One of the talents that I really wish that I possess is a sense of design. I really admire, and envy, those who show such style in their wardrobes and interior decorating. I used to put more effort in my dressing in my early 20's, but then I got really casual (or lazy) as I got older. Waiting 11 months to get a haircut just reminded me about how little style I have.
I recently discovered this great blog called Design Mom. I was so ready to hate her because she seemed to effortlessly be a mom to 5 kids and pregnant with #6, freelance as an art director, blog, and live her life with so much design. But the more I read her blog, the more I liked and admired her. I didn't understand at first how she balanced it all, but then read that the 3 oldest kids help out. She seems real.
I love that she knew she wanted a big family and had one. I love that she incorporates pretty things in her life. I just love her blog, and I am inspired by it.
Every January I make the resolution to pay more attention to how I look and by February I am back to the same sloppy look. Last week I got my hair cut. It coincided with the temperature dropping a bit so I had to find my winter coats. I put on a coat that I've had for years but never really wore, and Gabe commented on how pretty I looked. He thought that winter was my season because he liked my new haircut, the scarf and my coat. Today at work, my co-worker commented on my nice haircut.
Like Design Mom, I want to surround myself with pretty things. But it contradicts with the part of my nature that doesn't like to have "things" around. For example, my favorite room in my house is always the empty one. I love the solitude, calmness, blankness of an empty room. Then the frustration sinks in when I feel like I want the rooms in my house to be filled with comfortable, pretty things. That's where good design is supposed to come in. A good design will keep the room minimal while still please my eyes. But I lack that and I feel my life has a certain tension because of it.
I was looking at some photos of my childhood and noticed my parents' lack of interior design. White walls, white sofa, white carpet, no artwork. It's no wonder I have no skill for design!
I have a beautiful house, one that I hope we grow into with more children. I would love 2 more if we can afford it, but most likely we'll just have one more child. My decorating style so far has been to hang meaningful photos (lots of them!) and prints or whatever we had. But everything is somewhat randomly displayed. As Gabe would say, we have no plan. I think I put things up because I get tired of looking at them stored somewhere and I tell myself that I should just hang them up. So I hang them up, with no plan.
So the point to all this rambling is that my next project will be turning the dining room into Gustav's playroom. I entered a contest to get a free design but I didn't win. However, I am challenging myself to come up with something and would value your input. You may have seen some photos of the room looking like a playroom but there is no plan. My goal is to have a plan and implement it.
What I would love is to separate the room into areas: reading, arts and crafts, and storage. I have some pieces in mind but need some ideas for placement and art. So below are some photos of the room and my ideas:
Challenges:
I recently discovered this great blog called Design Mom. I was so ready to hate her because she seemed to effortlessly be a mom to 5 kids and pregnant with #6, freelance as an art director, blog, and live her life with so much design. But the more I read her blog, the more I liked and admired her. I didn't understand at first how she balanced it all, but then read that the 3 oldest kids help out. She seems real.
I love that she knew she wanted a big family and had one. I love that she incorporates pretty things in her life. I just love her blog, and I am inspired by it.
Every January I make the resolution to pay more attention to how I look and by February I am back to the same sloppy look. Last week I got my hair cut. It coincided with the temperature dropping a bit so I had to find my winter coats. I put on a coat that I've had for years but never really wore, and Gabe commented on how pretty I looked. He thought that winter was my season because he liked my new haircut, the scarf and my coat. Today at work, my co-worker commented on my nice haircut.
Like Design Mom, I want to surround myself with pretty things. But it contradicts with the part of my nature that doesn't like to have "things" around. For example, my favorite room in my house is always the empty one. I love the solitude, calmness, blankness of an empty room. Then the frustration sinks in when I feel like I want the rooms in my house to be filled with comfortable, pretty things. That's where good design is supposed to come in. A good design will keep the room minimal while still please my eyes. But I lack that and I feel my life has a certain tension because of it.
I was looking at some photos of my childhood and noticed my parents' lack of interior design. White walls, white sofa, white carpet, no artwork. It's no wonder I have no skill for design!
I have a beautiful house, one that I hope we grow into with more children. I would love 2 more if we can afford it, but most likely we'll just have one more child. My decorating style so far has been to hang meaningful photos (lots of them!) and prints or whatever we had. But everything is somewhat randomly displayed. As Gabe would say, we have no plan. I think I put things up because I get tired of looking at them stored somewhere and I tell myself that I should just hang them up. So I hang them up, with no plan.
So the point to all this rambling is that my next project will be turning the dining room into Gustav's playroom. I entered a contest to get a free design but I didn't win. However, I am challenging myself to come up with something and would value your input. You may have seen some photos of the room looking like a playroom but there is no plan. My goal is to have a plan and implement it.
What I would love is to separate the room into areas: reading, arts and crafts, and storage. I have some pieces in mind but need some ideas for placement and art. So below are some photos of the room and my ideas:
Wall 1 (behind Dan):
- large print of the blog header photo mounted on foamboard
- what else should go there?
- Ikea table and chairs for arts and crafts
- rug that we have
- I'd like to display Gustav's artwork on the wall so maybe some art clips?
- Gabe was talking about a chalk wall but I don't know if I can commit to it so I may just get some chalkboard panels.
- some sort of storage unit?
- reading nook with pillows or chairs?
- bookshelf?
- plush rug?
Challenges:
- We are on a tight budget these days so I will probably stick with Ikea or Target. And I'm only giving myself $200-300.
- As much as I would love to paint the room, we just don't have the time or energy for it. Guess we could hire someone but that would eat up my budget. And also what color?
So if you have any ideas, please feel free to share!