I need to rant for a second here ... and since I'm the boss of this blog, I will do it if I feel like it.
Is it just me, or do a number of the home design blogs out there come across as being totally fake? The "inspiration" collections of such and such designer or whatever. These rooms cannot possibly be lived in, or even had a human being set foot in them. The whites are way too pristine, the fabric is much too straight, there's not a speck of dust or clutter anywhere in the picture, and what idiot thought of open shelving in a kitchen? Doesn't everything on them get coated with ... whatever that crud is that's all over my cupboard doors and ceiling near the stove that I can't get off? If people actually do live in these rooms (as opposed to them being mock-ups for a catalog or magazine), there certainly aren't any children.
Also - kitchens or bedrooms that look like they're the size of my entire house - right.
Where does one find the amazing fabrics featured, for furniture upholstery or drapes or just a throw pillow? Maybe I'm just in a non-cool-fabric part of the country (which would not surprise me), but I can't find anything except really boring shades of brick red or brown or navy, whether I'm walking through a furniture store, a craft/fabric store, or just the housewares section of Target. Memo to the local stores: it's SUMMER. Or at least spring. Lose the navy and brown. I love the seaglass color combination - light blues and greens - but have never actually seen it anywhere except these unrealistic house blogs. I would redo my bedroom in about 2 seconds if I could find those colors of bedding, and not with flowers all over it. It's my husband's room too. No flowers except real ones in a vase.
And "tablescapes" ... 20 dishes/flatware per place setting, fancy linens, and so many centerpieces there's nowhere to put the food on the table. Really? Again - no children. There can't be. There's no way my kids would let anything like that sit for more than 5 seconds without having to touch, rearrange, and destroy (or at least damage) in some way.
So what gives? Is it realistic to have a nice house, even with destructo-children? I'd like to think so. Am I just that incompetent when it comes to actually decorating a home? (I'll go with a Yes on that.) I need to do something with my house because it's driving me nuts, but I don't even know where to start. All this "internet inspiration" does is make me think that a nice house is completely out of reach because it's not even real. Argh.
5 comments:
Think of those rooms as the air-brushed and photoshopped models in every other magazine out there. Beautiful, but FAKE. Not real. Unattainable. As you said though, use them for inspiration! You said you like sea-glass colors. You wouldn't use actual sea-glass (since that would destroy or be destroyed), but you've been inspired by it.
Instead of looking at entire rooms, once you've got an idea of what you want to do, start looking for the pieces. Search for fabric online - the good stuff can be expensive, but I garuntee you'll find some glorious stuff. (I know, I've got friends on Facebook that are absolute junkies.) And if all couches SUCK in Mississippi, then look up how to cover your own. And use that awesome fabric you'll find. Don't love your couch? Look at thrift stores! I've been doing that a lot with a friend lately - find a couch (or chair, or table) with good bones, and make it your own. That way you'll get exactly what you want. Stores sell stuff that the average boring Joe will buy - basic, bland, BORING. It is possible to get what you want! (It just takes patience, money, and a staple gun.)
Perhaps you could get some website referrals for good fabric from some of your FB friends, and post them here. I don't even know where to start looking.
Thrift stores do not appear to be a viable option for furniture here in Mississippi. I donate stuff but those are some very scary places with nothing but complete trash that I've seen. No thanks. Maybe an estate sale or a yard sale, depending on what section of town it's in ... but no thrift stores for me.
And speaking of destructo-children, wow - mine woke up ON something this morning. Among today's casualties - a candle holder Adam gave me a couple of years ago at Christmas. Glass everywhere.
Fabric.com is where I shop, not that I really shop, since I haven't the time. You want me to send you some sea glass?? We get boatloads of it here. I think you could decorate with it without children destroying it. I think the house decorating goes in phases.
I agree with Mindy about those pictures of perfect homes being fake. I think there are definitely phases in decorating that correspond with your phase of live. Small children in the home = simplicity and sturdiness mixed with color. Online fabric may be the way to go, and will give you a great selection. Maybe plan on fabric shopping while up in the Nauvoo area this summer?
Craigslist is also another resource for finding furniture with good bones and saves having to run around.
I do think that in part you are in a 'two-tone' kind of boring part of the country. You can make your home look nice and perfect (what is your definition of perfect) without looking like an illustrated version of a blog/magazine cover. Those images aren't realistic. No one lives there and its sterile.
When our girls were really young Jason and I settled for organized. Now that they are a tiny bit older we settle for a piece here or there that is in a style we love but a price we can handle.
Also, the colors you want exist on the east and west coasts. Also online.
I am not a scrapbooker, but, there are fun color/pattern combinations in the patterns. There are many fabric companies that will take a design you have and translate that into fabric. its pricey, but it is exactly what you want ... I have some referrals if you are interested.
Stop looking at the ridiculous waste of time blogs and focus on creating your perfect little space for you based on where you are now. Oh, and I doubt it will ever change. Right when we get our kids out the door eventually we will have grandkids and who wants to be the grandparents where everything isn't allowed to be played with? Mine were and I hated it and subsequently as a child never wanted to visit.
Love you. You aren't alone.
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