Sometimes when I've had a few gin and tonics I look around my living room and think about my decorating style...
I don't think about style a lot really. Sure, everyone has some sort of clothing style, and there are some girls whose hair is always up in a pony tail, whilst mine is usually down and in some sort of disarray, and I'm usually wearing some sort of large dangly earrings. But you have your entire life to develop your clothing style - it's only when you leave your parent's home and make your own home that you can begin to develop a decorating style.
That might not be strictly true for all people. I know I was allowed to decorate my bedroom in any way I liked (adhering to certain addendums of course). My decision was to go as full Harry Potter as possible - just like boyfriend had a Manchester United duvet, so I had my beloved Harry Potter duvet. The posters on my walls were of Lord of the Rings and Nostradamus, and I had maps and drawings hung everywhere (all magical based of course). I did develop a penchant for collecting wooden animals - my mother would bring one back whenever she went somewhere exotic, but she did decide that I would 'get' to collect them. Lucky me huh?
So where am I go with all this? Well, I looked around my living room the other night (post the G&T's of course) and realised that this was the first place I had ever really decorated myself. All the other houses I've rented have come fully furnished, and except for a few key pieces of furniture, such as a desk and a bed, I've not really had much say in the decoration. I've accumulated a few items over the years - one of my favourites is my Map of Middle Earth print which boyfriend so thoughtfully bought me for Christmas a few years back. I've also still got some of my wooden animals, but until recently I didn't really have much.
Considering all this, I'm pretty pleased with the result in my newly furnished house. I'm glad I didn't have to design the kitchen - everytime I see one of those gleaming masterpieces in Kitchen and Home magazines I start picturing myself cooking there and I just know that designing my own kitchen is a recipe for disaster. I just wouldn't be able to stop!!
Designing the bedroom was a lot easier at least. I spent absolutely ages trawling through the standard furniture websites looking for the perfect wardrobe and chests of drawers that I liked and wouldn't cost the earth. I ended up with this huge sliding door wardrobe and two chests of three drawers which we simultaneously use at bedside tables. We got them from Ikea, so had to endure three solid days of putting these beasts together, but it was worth every moment. I absolutely love them, and they match so well, especially with my John Lewis curtains and our super comfy faux leather bed.
The living and dining rooms are definitely the masterpieces within the house though. I found this amazing turquoise sofa set, a huge wooden coffee table, and a nice large bookcase to store all our dvds (and my handbags at the bottom). In the dining room, we were fortunate enough to snap a total bargain from the local BHF - this huge, wooden alcohol cabinet. And the dining room table of course was my choice.
But I don't think pieces of furniture quite count towards making a room stylish. That appears in the colour combinations, the artwork and decoration. My LOTR map of course has pride of place above the manterpiece, and in the dining room I hung up one of those multi-piece picture frames, and a beautifully framed print of Santorini that my mum got me last year. She recently framed another two for me, and I'm still trying to decide where to hang them. They are gorgeous though, and remind me of home, which I totes need once in a while.
Other than these key items, my house is still sorely in need of decoration. I've placed a few framed pictures in key points around the house, but the corridors especially are so plain and bare. Maybe when I get my first pay check I can buy some more decor that accentuate my personality (like what?? hmm...I could paint all the walls the turquoise blue of the Blue Lagoon - can you imagine?). In the meantime, my home will simply have to look like a house, and can be content with smelling like a home. Cos that's the point of all this bread baking, right?
So where am I go with all this? Well, I looked around my living room the other night (post the G&T's of course) and realised that this was the first place I had ever really decorated myself. All the other houses I've rented have come fully furnished, and except for a few key pieces of furniture, such as a desk and a bed, I've not really had much say in the decoration. I've accumulated a few items over the years - one of my favourites is my Map of Middle Earth print which boyfriend so thoughtfully bought me for Christmas a few years back. I've also still got some of my wooden animals, but until recently I didn't really have much.
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| Looks just like mine :D |
Designing the bedroom was a lot easier at least. I spent absolutely ages trawling through the standard furniture websites looking for the perfect wardrobe and chests of drawers that I liked and wouldn't cost the earth. I ended up with this huge sliding door wardrobe and two chests of three drawers which we simultaneously use at bedside tables. We got them from Ikea, so had to endure three solid days of putting these beasts together, but it was worth every moment. I absolutely love them, and they match so well, especially with my John Lewis curtains and our super comfy faux leather bed.
The living and dining rooms are definitely the masterpieces within the house though. I found this amazing turquoise sofa set, a huge wooden coffee table, and a nice large bookcase to store all our dvds (and my handbags at the bottom). In the dining room, we were fortunate enough to snap a total bargain from the local BHF - this huge, wooden alcohol cabinet. And the dining room table of course was my choice.
But I don't think pieces of furniture quite count towards making a room stylish. That appears in the colour combinations, the artwork and decoration. My LOTR map of course has pride of place above the manterpiece, and in the dining room I hung up one of those multi-piece picture frames, and a beautifully framed print of Santorini that my mum got me last year. She recently framed another two for me, and I'm still trying to decide where to hang them. They are gorgeous though, and remind me of home, which I totes need once in a while.
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| Ahh Santorini. How I ache to visit you |
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