Making a Home Yours

DECORATING IS YOUR CHANCE TO SHOW OFF THE REAL YOU.

NOTE:  Beauty is in the eye of the beholder!

When decorating our home, I use what I have and what I love and has memories and meaning to us.  I do try to follow certain "rules of decor" but also create my own.  Taste is personal so when decorating your own home, please yourself and don't try to fit what you think someone else expects.

No room is perfect, so adjust and adapt to make it livable based on personal preferences and not necessarily on current trends.

For instance:

These Martha Washington chairs belonged to an uncle who left all his belongings to my mother at his death back in the late 60's.  She then gave them to me in the 70's.  I had them reupholstered in the 80's.  I chose this flame stitch fabric because it was in style at that time, but mostly because of the colors.  I loved every single color in that fabric and still do.

 Yes, I am well aware that flame stitch went out of style ages ago and not likely to ever come back.  But here is where pleasing yourself comes in.  I love my chairs.

When planning a color scheme for a room or a house, I follow this rule:

Find a pattern that you love, whether its a rug, fabric or painting and use the colors from that throughout your house.  Pick out the three or four most obvious or dominant colors.  Let that be your color cue.  It could even come from outside if you have large windows.

Example

From my chair fabric, I selected the deep reds, teal, green with cream as my neutral.

This grouping, which can be seen when you enter our home, sets the theme for all the decor throughout the house.  I prefer using a neutral palette in the large furnishings and use accents to bring color and personality to a room.

Once you have decided on the colors, use varying shades and tones to help integrate your theme color(s) into every room of your house.

If for instance, your dominant colors are blue, pink and yellow, you would have lots of color possibilities for your pallette.

For example:  If you chose blue as your dominant color in the living room then different shades of the other colors would be used in accents.  If you chose pink for the bedroom, then blue and yellow would be used in varying tones as accents and or fabrics.  Get the idea?  This creates flow and continuity throughout your house.

Since ours is so open, yet divided in function by the furniture, the continuation is smooth.  

Following are some of the little vignettes that I have done that accomplish this.  To me, this makes a house a "HOME."  You have made it yours.

On the mantel, this vase repeats some of the colors from the fabric and painting.

In an opposite corner, the colors are again repeated in the vases and the books.

Normally, the fireplace would be the focal point in this room.  I really prefer not having the TV share that honor.  However, this house didn't allow many options for that.  So, I tried to make the composition of the TV wall and the fireplace together what one notices and not separate them.  I did this with varied heights, shapes, and continuation of color.

Notice how the deep red pillow repeats colors from the chairs, the paintings, and brings out the deep red tones in the vase.  They also provide a complimentary pattern.  The deep green of the vase is also using one my less dominant colors.

In the guest bedroom, I continued the Cranberry glassware that was introduced in the credenza in the foyer and it also pulls the red from other rooms.

Green is not a color I use a lot of; however, I do like my upholstered headboard in the guest room.  Here again, I have built on a neutral bedspread to add color and interest with pillows and accessories.

On a counter in the kitchen, the colors and accents are continued in a small dose.

I use a lot of white pottery throughout the house as well, and the fresh flowers also add to the play with color.

  

These wonderful estate find green Wedgewood pieces along with the plants add warmth to this room and carry that color to another room.  The framed hymn was done and gifted to me by my prayer partner, Vicki.  It is of great value to me.

I hope these simple decorating tips either confirm what you have already achieved in your home, or inspires you to look at your decor with new eyes.

Tomorrow I will give some tips for using what you have.