Seeing all my pictures like that gave me a fresh perspective on my taste, my likes and dislikes.
1) I had not realised how colourful my home really is. Without the tchotchkes to distract me, to catch my eye, I could settle on looking at what's actually, really, solidly there.
2) I have not been deliberate about pattern. It is true, there is a dirth of decent, affordable fabric stores around here, but I wonder--have I simply used that as an excuse for too long? Am I afraid I will tire of my choice long before I can afford to replace it? May be. But there are ways to work with that.
I like this combination of vintage bedding--an old flannel sheet with an old cotton pillowcase. Thing is, I really have to hunt for these sorts of things and I just don't like shopping that much. (Is that whiny? Sorry.)
I'm on the look out for other ways to use pattern and combine them when I can.
3) I bought a plant for the hallway shelf. I couldn't stand to see it bare! I've been meaning to get a plant for a while, too, so I'm happy.
More plants, instead of things, may be in my future.
4) It is astonishing how much the state of my house affects my mood. It is not just that a clean and clutter free house makes me happy, but that my house, when it's littered with the detritus of the everyday depresses me. It all just overwhelms me and things go from mildly messy to ghastly quite quickly.
When discussing how she plans a colour palette, Emily Henderson mentioned that her life is at times so chaotic that she cannot live with as much colour as she would like. In her own words:
I am a messy person that has WAY too many things coming constantly in and out of the house and I have a lot of mental and physical chaos in my life, so while I am an extremely high energy person, I’ve realized (it was a hard lesson) that I need my color palette to be limited because I’m not clean or organized enough to handle the amount of color that I actually want to bring into my house.
For shoots, when things are all clean, organized, and put away, I bring out the hot pink/red.
But in reality, for everyday I need it to feel less chaotic, and a quick way to do that is to remove the color that feels the most distracting. source
Light bulb moment.
On the one hand, I love colour and I want to introduce more pattern into my life. On the other, it may be easier and less overwhelming to me if I go in the opposite direction and pare back on everything: colour, pattern and the totchkes.
5) This gallery wall has to go.
It is too dinky, too cluttery and doesn't really have any meaning for us.
You do have a colorful home! Are you liking it better without the tchotchkes? I would love to bring in more plants, myself, but I kill everything with benign neglect.
ReplyDeleteAh, that's why I am thinking succulents. I wonder--will they survive low light, though?
ReplyDeleteI am loving it without the tchotchkes! It's a bit scary, actually.
Although I have a bit of annoyance for anything Emily Henderson has said or done (I'm a Giant miniature project... remember that?), she certainly has a point in that text.
ReplyDeletePlants are good, but I think they work best if they are not scattered around, but as a group. I think the same actually applies to the tchotchkes.
What's the connection between EH and the "I am a Giant" contest? I remember how extending the deadline on that upset you--did she run the contest? You're right about grouping the plants--and the tchotchkes, too, of course.
ReplyDeleteYep she hosted the I'm a Giant, bit poorly I would say...
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