A Unique Comeback Story

Almost two months ago the demands of life seemed to be. . .well, too demanding. Feeling overwhelmed I decided that I would take a little break from blogging. However, much like an exhausted mother who lies down for a twenty minute nap only to awake hours later, my little blog break became longer than I had originally anticipated.What did I do during my break? I wish I could report that I spent my time creating. I did not. But I did do some inventorying. I took many more items to the thrift store than I purchased (with a few more car loads to go). I discovered that I own more books, frames, chairs, and lanterns than I need. I even took an inventory of my life asking myself if I was happy with how I was spending my time, talents, and energy. I questioned my purpose for decorating and for blogging.

We live in a world where we are merely a click away from viewing the lives of countless strangers. This can be so very inspiring but more often than not it can make us question ourselves. Should I be putting up beadboard or board and batten? I just finished painting my cabinets black but now everyone is painting theirs gray, does that mean I'm out of style? The light, coastal look is in but I live far from any coast, what shall I do? Is my home beautiful? Am I pretty? Is my family as wonderful as those I read about? Am I creative? Do I have anything special to offer?Why do we do this to ourselves?!? There is a wonderful quote that states, "Comparison is the thief of joy." I believe this to be so very true! But more than robbing our joy, comparison can also rob us of our uniqueness. We are each placed here on earth for a purpose. Just as our outward appearance is individual and without equal, so is what we have to contribute to the world. Why do we spend so much of our energy and time trying to be like the crowd when what makes us amazing is our individuality. Think about it. Every year there is a new fashion or style unleashed to the masses simply because the masses have become just that, a mass.I have answered my question about my purpose for blogging. I do it because I enjoy it. Blogging inspires me to use and improve my talents to bless myself and my family. Hopefully somewhere along my path I inspire others as well. Please forgive me for getting on a soapbox about the hazards of comparison. You have likely already figured this out, but I needed the reminder. That is my purpose for posting this message today. I need to remind myself that I am unique. I need to make it my business to explore that uniqueness. I hope that you'll join me in my journey.
I implore you, dear readers, to take a little break of your own. Find out what makes your situation, your home, your family, and who you are as a person so remarkable.
Embrace your distinctiveness and even your peculiarities! Remember that you truly are extraordinary----even if you think you are not. You do have something to offer this world that no one else can. That is why you are here.

Now, Go and Be Exceptional!

Seagrass is In!

Ok, so I know you've seen a million pictures of my bedroom before, but I'm finally feeling really good about it because we got our wall-to-wall seagrass installed this weekend, so be patient with me while I show you more pics! 

Here it is when we bought the house last year:

{yummy!!}

It has wall-to-wall cream carpeting and it did not fare well with our family & lifestyle.  So as you might remember from this post, we painted the paneling & added a chandelier and cheapie roman shades and curtains.  (Both of which I'd eventually like to upgrade...  But I also want to replace the back window with a set of steel french doors and a little balcony too so there's always something, right?)  Anyway, we found the antique brass headboard on the side of the road near our house and it's still to this day one of my best trash picks.  I used a lot of what I had to put together a white room that I could just "not think" in (ie completely relax).  Anyway, we're still mnissing a few things like a bedskirt and the perfect massive white hide rug but here's what it looks like now:

My $13 repainted Gustavian chair moves around the room:

And I think it looks best like this:

We are loving the seagrass!!!   We've had it in our basement family room/ office for over a year so we knew what we were getting into.  Typically, it would hurt my feet late at night & really in early in the morning.  BUT, now that it's been in the bedroom for a few days, I guess I've gotten used to it.  Seagrass is hard & rough but not scratchy.  (For more detailed info on seagrass & other natural rug materials & my thoughts on them , check out this post here.)  I plan on adding a soft white cow hide under the bed so when our feet first hit the floor it feels super-soft but I'm honestly surprised at how okay my feet are now.

Christian doesn't mind it either... 

I added thse old orange velvet striped pillows I made a bunch of years ago because I wanted to warm it up for Fall.  (Our dog uses them more than we do & her usual spot it curled up between them...  rough life.)

Here's a picture of what it was like before with the big body pillow & some other white bedding. 

(I switch it up all the time & am very weird about clean sheets/ bedding. We usually change our sheets at least twice/ week but I'm happiest changing them every other day, but too lazy to actually do it most of the time. I love the smell & feel of just-out-of the-wash-sheets and it's kind of one of those little free luxuries we can provide for ourselves... well, really me because I think dave could care less. (And, since our dog loves to sleep on the bed-- and in the bed when it's cold-- it's not unusual for met to come into the room to find paw prints on the bed. However, (and here's my little white bedding arguement/ rant: Some people say that white bedding isn't practical when you have dogs & kids & I couldn't disagree more. You see, I want to know when there's something dirty on my bed, not camoflauge it. I'm not saying that you have to have white bedding if you have dogs/ kids, only that if you do want it, it's great for germaphobes and people like me who don't mind washing the bedding frequently... But the white quilt and duvet only get washed every couple of weeks which is basically whenever the dog gets dirty paws on them.) Sorry for that! :)

And now onto the not-so-pretty (but oh-so-wonderful) dark secret of our bedroom.  WE HAVE A TV IN OUR BEDROOM.  (gasp!!)  I got it for Dave for his birthday this past May and since we don't have cable, it only works to watch movies from the dvd player or online.   We installed it behind the door when you first walk in.  Most people don't even notice it when they're getting a tour until we point it out, but when we close the door at night, it's prefect for watching movies in bed.  I know all about all of the "no TVs in the bedroom" rules and the supposed effects on people's love lives & all of that, but we love it.  I love snuggling up in bed and watching a good movie... especially when I'm sick. 

We rigged it so that the dvd player and laptop station are hidden in our closet which, as  you can see, runs right behind the TV. 

I'll show you more pics in here when I get some wallpaper and a chandelier up.  (hahaha which will be a good long while!)

Here's a quick pic of my jewely on the wall which is so insanely practical.  I'm thinking of adding more of this near the vanirty area in our bathroom because I really only wear the stuff that's out.  (Except all summer long I've been wearing my Kayce Hughes wooden beaded necklace and pretty much nothing else.  I'm going to do a post on it soon because it's one of the best pieces of jewelry I've ever owned and you probably need it ;)

And here's one last pic of my room as it looks about 1/3 of the time:

But, I'm working reeeeeally hard on making my bed every morning.  (Skillsets for 20-somethings- I should teach a class! ha)  I've done it every day since Thursday, which is when the new seagrass went it...  I find it's so much more satisfying to make your bed when you like your room.  Hope you enjoyed the tour and don't be surprised when I show you every angle & then some again when I finally find my hide ;) 

Have a beautiful day!!!

*Paint is FreshAire Choice's "Beach Pearl" (the no VOC brand @ Home Depot)
*Seagrass is available through Lauren Liess Interiors and was installed by the Tolvin Carpet Customizer (he's the best!!)
*Brass apothecary lamp- Robert Abbey
*Bedding-a mix of custom, Target & West Elm
*Nightstand dressers & Curtains- Ikea
*Roman Shades- Sears
*All else is vintage/ antique

If you want to know more about seagrass check out this post 
If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.

Antique Wheat Grinder

Anyone know the official name?  Found it and love it.  It used to be used for grinding up wheat into flour.

I love finding beautiful things I never even knew existed.  This one has a pretty gold nailhead design. 

The Pure Style Home online store is opening up soon and & I can't wait!!

If you're in the DC area this weekend, be sure to go to the DC flea!!  Eddie & Jaithan are here & would love it if you could come!!  They're the best!!  Check here for details.

Client Project Kitchen & Family Room Plans

I often show 'before & afters' on the blog with explanations of why decisions were made, but I rarely show in-progress projects.  It's mostly because, as a reader, I myself love the instant gratification of a good 'before & after' and partly because work in progress never looks as good as it does when finished, and I don't want you to think I'm awful ;) 

BUT...  because my mind's often  always on my projects and because I used my blog as a bit of an inspiration board of sorts and a place to communicate with people, I often feel like I'm sort of keeping a main component of myself/ my creative process off of the blog.  SO...  I've decided to try to start sharing a few in-progess projects with you.  You'll have to forgive the COMPLETE lack of styling and completion in the projects but I do think you might enjoy seeing where it all starts. 

So, without further ado, I want to share some before pictures of a project I've been working on for a while.  My client's name is Ira and she has two beautiful little girls & a husband.  They entertain a lot with other families and want their family room (below) to seat more people, be stylish yet comfortable, and feel young and happy (like them!).  Here it is when I first visited, 'before':

It's a massive family-friendly space with a huge TV in a nook next to the fireplace.  They hang out in here every day.  Ira has an amazing sense of style & taste but felt her home was lacking something.  It was beautiful and a bit serious and wasn't as personal as she wanted it to be.  Ira tends to like primarly cool colors with a hit of warmth injected.  I'd describe her style as "sophistcated pretty..."  She likes an elegant mix of classic and modern with a youthful edge.  When she has something to show me that she likes, I know it's going to be beautiful. 

Part of what makes design so  rewarding is helping people figure out their own personal style and helping them translate it into their homes.  Everyone has her own unique style and I love looking at rooms and making decisions through my clients' eyes...  it's almost like putting on a pair of colored glasses because once you learn who your client is design-wise, you need to put on their "glasses" when designing.  Of course, it's still your eyes looking through the glasses so you never lose sight of your aesthetic and beliefs and knowledge, but you do see things differently than you would for yourself. 

Anyway, the family room is open to the kitchen.  Below is a photo of Ira's kitchen before:

{Before-- LOVE the fixture!}

Ira wanted to lighten it up & cool it down.  She chose a warm white/ cream and you can see the newly installed cabinetry:

{Mid-project/ Now}

We're going with a pale gray-blue on the walls in both the kitchen and family room.

{Mid Project/ Now}

We've chosen these beautiful glass mosaic tiles for the backsplash and are running them up the entire wall over the sink/ around the windows:

Here's the chandelier for over the table:

Here's a quick pic of some of the fabrics we're using in the family room:

I love them all!!  The warm kind of camel-golden fabric towards the top-left is an existing sofa Ira has in the basement that we're moving upstairs.  We're using Windsor's Smith's white & blue-gray linen on the curtains and this on the custom English arm sofa:

At the base of the sofa, we're having nailheads placed to outline the curvey design of the fabric.  We're also doing two tufted wingchairs in a blue-gray mohaire velvet (swoon!!!) and I found this cool vintage sunburst table for the coffee table: 

I love its distression and warmth.  It will be really beautiful with the gold tones of the existing sofa.

Here's the existing sofa fabric and the ottoman fabric:

Here'a c lose-up of the Windsor Smith fabric I'm in love with:

And one last photo of an embroidered linen for a pillow on the existing sofa:

There's so much more to share with you & I'll keep you updated along the way.  The hardwood floors have been installed and it's soon to be painted. 

More Outside Love

Everything tastes better when you're outside, doesn't it?

So now that our backyard is in better shape and the weather's getting a bit cooler, we're outside as much as possible.  Yesterday was the boys' first day at daycare and Christian didn't want to leave when we went to pick him up so I guess that's a good sign.  Dave made this yummy dinner above:  Grilled flounder stuffed with crabmeat (ala Trader Joe's- we love their frozen fish) with black beans & rice, and salata.  {Did you notice the leaf that fell from the tree above.. Here comes Fall!!}

After dinner we all enjoyed a fire:

And then we put the kids to bed & enjoyed this:

We've just recently reminded ourselves that we need to savor the little things...  to take pleasure in the every day.  Have a beautiful one!!

*After reading the comments, I should add here that the black beans & rice shown is boxed Zatarain's & if you don't have time to make it from scratch, this stuff is THE BEST.  (Try all of their flavors...  We love the jambalaya and dirty rice and adding sausage & shrimp & fresh herbs makes it Heaven!)

Seasonal Decorating

When I think about decorating for the seasons naturally what comes to mind are the jewel tones of fall, the reds and greens of Christmas, and the pastels of spring and Easter. But as I looked around my home I've noticed that the greens of summer have infiltrated my home in the form of faux plants and moss balls, with a few florals thrown in for good measure.

Is your home sporting the greens of the season?