pieces and heirlooms that I still have - and love - in a cohesive space? I know I'll never be a "House Beautiful" house, but a girl can dream.  Right?

from Design*Sponge

from Design*Sponge