I am that addicted.
Of course, I do not remodel and engage in major redecorating on a regular basis, but it is nice to dream...and tweak. Recently, I found a picture of the most gorgeous living room on Pinterest. I was so taken, I posted it on Facebook and proclaimed that, after a decade's long love affair with red, I was going white! I already have the slipcovered sofa, the beamed ceiling, the stone fireplace, white trim and light floors. I just need to paint the walls and ditch the red accessories, which is a HUGE deal for me, as I have been kind of red-obsessed for, well, a decade.
In any case, I had the "lightening things up" bug firmly stuck in my head, so much so that I started envisioning other rooms in my house void of color. I tucked away the red and put up a white lace curtain in my kitchen and bought the prettiest pink and white pastel coverlet for the foot of my bed....ok, so I needed a little color.
When I was done in my kitchen and my bedroom, I stood back to take a long hard look and you know what....
I was thoroughly disappointed.
Everything was so bland and, well, light. I like drama and bold colorful statements. I missed the punches of attention that used to command my eye. Oh, don't get me wrong, the bedding looked so pretty, dainty and I am sure that when the flowers and grass are in bloom the view outside the kitchen window would pop. However, for now, for me, eh, it just didn't do anything.
I put my green coverlet on the bed, the one I bought last year, and order was immediately restored. I guess that I am a color girl. I always have been and even though I love the look of all white and light, something in my gut will always pull me back to darker tones, the weight, power and contrast.
People ask me all the time, how do I find my style? I usually tell them that it will evolve naturally when they fill the room with items that they love. What I often neglect to mention, is that you can also define your style based on what you do not love, a lesson I am still learning.
Oh don't get me wrong, I am fully plan to go white in the living room. I can always bring my crimson pillows out in the fall and winter and add touches of green in spring and summer. They will pop against all of that white and the drama of the stone fireplace. It's all a matter of making the look work for me. After all, all white doesn't really have to mean all white.
Apparently, even in middle age, I am still defining my own style. I have just discovered that while my eye may be drawn to all sorts of pretty pictures and different types of home décor, I will always have my own unique take on things and that ok, actually its desirable.
It's what makes my house my own and the place I love to live.
What's your style?
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I like the second version!
ReplyDeleteI like white, but I have no all white rooms. The closest to a white room is my porch, but that's grey and white with touches of blue or whatever else I put out there. I've never done a completely white room, because I like color.
What is coincidental is that my bedroom is green, in a very similar shade to yours, with white, a speck of red, with darker, some painted furniture.
I love my green bedroom, I find that it's very serene! I guess we think alike when it comes to decorating! ;) I already knew that though, since I find myself repining so many of your pins in my feed!
DeleteI think I will always love cottage style even though that has evolved over time and blue is my staple color. I have tried using other colors and it just doesn't work for me, I have to have some blue. You have a wonderful style, Kim, and I love the red in your home!
ReplyDeleteThank you, JoAnne. I'm with you, I love the cottage style, as long as I can do it my way!
DeleteI love the all-white look, but it wouldn't work in my home. For now, I'm sticking with earth tones---hides messes very well! I also love red, which is why I enjoy your pictures, but I only use it in my home around Christmas and a little at Valentine's Day--strange. :)
ReplyDeleteI love earth tones, too, they work so well as a base for any decorating theme, you can really mix it up! I like that freedom! :) Thanks Dee!
DeleteI agree, I love the farmhouse style but just don't think I could live with it. My style is Electic!
ReplyDeleteHave a great rest of the week!
I agree, true farmhouse is too rustic and white for me, but boy, it's pretty to look at! ;) Thanks for the comment!
DeleteI so agree with you Kim, your decorating style may not follow any decorating rule or direction but what makes you happy is the best way to go! I have learned to sway from trends too if it really doesn't suit me, hard, but I learned to be happier with my choices and try to fill my home with things I TRULY Love! So yes, celebrate COLOR kim, because that is you and YOUR OWN wonderful style!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks Vel, I am so drawn to color, Vel, I don't know why, but things just don't feel right in my gut without it! :)
DeleteI am with you on this one...I love whites with pops of color as accents:) Your bedroom looks so pretty in white and green...so refreshing and serene with a touch of pink, so spring like.......love it! Hugs, Poppy
ReplyDeleteThanks Poppy! I really do love that all white palette, but that "dash of color" is always calling out to me, too! ;)
DeleteAre you SURE we aren't related somewhere along the line?? This is exactly what I needed to hear and I totally agree with you. I'm a green/coral girl. Have been for decades. But every now and then I try to get away from it, only to be drawn back. I do want the white furniture, though. That way I can tone down (or darken) the coral without too much trouble for fall.
ReplyDeleteYou are STILL my favorite blogging lady! So nice to see someone admit to not loving the current style fad. ;-)
It's a small world, Nancy, you never know!! ;) I agree, I figure that the white furniture can be decked out with crazy color or white pillows, so it stays....and you have just made my day, again, with your super sweet comments!! I never get tired of hearing the word "favorite'~ so thanks, thanks, thanks!
DeleteI love color as well. I had painted a couple of rooms a light gray and it seemed so cold and uninviting. I do have a white living room but have dolled it with some pretty floral pillows and a neutral sofa cover. I go with antique white on my walls. It's how I have had to compromise with myself. A little warmth without screaming too much color. I LOVE the green in your master. Just LOVE it! xo Jen
ReplyDeleteJen, I love color as well and just can't go with white-white. I also use a very light beige-ish white in living room and hall. Lately have researched grays but can't find one I like. I want warm, but nor olives or lavendars or icy blue. Yes, they seem so cold. I think the term "greige" is what I'm looking for.
DeleteI agree with you ladies. I wanted a super white kitchen, but chickened out at the last minute and went with cream. Even my cabinets have a creamy, frost glaze.
DeleteI don't think I have a style yet and at my age if it hasn't happened by now i am not holding out too much hope. I live in a small farmhouse and I love the farmhouse look but I have so many other things as well. Great post.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lorri! I bet your home is lovely, not all styles need to have a name! Sometimes "mine" is the only characterization that counts!
DeleteMy style is kind of Southern Living/cottage/wanna be frenchy. I've known what I like best for a long time. :)
ReplyDeleteWhen we first moved in this house I thought we'd go really neutral and leave out the reds. Couldn't do it!! Even my husband missed the red and colors so we brought it back. I do want to keep things fresh and somewhat evolving though.
I adore looking at pictures of white rooms and homes but realistically, it will never happen here for many reasons.
I just love those white rooms, Stacey, but they just don't sit well in real life with me either! I'm glad you kept the red! It's my favorite part! ;)
DeleteI'm with you...I need color. I think all of the home decor pics of the white rooms are gorgeous but they are not for my home. I love the green coverlet and the pretty green pillow in your bedroom. They make me think - restful, peaceful, which is ideal for a bedroom. I look forward to seeing the white living room. Thanks for sharing. Blessings, D@TheShadyPorch
ReplyDeleteIt's funny, D, I thought most people would vote for the white, but I am finding that color is more popular than I guessed! :)
DeleteI love the look of all white in someone else's home; the French and Scandia influence is beautiful. However, after giving it a try in one of my rooms some time ago, I realized it's not me. My style is hard to define, as I tend to mix things up, but color will always be a part of it. I'm married to an artist, after all. :)
ReplyDeleteColor is good, Nancy! I think it makes life more interesting all the way around!
DeleteI love white with a dash of colors every now and then. I always play safe.
ReplyDeleteLoving your simplicity.
Happy sunny Monday.
/CC girl
Thanks so much! I like that style, too. I also like the reverse, like when a room is painted a colored and then accessorized with white! :)
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