What’s your style? Do you know exactly what your style is or is it ever-changing and evolving?
(Coastal Living)
I think for me, I have known my style is Traditional for a long time now. I’ve been drawn to that look over the years and still love it, although in the last few years, I’ve felt the need to de-formalize that Traditional style and make it a little less stuffy. My living room is going through a little tweaking now. It’s the most formal room in my house and even though I still love my furniture, I want to take it down a notch.
With the surge of decorating on the internet that has been going on for a long while now, it’s easy to get sucked into house envy. We see what everyone else has in their homes and I’m not so sure this habit we have of peeking in the windows of all our online friends is a completely healthy one. Fun, yes absolutely, but healthy, maybe not! 🙂
(Traditional Home)
I dived into the online decorating world back in the late 90’s, when decorating boards like Better Homes & Gardens were going strong and were the place to hang out. There I met other obsessed home owners who wanted to talk about houses all the time and it was a lot of fun. I went on to join a private decorating group online in 2000 and from there, blogging took over and here I am.
I still remember the thrill of seeing other people’s house pics and sharing my own and the back and forth conversation that ensued with all of us back in those days. We lived for a new inspiring project from someone else. Now, it’s a little old hat. You can click on any blog and see house after house, style after style of as many differently decorated homes as you can imagine.
So, where am I going with this?
(My living room)
It seems that now that there is SO much out there to absorb and mull over with all the styles and visual overload, we can start to get dissatisfied with what we have. It becomes “oh my gosh, I love that, I want MY house to look like that!”.
We’ve seen the trends of the first decade of this century: Tuscan, French Country, Coastal cottage, Swedish inspired, and a host of others in between, especially the Pottery Barn phenom. I too, am not immune to falling in love with ALL of these looks at one time or another and I enjoy seeing them all. Does that mean I’m going to change out everything in my house and become a devotee of one of those styles?
Absolutely NO WAY!
I’ve carefully acquired and collected every single stick of furniture that’s in my house currently, one piece at a time and I still love every single stick of it. Whatever redecorating goes on at my house will consist of rugs, pillows, fabrics, accessories, and artwork changing out for the most part. You won’t see a whole lot of new furniture coming in my house. If something comes in, something has to go out.
So, as pretty as I think the current trend towards all white might be, it’s not going to happen at my house. I won’t be painting all of my pretty brown antiques white. Cause you see, brown is classic and never goes out of style. It might not be the cutting edge of design at the moment, but I love every single piece of those carefully chosen treasures.
We all have to do do what is right for each one of us when it comes to decorating our homes. I don’t live in a Tuscan home with architectural features to be envied, nor do I live in a stately old historical home with loads of character and patina. I live in a 10 year+ old subdivision and instead of wishing away everything that’s here, I have chosen to embrace my home and make it the best it can be.
I encourage all of you to do the same. It’s so easy to get caught up in blogland with what everyone else is doing, but you live in your home and I live in mine. So, that’s why on this blog, you will see me encouraging all of you to be yourselves, do what makes YOU happy in your home.
That’s how to truly make a house a HOME. A haven for our families. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to have a pretty house, in fact, I think women have that desire innately built in, but we all have budgets and limitations to what we can do. I can see a gorgeous home online and drool all over it, but at the end of the day, I live in my house and choose to make it what works best for my family and lifestyle. Be unique, don’t be afraid to do what makes you happy, even though it may fly in the face of current trends. Trends come and go, we all know that.
So, here’s what you won’t see in my house that is currently all the rage:
- All white slipcovered sofas and chairs, along with all white walls and minimal color (I do have one white slipcovered chair and ottoman that Grandma helped me with. The slipcover cost me $5 in yardsale fabric, labor was free). 🙂 As pretty as this look is, it just won’t work in my house.
- Brick walls or floors, heavy wood beams, a home built with age. My house has limitations on what it can be. So, I live with what I have and make it the best it can possibly be.
(Babs Watkins, House Beautiful)
- All French inspired furniture and accessories. I love this look too, but I’m not going to get rid of everything I have to achieve it right down to the last detail. Practical rules for me.
(Christopher Petkanas, House Beautiful)
- Swedish design, all pale gray/green and minimal furnishings. Again, beautiful and I love to see it in magazines but it’s not me. I have to use what I already have and make it work.
- Sleek styling ala Pottery Barn, with minimal accessories. Again, I enjoy that look too, but much prefer my old antiques and I like my stuff too much to pare down that minimally.
So, how about you?
What do you truly love?
This pic below from House Beautiful probably speaks to me the loudest at this moment. But, will I totally have this look.
No, but I can get inspired from this pic. 
Do you fluctuate between styles trying to find the REAL you?
I’ve definitely honed in on my style much more as I’ve gotten older. I’ve become a bit of a snob when it comes to buying vintage things, I so prefer old to new and it’s a whole lot more fun to shop like that.
Does trolling blogs make it easier or harder for you to find your style?
If we’re not careful, we can definitely have house envy, myself included. I see SO many beautiful homes out there, but at the end of the day, I love my home so much and have the best time tweaking it and changing things around. I am truly grateful for our home. We have so many great ideas at our fingertips now, visual overload at times and it can make for some frustration and joy all at the same time.
So, here’s the bottom line on all of this. I urge you to be yourself, find joy in YOUR home and don’t get sucked into doing the latest and greatest in blogland. While there is certainly nothing wrong with getting inspiration and ideas from others in blogland, just be careful that you are going in a direction because YOU truly love it and not because it’s the thing to do this year. Copying might not be the best way to get the home of your dreams. Look, listen, and learn for yourself so that you can take the information you glean and use it in a positive way at your Home Sweet Home.
The End! 🙂
Wonderful post……Your so right it is easy to get cought up in everyones style, but it is what makes YOU happy. I think we all need to read this! Thank you for being real.
Well said! I couldn’t agree more.
I have been working on my living room and came at it from that very approach. There are furniture pieces I want to replace but it will be as we find another to replace it with…not rushing out to buy a whole new set at a cost we just can’t afford. The accessories I have found are those that I love and have meaning.
I am not trendy. I love old wood. It is fine with me…as long as it is pretty and welcoming.
Becky K.
Love, love, love everything you said. I want a home that is layered through the years with comfy cozy pieces that create a welcoming haven for my family and friends. I love color too much to give it up…so my decorating isnt cutting edge. I love a bit of cheerful clutter and a home that looks lived in. Thanks for inspiring me to remain true to myself and my family and to use the blogs and catalogs to stir my creative juices when things get a bit stale.
Good Morning Rhoda,
I agree with everything that you are saying. My style is very eclectic, so I choose to very selective of things that I add to my home decor. I do like to change out accessories, rugs and window treatments from time to time, but furniture, no.
I have found too, that as I have gotten older that I gravitate to the vintage and older pieces that have been lovingly worn.
Yes, I do ooh and ahh over all the homes in blogland and I feel inspired and often use some of the ideas I see. But, I try not to get caught up in the current trends.
hugs
Sissie
Great post and I totally agree with what you say. My “time worn style” is a bit of everything. At the moment I am loving roses mixed with industrial pieces. I do love seeing whats happening via blog hopping but in the end I work with the pieces that I love the best and mix them all together. Some may think its not great and not to their taste but I feel I am being true to me and thats what its all about :0)
alicia
time worn style
WONDERFUL post! I have followed your blog for a long time and I think this is the best post yet. I have been feeling the house envy greatly these past few months. wishing everything was white, knowing it could not work in my home and then wondering what to do next. This post has really been inspiring for me.
Thanks!
Rhoda, you are so right about trends coming and going. My home is definitely traditional, but casual. I have been making mine more and more casual, too. I took the test on sproost.com last week and it said my style is 33% Traditional country, 33% Nantuckett, and 34% wine country. That is probably the truth. I enjoy looking at blogs to be inspired and to maybe look at something and get an idea of a form of it or how to make or paint something myself to copy the higher end look on a budget. It amazes me what some of these ladies can do with paint and/or fabric.
I totally agree with you! This was a great reminder post. :0) I actually do like looking through the home blogs because they open my eyes to things I may not have thought of on my own. What I have actually taken away from all of the design blogs out there is this; whatever makes YOU happy and works for YOUR LIFESTYLE is what is IN. I love the ideas I get from blogs. I am definitely no designer – just a wife and mom who wants my home to be a place that makes my family and friends feel comfortable and embraced. I decorate very practically. I love pieces that I can pick up for a song at a thrift store. I don’t feel that they are too precious to be used and loved. I think that makes a house into a home.
rhoda,
this is a great article! to answer your question, blogland has completely helped me refine and enhance my stlye! i was a “pick up something because its cute and not know what to do with it at home” kind of girl before blogging.
by perusing so many blogs and designs i have found what i am truly drawn to and my doing so can now easily pass up really cute things at a store or flea market because now i KNOW what i like 🙂 and what fits my style!
Thank you for this morning post. I have been reading your blog for about 8 months and enjoy it so much. Your post this am rang very true with me. We have recently downsized from a large 150 year old Georgian home to suburb home. The upkeep on the grand dame was getting so timecomsuiming. I am having fun blendly my traditional pieces into our new home. Your blog especialy today reinforces my decisions. Again thanks for your comments.
Thanks Rhoda! I agree with you. I am also a traditional gal and find it somewhat painful to see someone paint over a great antique piece. But, once the painting is done the finished look is always fantastic, I just don’t think that is for me.
Also, I love, love, love the very first picture you posted with the red buffalo check curtains and the red toile wingback chairs. I have actually been contemplating using red buffalo check on my kitchen bay window for sometime now. You have just sealed the deal for me! Thanks for a great post and a splash of reality. 🙂
I don’t comment to often but this was a great post Rhoda…thank’s
Great post, Rhoda!
The entry photo speaks to me, as well. I have almost all the ingredients to replicate that look in our foyer, except our stairway is in the living room. However, I won’t try to replicate it.
We are playing musical furniture again, at our house. Brightening and lightening J’s lodge. No furniture purchases, just paint and borrowing from other rooms. At the same time we’re taking from the lodge to use in other rooms. I want my “office” upstairs, now. We tossed around the idea of turning the studio or dining room into an office. But, where would we use my mother’s cabinet and the beautiful round table and slipcovered chairs. I’m not ready to give all that up or the room. Speaking of Mother’s cabinet, it has remained the same , since it was put together over 80 years ago. Why would I paint that cabinet white with all that beautiful vaneer work. It’s the first thing people see when they enter our home. No white paint for that old girl. In the end, I’m bringing my spanking new PC, into the master suite. Oh the horrors! I’ve heard that is a decorating mistake, but it works for us and as you say, this is our home/sanctuary.
Changes being made at Pat & J’s casa, with few purchases. And if their are furniture purchases it will be some of that “old stuff”.:-)
It’s really easy to get sucked into the popular idea or what is “in” at the moment. I don’t think I’ve ever had house envy, but I do admire what others do in their homes and have picked up some wonderful ideas over the past 8 or 10 years of online house browsing. Many ideas learned from you, Rhoda. I can see where “house browsing” can become unhealthy, though. I try to keep a clear head.
Wonderful post! I do think this is related to age somewhat. I think that when we are younger we want to fill our homes with “stuff” that other people say we should have. Blogs, magazines, HGTV, etc. all fuel this need to conform, but as we age I think we find ourselves, both in decorating and in other ways and we hone in on our style and what makes “us” happy. We find those pieces that really speak to us and how we really live, not how we want or think we should live. And I think our homes become more of a reflection of who we are rather than a reflection of trends and what’s hot at the moment. I know this was the case for me, and although I do know of some people who find their style very early on I think those people are somewhat rare. I found hints of my style early on, and those furnishings are still with me today, but now that I’m in my 40’s, I have found “my” style.
Kat 🙂
I guess you could say Ikea with alittle Pottery Barn through in.
Rhoda, well said! That is a great post and a wonderful reminder. I don’t mind painting accessories black or white, but my hand stops and shakes with a brush in hand at the thought of painting beautiful patina that tooks years to look that way. I, too, love the white, but when it goes out of style, do I want to strip off what I’ve painted – Yikes! No! Linda
Hi Rhoda, I tend to like everything that has a ‘pair’… I’m always looking for things that match not knowing exactly what my style is, I’m thinking a mix and eclectic style because I also love all things French, Shabby, Contemporary, Vintage, Tuscan, Beachy, well you get the idea 🙂 My dream is to combined all of this things I adore in just one room. Working on it… Great post!
Excellent! I have never been caught up in the trends of decorating …just walk in the house and see :). It overwhelms me to just think about it. I probably need to hire you to come and update our home anyway :). I think our homes need to be warm and inviting, clean and fresh smelling. If we stress over the contents of it, often times we won’t invite people in. Doesn’t that defeat the purpose??
Thank you for this thoughtful, insightful post. I can imagine it was a lot of work to put together, and I appreciate that.