O/T What inspires your home decorating style?
Circe
"kate" <kbar...@austarnet.com.au> wrote in message
news:3CEB2507...@austarnet.com.au...
> Have just seen a friend's new house in which they completely replaced
> all there furntiture from their previous home and replaced it with
> totally new everything. Now these people have been together for 20 years
> and they had acrued a lot of great pieces of furniture but they all got
> the flick. So it was out with the old and in with the new. We have just
> built a new house and of course bought new pieces to go with stuff we
> had. I love the mix of old and new even though our house is quite modern
> in design. I hsve pine dresser that I bought when I was 18 and I think
> it looks fantastic with my modern dining suite. I also ahave a Balinese
> teak rice safe that is very old and has a fabulous patina to it It
> makes a fantastic coffee table and seems to look right with our leather
> couches. We also have abstract paintings mixed with black in white
> photos of family on the walls.
> I'm curious to wonder what you guys here in AF think and how you make
> your house fit your families style.
> Kate in Australia
We moved from a tropical island house on the Caribbean sea to a small,
romantic 1930's town house to a suburban 1970's bungalow which was decorated
by the former owners in dark brown, mushroom and brick.
The Caribbean house was rented, so we only brought art from there--paintings
and sculptures. The 1930's house was done up in Laura Ashley wallpaper,
Biedermeier pieces and modern Italian furniture. The Biedermeier looked
silly in the 1970's house when we had it all together, so we spread it
around from room to room. The Italian furniture looks perfect, we
incorporated the artwork and it's a nice, organic whole. We only add things,
be it furniture or art, to the decor that we absolutely love and with which
have a personal bond---my kids school drawings are taped on the kitchen
door, which is in the same space as the quilt made by my MIL, the Ann
Sijntjes watercolors, the Indonesian Buddha, and the Karel Kusen's
vases--you get the picture. The room is huge, so it's not as hodgepodge as
it sounds. I hate, hate, hate, houses that are obviously "done" by a
decorator---pretty, but no soul at all.
Suzanne
"kate" <kbar...@austarnet.com.au> wrote in message
news:3CEB2507...@austarnet.com.au...
> Have just seen a friend's new house in which they completely replaced
> all there furntiture from their previous home and replaced it with
> totally new everything. Now these people have been together for 20 years
> and they had acrued a lot of great pieces of furniture but they all got
> the flick. So it was out with the old and in with the new. We have just
> built a new house and of course bought new pieces to go with stuff we
> had. I love the mix of old and new even though our house is quite modern
> in design. I hsve pine dresser that I bought when I was 18 and I think
> it looks fantastic with my modern dining suite. I also ahave a Balinese
> teak rice safe that is very old and has a fabulous patina to it It
> makes a fantastic coffee table and seems to look right with our leather
> couches. We also have abstract paintings mixed with black in white
> photos of family on the walls.
> I'm curious to wonder what you guys here in AF think and how you make
> your house fit your families style.
> Kate in Australia
Your house sounds wonderful, Kate! I also love the mix of old and new. I
don't have a house yet, but I've definite ideas on how it will look or how I
will furnish it. Right now, I've got some nice pieces of furniture I've
inherited but way too much particle-board stuff for my liking. Lots of
compromises when you move in with someone ;-)
My house will have:
- lots of light, with spare curtains or "window treatments"
- wood floors with soft shag carpets (no wall to wall carpeting or sisal)
- real wood, metal, or glass furniture with clean lines. I love dark woods
against white walls.
- room for my books - I've always loved the look of a wall of books, but am
not sure if that would work for me in real life since I never dust <g>
- music in every room
-a way to hide the technology eyesores (beige computer? I know someone who
bought an iMac just b/c she couldn't stand the thought of a greige box in
her home)
- abstract, colorful art by unknown painters who'll most probably never get
discovered
- an allowance for clutter and a wide range of styles (no fixed period
decor - I like too many styles to choose one)
I hope...
Suzanne
AWT
:I'm curious to wonder what you guys here in AF think and how you make
: your house fit your families style.
My fiance and I don't have kids, obviously, and he decorated the place since
its his, so it's pretty masculine. I always feel slightly out of place in
the livingroom especially, because it's all leather couches and moody
wallpaper (can wallpaper be moody?).
There are my touches to the place: a quilt thrown here and there, a few good
paintings in place of his old art nuveau (sorry, that's spelled incorrectly)
prints (why do all men choose these prints?). He really doesn't like me
meddling with everything, I guess. He always says that he would feel "sissy"
in a girlish room. I haven't added any significantly large furniture besides
the bed, which is a really high, really large sleigh bed... his old mattress
was a full size or a queen or something... but then we got a king, so we had
to buy the new bed to go with it. I can't stand small beds... I want MY
space where his very-active-in-sleep limbs aren't going to accidently maul
me.
AW
Suzanne
"AWT" <i.have.en...@inbox.com> wrote in message
news:zjHG8.29069$D41.1...@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
>
> :I'm curious to wonder what you guys here in AF think and how you make
> : your house fit your families style.
>
>
> My fiance and I don't have kids, obviously, and he decorated the place
since
> its his, so it's pretty masculine. I always feel slightly out of place in
> the livingroom especially, because it's all leather couches and moody
> wallpaper (can wallpaper be moody?).
Yes!! Things can be moody or at least give off a certain mood, IMO. BTW, the
fact that you and your fiance don't have kids is not obvious :)
Suzanne
<snip>
>
> AW
>
>
Parakeet
I am moving and I have sworn I will not take anything from the old
apartment except the bed which is Australian Ash Sleigh style. I was
in a quandry as to style since everything is so homogenized and I
didn't want to shop at Wickes, Levitz or Ikea (no furniture in a box
for me I refuse.)
A friend took me to this great used furniture store in the worst part
of L.A. has great antiques, used, needs some love but it's all from
estates, wood not veneers and very very inexpensive considering it's
age etc. I was wandering down the aisles, oohing and aaahing when
Renee' said you know everything you've desired is 40's Moderne or
Deco. A style was born, it was amazing that I walked in there not
having a clue and walked out all excited and ready to decorate. I
purchased a 40's moderne bar straight out of Thin Man. Rounded edges,
sides swing out for the bottles, original etched glass at the bottom,
it was 800.00 I know from the research I've done that it should have
cost me well over 1,500.
For the first time in my life (I'm over 40) I feel like I've found my
style and I AM going to decorate my way, no more piece meal no more
settling and no more well I'll buy this <cheap> piece because I'll
replace it later. How many of us have said that and then 5 years
later it's still staring at us, mocking our taste and maligning our
will to replace it <g.>
So my inspiration was a good friend with an eye for styles and my
hidden treasure of a furniture store. Now to find that perfect home,
the apartment is a stop gap but at least I'm going from a small one
bedroom to a two master suite bedroom with a FIREPLACE my hidden
comfort thing.
Off to buy lotto tickets, hey someone has to win.
'keet
Vicki in DC
<kbar...@austarnet.com.au> wrote:
> Have just seen a friend's new house in which they completely replaced
> all there furntiture from their previous home and replaced it with
> totally new everything. Now these people have been together for 20 years
> and they had acrued a lot of great pieces of furniture but they all got
> the flick. So it was out with the old and in with the new. We have just
> built a new house and of course bought new pieces to go with stuff we
> had. I love the mix of old and new even though our house is quite modern
> in design. I hsve pine dresser that I bought when I was 18 and I think
> it looks fantastic with my modern dining suite. I also ahave a Balinese
> teak rice safe that is very old and has a fabulous patina to it It
> makes a fantastic coffee table and seems to look right with our leather
> couches. We also have abstract paintings mixed with black in white
> photos of family on the walls.
> I'm curious to wonder what you guys here in AF think and how you make
> your house fit your families style.
> Kate in Australia
>
What I find trash picking. No seriously. For some odd reason everyone
in my neighborhood seems to be throwing away really nice items that have
very minor things wrong w/ them. Case in point - a gorgeous bentwood
rocker. When I first saw it in the trash pile, I thought the bottom had
been torn out and that had made it unuseable. But all it was were a
couple of screws loose and/or missing. How long will it take for me to
fix this? 5 minutes, tops!
This boggles the mind even MORE when I think about the fact that my
neighborhood is having a community yard sale in a couple of weeks.
Whatta waste!
Other things that influence my style are items from my travels and my
folks' travels as well as sentimental family favorites. I have an old
bookcase that used to be in my mom's first apartment in DC.
What I HOPE to have influence my decorating style - some of my own
creations. I want to start decoupaging furniture and making things like
curtains, pillows and table linens for my new place.
Vicki in DC
Ted
wrote:
>Have just seen a friend's new house in which they completely replaced
>all there furntiture from their previous home and replaced it with
>totally new everything. Now these people have been together for 20 years
>and they had acrued a lot of great pieces of furniture but they all got
>the flick. So it was out with the old and in with the new. We have just
>built a new house and of course bought new pieces to go with stuff we
>had. I love the mix of old and new even though our house is quite modern
>in design. I hsve pine dresser that I bought when I was 18 and I think
>it looks fantastic with my modern dining suite. I also ahave a Balinese
>teak rice safe that is very old and has a fabulous patina to it It
>makes a fantastic coffee table and seems to look right with our leather
>couches. We also have abstract paintings mixed with black in white
>photos of family on the walls.
>I'm curious to wonder what you guys here in AF think and how you make
>your house fit your families style.
>Kate in Australia
I don't know where i get my inspiration from to be honest.Architecture
or art books i guess.I don't like much stuff in my place.I like
anything with glass , sharp edges (or the very "bubbly" edges) and art
deco furniture of course.Bauhaus and Industrial art is a great
inspiration.
Black/White/Grey/Chrome and some blue are the only colours that one
sees in my place.Oh and some framed prints of 20s/30s ads / cinema
posters.
I can't stand many colours or "flowery" prints.Not in my space anyway
:)
Ted
CarolCorb
Early American furniture/country crafts. We now have Southwestern decor and we
love the change. It has been fun doing a complete change. :)
Carol
userb3
look, but now that I'm older and better off, I generally decorate in
the modern American mess genre.
--
userb3
Is The Farm Program Worth It?
http://www.ces.uga.edu/Agriculture/agecon/issues/Ei03-03.htm
Laura
pickup after themselves and are careless about spilling things. The
main "hangout" is the living room so I have a 3 piece furniture set
that is Scotchguarded and will not be replaced until they leave the
roost. (Which probably be in a few years.)
Laura
To email replace stargates with stargate
Claire in SF
Claire in SF
Geri and sometimes Brian
>> Renee' said you know everything you've desired is 40's Moderne or
>> Deco. A style was born, it was amazing that I walked in there not
>> having a clue and walked out all excited and ready to decorate.
Streamline Moderne of the late 30s-40s is exactly what we love. We want to do
our whole home in this style. We are looking for an old bungalow type house
(hopefully).
Geri
***
"We are fully aware of how cold it gets here in the winter, so shut the hell
up. Just spend your money and get the hell out of here or we'll kick your ass."
.........Excerpt from "Memo From Nebraska Board of Tourism"
ahmward
have a few pieces of furniture and paintings that belonged to my
parents. A few years ago I found a new end table that is similar in
style to my mom's cocktail table, which is mahoghany with pieces that
extend from the bottom to hold a round glass top. The other piece is
a cellarette or bar, a semi-circle in design with a top that lifts up
to then hold the bottles etc. There are places for glasses on the
sides and the bottles go in the center. Anyway the living room and
dining room evolved around these two pieces with modern Thomasville.
The family room is comfortable Ethan Allen. I have a mixture of
Levitz, Montgomery Wards, my own bedroom furniture when I was a child
and items ordered from various places throughout the rest of the
house. It all seems to work. Many things have sentimental value for
us so we're not ones to get rid of everything and start with a clean
slate. It just keeps evolving and I do get replace items or add new
art objects.
Audrey
AJ
> I'm curious to wonder what you guys here in AF think and how you make
> your house fit your families style.
> Kate in Australia
>
Great thread Kate!
I like clean lines and midcentury design mixed in with old pieces.
Fortunately my husband and I have both inherited some great old
pieces, which we are using sparingly among more modern furniture.
Our dining room has a round table (with no chairs around it) that
my father-in-law spent and entire year refinishing and on the wall
a huge porcelain-covered steel sign of that great 1950s icon,
Reddi Kilowatt! Also in the corner my own 1950s pedal car,
which fortunately is a teal color with a red steering wheel. It looks
like sculpture at this point.
So in short I'd say I like pale gleaming wood floors, clean clean
lines on upholstered pieces and beds etc, with one or two great
old pieces thrown in the mix!
Also solids. I am not into prints!
The den is designed for comfort not looks since we had bookshelves
built along one 20 foot wall (and those shelves still may not have
been enough, I am drowning in books).
--AJ
A Adams
inspires comfort. My biggest joy is my collection of R C Gorman
lithographs, the colors are just SO beautiful. It works out well for us
because our home is neither too masculine or too feminine. Pet hate, big
chintzy things covered in huge busy flowers/ too much clutter.
Parakeet
grew
> up in had a number of Art Deco apartments that were cheap to rent
when I
> was a student. Most of my friends hated being forced to rent them
and
> craved a 'modern' unit. I on the other hand always thought they were
> fascinating and a little decadent. I used to imagine who the
original
> owners and what it must have been like to live in them when they
were at
> the height of fashion. Now they cost an arm and a leg and have been
> sympathetically restored. I hope you find your dream place, and yes
> someone has to win!.
> kate
What is wonderful in Los Angeles is we have so many older buildings
and they are in more or less in good shape. I hope to find a home
with some style that needs some love. The apartments are generic but
at least they aren't steel, glass and cold. A home must have warmth
and I'll take my time now that I have found a style I want. I think
the house that's out there for me was awaiting me to make up my mind
before it makes itself known.
Okay so I'm a flake, this is news?
Patchouli
room is going to have lots of Edwardian couches, patterened wallpaper, big
vases and urns, an oriental rug, and a souped-up stereo that looks like a
gramaphone.
Being only 16, I still live with my mum. My bedroom is very big so it's also a
workplace, kitchen, and living room. I think it's safe to say that over half
the things in my room, minus appliances, are secondhand. Colours: black,
white, grey, silver, green, blue. I've been meaning to do another room tour
photo project like I had about 6 months ago so I can show off all this neat
crap, but it's never been clean enough...
What I'm most proud of:
I found a lamp that matches my couch. I didn't install it properly, but IT
MATCHES! Woo! I've said before how much I adore my couch, so I'll shut up.
My bathroom, on the other hand, looks like a five-year-old girl decorated it.
It's all pastels and faeries. :)
~Patchouli
please like me
http://novim.net
Ted
I forgot to add.I have plenty of original art on my walls (done by me
and an artist friend whose paintings RULE).
Anywayz my trademark are my coffee table books.I always have a new
coffee table book every other week or so.
This one i must have it for 3 weeks now.Darn i keep forgetting it's
name.Let me go check ....
... nope it's burried under the credit card bills from the Hermes
ties.I dare not touch.
Anyway it is a childrens book with a boy a girl and their white dog
(called Skip i think but not quite sure).It is the perfect American
family - it is the most fantastic katatonic state imaginable.
It was a childrens book i think back in the 60s and it is a reprint.
I looooooooove stuff like that
Ted
PS.Pradas book holds the record for staying on my coffee table for 3.5
weeks , followed by the Art Book (i have that ever since i was a teen)
which managed to stay for 3.
PS.2. Typos typos typs.
Patchouli
<< What I'm most proud of:
I found a lamp that matches my couch. I didn't install it properly, but IT
MATCHES! Woo! I've said before how much I adore my couch, so I'll shut up. >>
Damn! I took a photo just for this message, uploaded it, then forgot to stick
in the URL! duh.
http://novim.net/LampAndCouch.jpg
Liz B.
Suzanne <nos...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:_bHG8.29436$FJ1.1...@wagner.videotron.net...
That sounds pretty much like my tastes. I prefer dark stained wood
furniture to everything else. Light is very important to me, as in good
sized windows, pale walls. I like bright coloured things along with
that, as in art or cushions or anything in the room that isn't the
furniture. Right now we live in an apartment and haven't
ever really thought to buy furniture, so we have a combination of antique
pieces my mother refinished for me, some new things bought or made
especially for us as gifts, and some plain old junk that we use because we
"found" it or someone was getting rid of it. In a strange way it kind of
all works together. We have a lot of books and different things like
unusual musical instruments, carved wood animal figurines, some paintings
by unknown artists (mostly seascapes), I can't even really describe it
because nothing goes together or with anything else! A mortar and
pestle from Haiti (?) - you see what I mean. Keeps people interested
when they look around, that's for sure.
We are planning to move to the East Coast next year. What I think
we will probably do is take the good stuff with us (furniture) and
dump the junk. The junk makes up about half of what we own,
furniture-wise. It looks fine for now but it's not worth dragging
cross-country. I'm tempted to get a new couch/loveseat/basically
all the livingroom furniture, and I want something strong and comfy,
like a big square coffee table, deep green sofa in corduroy or something
like that, a lazyboy recliner - but I'm going to wait until we make the
move. The less we have to take with us the better, especially as I'm
mainly concerned about our piano.
Oh, so what inspires my home decorating style is colour,
comfort, and convenience!
LizB
Suzanne
"Patchouli" <black...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20020522174242...@mb-fo.aol.com...
> Patchouli wrote:
<snipped for space>
> Damn! I took a photo just for this message, uploaded it, then forgot to
stick
> in the URL! duh.
> http://novim.net/LampAndCouch.jpg
>
> ~Patchouli
> please like me
> http://novim.net
I love your couch, Patchouli!
No offense, but are you really only 16? You seem really mature for your
age. Or maybe it's just that I was a total doofus at 16.
Suzanne
Suzanne
"AJ" <ajfa...@att.net> wrote in message
news:v6RG8.36577$Vm2.1...@bgtnsc04-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
<snipped for space not content>
Pretty much everything, but especially...
> The den is designed for comfort not looks since we had bookshelves
> built along one 20 foot wall (and those shelves still may not have
> been enough, I am drowning in books).
>
> --AJ
>
>
made me drool. Thanks :)
Suzanne
A Adams
She does come across as a very mature young lady
Lily
things I need in the room should be convenient and easy to use.
After that, brightness, warmth, a lot of art, no matching stuff
(outside the bedroom, where 2 pieces match) --totally eclectic.
I find the best pieces when I'm looking for something else--and often
end up decorating a room around them, even if they start out to be minor
attractions.
Lily
Patchouli
> >
> > No offense, but are you really only 16? You seem really mature for your
> > age. Or maybe it's just that I was a total doofus at 16.
> >
> > Suzanne
>
> She does come across as a very mature young lady
>
Aww, thanks people. Yes, I'm really 16. I guess I don't always look it
because I wear too much makeup. A little capitalization and correct spelling
seems to go a long way...
Tracy
regularly shop at about 20 Metro Detroit thrift shops on a weekly basis
looking for unusual things...I recently saw a couch very similar to yours
but in red velvet...I would have bought it had it been in better condition.
I have always loved that style.
Tracy
Billie
>http://novim.net
We loved your website so much, it's AGC's 'Website of the Day' for 05/23.
Billie
"STUPIDITY IS NOT A HANDICAP. Park elsewhere!"
AGC FAQ and FUN STUFF:
http://www.dreamwater.net/agc/mainpages/agcfaq.html
BLIND ITEM REHASH:
http://www.dreamwater.net/agc/blinditems/mainpage.html
A Adams
"Billie " <pusss...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20020523114616...@mb-mi.aol.com...
> >please like me
> >http://novim.net
>
> We loved your website so much, it's AGC's 'Website of the Day' for 05/23.
>
> Billie
Isn't she just amazing and gorgeous?
MKUPMAVEN
same lines as the 50's pieces). My ideal home would be designed and furnished
by Frank Lloyd Wright.
Barb
Liz B.
> >http://novim.net
>
> We loved your website so much, it's AGC's 'Website of the Day' for 05/23.
>
> Billie
>
Really! I have to say, I went and read it and was hooked.
Very well done!
LizB
ahmward
One of our local architects, Arthur Dyson, is head of the Frank Lloyd
Wright school of architecture. His designs are quite unique and
beautiful.
Audrey
Lily
In case you didn't know, Patchouli is about 16 or 17 years old. I'm
amazed by her writing, artistic talent, and originality. Her creativity
is boundless.
Lily
[Google her last year's 12 day shopping moratorium diary--it's a gem]
J Rogow
club.
Then summer came!
It is now breezy, flowery, and very bright, with the bricks painted white.
Liz B.
Lily <Lil...@webtv.net> wrote in message
news:8057-3CE...@storefull-2275.public.lawson.webtv.net...
Lily
Her daily life and her feelings remind me of myself at that age. It
brings
back a lot of things I'd forgotten, that's for sure! Unfortunately, my
destructive streak caused all my journals (boring paper notebooks)
to bite the dust long ago. I wish I had them to read through now.
LizB
kayper
> I think it is somewhat eclectic. In the living room and dining room I
> have a few pieces of furniture and paintings that belonged to my
> parents.
>The family room is comfortable Ethan Allen. I have a mixture of
> Levitz, Montgomery Wards, my own bedroom furniture when I was a child
> and items ordered from various places throughout the rest of the
> house. It all seems to work. Many things have sentimental value for
> us so we're not ones to get rid of everything and start with a clean
> slate. It just keeps evolving and I do get replace items or add new
> art objects.
<Insert sigh of comfort.> What you said, Audrey. That's pretty
much how we've done our house. In colors and themes that are
fairly subtle, since we do expect to move again, someday, and
want the house to sell easily. kayper
Lali
xoxolali