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i love making a home. it's one of the joys of moving so much. i've been able to stretch my creative legs in 9 different homes since we've been married (5 rentals/4 mortgages). i'll try to keep that in a positive light. :)
minimal possessions and a clean canvas are my goals to begin with (and to keep) in a new home.
~ minimal possessions:
i use the time leading up to a move to let the unnecessary go. i want to pack and move as little as possible, so i garage sale, craigslist, ebay and etsy my heart out in the weeks and months before every move. we donate what doesn't sell. a good clean-out can be done at anytime obviously...and is probably a good idea periodically.
~a clean canvas:
--this starts with the house/apartment hunt. we just do the best we can to find what we'd like to live with in our price range, but have ended up living with patterned carpet and a floor to ceiling black lava rock fireplace. compromise is inevitable.
--once a place is ours... white paint is my favorite and my best. right now my favorite white is sherwin williams low voc high-reflective white (no tint added). it is a bright white that goes soft and creamy with less light...not grey or blue. we wanted no voc paint, but they said that those bases don't come bright enough for the color i desire. we try to paint with the windows and doors thrown open and plenty of air circulating anyway.
--i prefer wood floors to carpet, so we've refinished two houses worth of wood floors (not always possible, i know).
--in my book, ceilings, doors, and moldings can wait to be painted (as long as they are white-ish) in round two of improvements.
--little by little, i paint pretty much every surface in my houses...and most of it turns white. from there, we have a clean canvas that can skew a number of different decorating directions.
my homes have not always oozed character (although, i guess stodgy eighties is a character). sometimes they need a little help, and i think that is possible without emptying the wallet or going on a huge shopping spree.
so, i wanted to explore some ways to add a bit of style to our pared down clean canvases here.
simple and minimal is the goal in these parts...so i'm not going to do any of those pillow/coffee table/tchotchke posts. i'm thinking of minimalism-ish + a bit of style. minimalism to me is about function, and a bit of style makes home. even in homes where many see stifling minimalism, i see lots of style. the house itself may provide loads of character. the light fixture is chosen with care. the couch was a deliberate choice. tchotchkes are unnecessary, if the basics do the talking.
i'm going to hit up a few different styles in the weeks to come, because i have many loves...and because we are all a bit different. trends aren't my thing. we want our stuff to stand the test of time...not end up in landfills. most of all, we want to love living in our homes.
ok, so my personal bullet points to start making a home:
1. start with less. clear out all the unnecessary.
2. work toward a clean slate. i like to paint it white. you do you. :)
love,
jane
minimal possessions and a clean canvas are my goals to begin with (and to keep) in a new home.
~ minimal possessions:
i use the time leading up to a move to let the unnecessary go. i want to pack and move as little as possible, so i garage sale, craigslist, ebay and etsy my heart out in the weeks and months before every move. we donate what doesn't sell. a good clean-out can be done at anytime obviously...and is probably a good idea periodically.
~a clean canvas:
--this starts with the house/apartment hunt. we just do the best we can to find what we'd like to live with in our price range, but have ended up living with patterned carpet and a floor to ceiling black lava rock fireplace. compromise is inevitable.
--once a place is ours... white paint is my favorite and my best. right now my favorite white is sherwin williams low voc high-reflective white (no tint added). it is a bright white that goes soft and creamy with less light...not grey or blue. we wanted no voc paint, but they said that those bases don't come bright enough for the color i desire. we try to paint with the windows and doors thrown open and plenty of air circulating anyway.
--i prefer wood floors to carpet, so we've refinished two houses worth of wood floors (not always possible, i know).
--in my book, ceilings, doors, and moldings can wait to be painted (as long as they are white-ish) in round two of improvements.
--little by little, i paint pretty much every surface in my houses...and most of it turns white. from there, we have a clean canvas that can skew a number of different decorating directions.
my homes have not always oozed character (although, i guess stodgy eighties is a character). sometimes they need a little help, and i think that is possible without emptying the wallet or going on a huge shopping spree.
so, i wanted to explore some ways to add a bit of style to our pared down clean canvases here.
simple and minimal is the goal in these parts...so i'm not going to do any of those pillow/coffee table/tchotchke posts. i'm thinking of minimalism-ish + a bit of style. minimalism to me is about function, and a bit of style makes home. even in homes where many see stifling minimalism, i see lots of style. the house itself may provide loads of character. the light fixture is chosen with care. the couch was a deliberate choice. tchotchkes are unnecessary, if the basics do the talking.
i'm going to hit up a few different styles in the weeks to come, because i have many loves...and because we are all a bit different. trends aren't my thing. we want our stuff to stand the test of time...not end up in landfills. most of all, we want to love living in our homes.
ok, so my personal bullet points to start making a home:
1. start with less. clear out all the unnecessary.
2. work toward a clean slate. i like to paint it white. you do you. :)
love,
jane
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