My daughter-in-law Ginger, the wife of son #2, has been redecorating their home, employing a combination of amazingly beautiful and inexpensive thrift store finds, DIY projects that the two of them can accomplish together, and a whole lot of good taste and creativity. She's making a bit of a break with the monochromatic modern look and adding a lot more color and pattern (Wallpaper! A floral couch! An antique dresser painted in a vibrant shade of green and repurposed as a coffee bar in her kitchen! Multi-hued vintage mismatched plates instead of all-white!); she calls this sort of thing "happy decorating."
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| Ginger's eclectic collection of vintage plates, purchased for next to nothing at the thrift, certainly makes me happy! |
Our homes should make us happy—or at least, as happy as it is possible to be in this life. Even if there's nowhere else in this crazy, mixed-up world where we can feel warm, safe, nurtured, and loved, we should be able to feel that way inside the walls of our own homes. (It's the #theologyofhome mindset.) So do what makes you feel happy when it comes to feathering your nest. Who cares if what you happen to like isn't in style these days? If it isn't, it will be at some point in the future; just hang onto it long enough and it will once again be the "in" look. (Or not. But it doesn’t matter. You do you!)
I've had my pink-and-green floral couch and loveseat set since 1994; and apparently, its style is coming back (“Granny chic" or "Grandmillenial” for the win!).
It makes me happy that this living room set has been with us for 27 years, that it's a part of our family’s history. I remember how excited I was when we found it at Costco for $600 (which, at the time, was quite a splurge for us!). I had painted the living room in our NH Colonial green just because I loved the color, even though we didn’t have a stick of furniture in that room for about three years after we moved in. (#housepoor) So the main reason I just had to have this couch and loveseat set when I saw it was that it matched those green walls so well. (Isn't that how everyone chooses furniture? Or do most people get the furniture first and THEN paint the walls to go with it? Asking for a friend.) In an all-boy house, where for the most part the decor could be summed up as “leather and sports,” that living room became my calm and soothing feminine oasis.
The amazing thing is that when we bought our house in VA, the living room walls had already been painted almost exactly the same shade of green as the NH house! It was like this new house was made for us. (If you have begun to guess that I am not a fan of change, you would be right.)
When Ginger bought her lovely new floral couch—for only $75, from either Craigslist or an estate sale, I can't remember which—my son teased, "This couch is definitely channeling my parents' living room." LOL, son; yes, it's scary when you start to become your parents, isn't it? But seriously, I find it kind of sweet that when our boys think of our living room, they think of our decades-old floral couches. And I bet if we got rid of them and upgraded, they'd miss them. (Well, maybe not...?)
Happy happy decorating, dear readers!
I love this post. Especially the idea of embracing your style to have it be what you want and like. Our house is so tiny and not out of a magazine at all but it's full of love and that's what really matters.
ReplyDeleteWhat great timing for this blog! We are having the inside of our house painted these couple of weeks, for some of the rooms the 1st time since we moved in 26 years ago.
ReplyDeleteWe have a lot of family pictures and moments on our walls. When we considered a more parade down look we agreed we couldn't find do it. Fashionab!e or not, our wall decor will remain mostly the same because it brings us a feeling of comfort.
Not parade down look, that should be pared-down look!
ReplyDeleteI love your decorating style and your DIL's!!!
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