One morning at brunch, I was chatting with my friend Robyn over coffee, pancakes, and quiche about the design process in our homes. We were comparing notes on the speed and success we were (or were not) experiencing with putting rooms together. She is making great progress formulating the core of her design style so sometimes her hold up is not buying something from uncertainty, or the thing she does get doesn’t work as well as she thought.
My hold ups can be indecision simply because there are so many areas to focus on! As I was saying to her: “How do you decide whether to laser focus on one space and “finish” that one space, or to broaden your focus and buy things from your hunting list as they appear and slowly have the whole house rise to the image you are aiming for?”
When Matt & I were remodeling the kitchen it was easy to focus only on what that room needed since we had a deadline to finish by. It didn’t matter if an enticing thing popped up on Marketplace, the thrift store, or the antique shop that would’ve been perfect for another room ~ I was only buying things for the kitchen. This narrow focus paid off with cohesive decor items and a kitchen finished on budget and on time!
With my visit with Robyn in mind, this conversation between Lisa Bass from Farmhouse on Boone and Amanda from Sincerely, Marie Designs shed some light on this common dilemma:
Lisa asked Amanda, “Your home looks so curated, and every piece goes together like a magazine. Do you have any tips for collecting things for your home so it doesn’t look cluttered or like a garage sale?”
GAIN TRACTION FROM CLARITY:
Amanda replied: “One way for finding your style is to look back on your Pinterest boards, there will be a lot of things that are similar in those photos. You can pick up on those things you are really drawn to. When you find what you like, it makes it easier to shop. Also, when you are wanting a home to be collected, you have to be patient, you have to be OK with waiting. Most of the time, you’re not going to go out and find the perfect thing the first time you look. Eventually, you’re going to find it; it just may not be when you’re looking for it. If I go into a store thinking ‘this is what I’m here for today’, I never find it. You’ll probably find something and think: ‘well, it kinda works’, but it’s not really, truly what you want. I think it’s better to wait, and even if you have to spend a little bit more for that perfect thing, it’s worth it because then you know you’re going to have it forever.”
“I think it comes down to really knowing what your style is, and that can sometimes be hard for people to pin down. It took me a little while to figure it out.” – Amanda
“When I go shopping and looking for certain things, I have this running list in my head of things I would love to find one day. I know that eventually I’ll find this, or I’ll find that. It just takes time.” – Amanda
Here is a collection of items I pulled several years ago to do some fall decorating. For one reason, or another, all those items except the books and the brown transferware pitcher have left our home. The pieces that remained are core to my design style & it has taken time and experimentation to discover this. Knowing my core design style, the things that I will not tire of, has given me great clarity in creating cohesive, timeless rooms in our home.
FOCUS:
Once you gain traction through clarity with your style (and home palette colors) you can really focus on bringing spaces together. To further focus on what truly pleases your unique design eye here is another valuable tip from Amanda:
“I think what helped is when I shut off the HGTV shows, and stopped paying close attention to social media or other blogs, not that I don’t find those resources helpful, but sometimes when we look at too many things, we lose track of what we really love.” – Amanda
This is effective advice! I find Pinterest & Instagram inspiring, but I also find myself gathering so many good ideas and taking little action on any one of them. To dig deep when creating an actual room and make good, informed decisions browse your books. Soaking up the details of a yummy design book will most likely yield the outcome you’ll be happy with for years to come.
Here is a recent example in our home. I’ve loved this image from the book entitled: The Country Decorator by Miranda Innes for a long time. It’s my favorite image in the book! You’ve seen these plates and platters in our kitchen for years. I also have them in other places in the house. Looking at this photo again motivated me to try a platter wall in our kitchen. I love the result! If you want to read more from that post & see the video click here.
Recap: Gaining focus & traction in your design choices comes from being familiar with your core design style/colors and keeping those in focus as you create your home. It is much easier to shop and shop with confidence! Plus your pieces will mix and remix effortlessly throughout your home. I hope you’ve found these thoughts helpful as you cultivate the art of home! Until next time,
Take care,
Rachel
