a whole lot of nonsense
alrighty then - if i'm really going to consider making a career out of charging you to move around your shit, then i better take it up a notch around here.
here's the thing about blogging/designing/general lifestyle directing: we can all post pretty pictures. and mostly that's all we do. but can you really trust someone to tell you what to do in your home if you can't see what they've done in theirs? if all they are offering are the same images every other blogger is posting, what's so special about their take on things?
i wrestle with that idea a lot, especially as i'm getting feedback from you guys suggesting i should maybe do some home design work. do i have any clue what i'm doing? (eh, no? maybe?) is my house perfect? (ha!) should it be if i'm trying to make yours? am i turning into what i hate using all of these damned parenthesis? (possibly)
usually with my design aesthetic, i'm just copying what i've seen done better elsewhere. and i think that's ok. until i'm summoned to the great international design think tank of original ideas, i'll keep up ripping other people's ideas off.
which brings us to today. and the pictures i just took. because i have nothing but time on my hands until that sponsor shows up.
first let's talk mirrors. my thoughts: hang them in ...
a) a place where you want to reflect something that's pretty to look at. for example, i put this big one in our study b/c it's right across from two windows, and ajacent to another, so it's bouncing around outside, green, and daylight like its it's job. i think that's nice.
b) a place where you want to create the illusion of a window, like here, at the top of our stairs. you're thinking 'wow - that jamie. two really cool windows at the top of her staircase, looking through to the kitchen'. but alas, you were fooled.
c) a corner where you want to create the illusion of more space where's there's not much. that's what i tried to do here in the living room. i also like that it reflects the light blue front door which acts sort of as an accent color in the room.
unrelated to mirrors - hanging artwork. i'm convinced you can't fail grouping together just about anything. it adds depth. interest. keeps the eye moving. and i think if you could isolate the one thing most people love about a room is when it keeps the eye moving. if you like stark white spaces, you must have one hell of an exciting life.
we have this funky piece of wall that juts up through out bedroom - it's the chimney. i've tried a million things there, but i like this best so far. it's literally the first three things i put my hands on. they don't match. they aren't framed in matching colors. but they make me happy when i lay in bed at night, my eye twitching around in a satisfied decor induced spasm.
and finally, when all else fails, ask rowdy. he barks twice for yes.
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10 comments
I think you have a really good design sense...the mirrors are pretty muchly perfect. I kind of dislike mirrors, but placing them in places where you won't accidentally catch your reflection is really a good idea. =) And the frames around them are great! I also am a big fan of the colours you chose for your living room I think it is? The first few photos. So nice! =)
ReplyDeleteP.S. Once in awhile I have the bad habit of using way too many parentheses too...at least you're not doing it every sentence like that editor! Yikes!!
Here's the thing: I loathe decorating.
ReplyDeleteI have lived in the same apartment for 5 years and have never put anything on the walls because I'm afraid to use the picture rails.
Decorating induces anxiety and has reduced me to tears.
There are many of us out there/here who don't mind if someone is ripping off someone else's ideas, as long as it looks good. You have a talent or motivation or chip/gene that I, and I'd suspect many others, lack. You also offer a clear point of view on your Web site that is not ripped off (for example, your latest pov on mirrors).
That said, I live in Chicago and have no money... But I think there'd be a market.
i have beed asked recently to help people out with their homes...(ok home!) too. i think its great if you can do it. i think that ultimately everyone rips everyone off. fuck all that. you have an eye meares. a good one and you SHOULD use it for gain if you can.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeletewhat color is the paint in the last picture? (I think you said it was your bedroom?) I love it! Thanks
ReplyDelete-Christina
You obviously have a natural talent for this sort of thing. I have actually seen your home firsthand in that I bought your Ikea fabric art & duvet (off Craigs) and your house is COOL. I love the idea of decorating and feel I have good taste...just no ability in placement. This is where a person such as yourself should step in.
ReplyDeletei think that megan brings up a good point: there are people who love to play around with house stuff and people who hate it/are intimidated by it/are scared to death of it. for people who just enjoy it - who aren't necessarily trained to do it, don't have a degree in it, etc., just have decent taste and an interest in pretty house things - it seems weird that other people aren't into it. but i guess it is like how my mouth gapes open when friends of mine can whip up an abstract painting or write an original song or have nice penmanship. i have zero of those skills.
ReplyDeletelong story short, you clearly have an eye for design and interest in doing it, not to mention some good ideas. so i say go for it and see if you can find some clients. with the economy the way it is, rearranging (rather than redecorating) and sprucing up in a cuter than design on a dime way could be really popular.
oh, and the other skill you could market is helping people pick paint colors and/or fabrics. i am amazed at how many people ask me how i picked the colors in my house (answer: i don't know. i just did it...?) and if i paid someone to help (answer: nope.). people get seriously intimidated by paint.
i could see a service where you help people who've just moved figure out their furniture arrangement/paint colors/hang pix and mirrors etc. For, say, $150 for 5 hrs, a parent could hire you to help their college-age daughter get situated in her new apartment, or i could buy one for a friend that just bought a house. like an organizer/designer combo. i would certainly buy that service as a gift to newlyweds and new parents. and i bet a lot of people would buy it for themselves, because moving is really overwhelming. (and a lot of people move to the triangle.) you could get in with a few young hip realtors and they could even give away your services as their thank you present instead of those dumb gift baskets. just some ideas. in short: you've got skills, and i think they'd sell.
ReplyDeleteLove Mr. Rowdy Schnauz's mohawk.
ReplyDeleteWhat you have is called great taste. Maybe you are creative, maybe not, but good taste is hard to come by.
ReplyDeleteI know creative people with terrible taste. So relax, and you are amazing!