Well hello and welcome to Tuesday.
I was all set to give you some updates on #projectbaby, #projectlittlemiss and #winkofpink today but then I remembered that I have an ah-maaazing...
...that's been waiting in the wings and well, I couldn't keep this fabooshness away from you a second longer.
So...please sit back and get ready for some gorgeous style, a la Erin from Holtwood Hipster.
If you're not familiar with her blog, and are kind of a decor, food and style stalker, then really, you must check the whole thing out.
There's a whole lot of goodness going on...for realz.
Yesterdays' post, for example, was all about this coming to be...
...DIY styles.
I rest my case...'tis good.
And just in case you needed a little more convincing, read on my friends...this Style in 7 is admittedly, one of my absolute favourites yet.
I was all set to give you some updates on #projectbaby, #projectlittlemiss and #winkofpink today but then I remembered that I have an ah-maaazing...
...that's been waiting in the wings and well, I couldn't keep this fabooshness away from you a second longer.
So...please sit back and get ready for some gorgeous style, a la Erin from Holtwood Hipster.
There's a whole lot of goodness going on...for realz.
Yesterdays' post, for example, was all about this coming to be...
...DIY styles.
I rest my case...'tis good.
And just in case you needed a little more convincing, read on my friends...this Style in 7 is admittedly, one of my absolute favourites yet.
.......
One of the reasons I was so excited to take part in Christine’s Style in 7 series was because it really forced me to step back and really put a concrete definition around my own style preferences and put them down on “paper” so to speak.
I believe style is inherent and largely subconscious. I’m not saying I don’t work at it and that it doesn’t evolve over time. I most certainly do and the last two years renovating an old home have shown me plain and simple that it does. As people in love with our homes and design, part of the thrill is the ride, right? It can be a bit anti-climatic in the end, the day all that planning and plotting, hunting and bargaining for the deal is over. But not having a clear view into the things that really move you and the fundamentals shaping your personal design plan can also be just as disappointing and expensive in the outcome. Trust me.
I’ve always felt I had a fair sense of what I liked, but I've also made some very costly design decisions, things I thought were the right course based on what I saw in other people’s homes and in magazines. If only I had listened to my own gut. I started blogging to catalog not only the renovation process, but my own design preferences as well. It’s helped me to tune into that sub-conscious voice that’s really been there all along.
MASCULINE // As much as I admire girly-girls, I cannot say I am one. Over-styled, bouffant hair-dos paired with heavy-footed oxfords and clunky men’s jewelry is more my thing. Much is the same with my take on design. I find I’m always attracted to the weight of more masculine furnishings; deeply stained lacquered woods, caramel leather, deep jewel tones, offset by my own design trinity of black, white and shades of grey.
NOSTALGIC // I’m a romantic and as such, my style is very nostalgic at heart. I’m so fond of rooms that incorporate meaningful tokens of a bygone era. A collection of oil paintings handed down from the family beach house, your grandmother’s wedding portrait or the records you once rocked out to with your dad… these bring another, essential kind of weight to a room. Many layer these in as after-thoughts. But I see them as more than just added dimension. I like to think of these as the “roots” in a space, anchoring more forward thinking design elements.
MID-CENTURY MINDED // That nostalgic heart I spoke about? Well, it leads to other style propensities as well. I grew up vacationing in 60’s era Palm Springs hotels, listening to my parent’s favorite high school songs and watching every Elvis-Doris Day-Natalie Wood movie under the sun. You know, it wasn’t always so cool. But those hotels and movie sets were my earliest design influences. They were the places I wanted to vacation when I had a family and the houses I envisioned living in once grown and out of that, grew my sentimental affection for desert-modernism and deliciously gaudy ornamentation.
CALIFORNIA CASUAL // Upbringing has a lot to do with honing a style. I’m a Californian, born and raised. I think most people grow up thinking they live in the best part of the world and I’m no exception. I’m prone to wanderlust- even through my cooking and reading I like to escape to “more exciting” places. But my day-to-day style is casual and undeniably Californian. Lots of warm woods, organic materials and drought tolerant plantings abound. It's the requisite pool time though that keeps me going all year round.
STATEMENT PRONE // As casual as I consider myself to be, there’s nothing I like more than an unexpected element to keep me on my toes. This is a common theme when I dress, entertain and when I decorate. Large scale, seemingly random artwork in an otherwise classic or neutral space, grand party gestures and YES!, big, baubly statement jewelry. These are all in my bag of tricks.
COLOR-BLIND // I’ve fought it like hell, really I have. I get so excited when I see rooms bathed in color. But for the life of me, I just can’t seem to integrate the pinky-reds, kelly greens and bright yellows that make me ooh and ahh when I see them in other people’s homes. What can I say? The heart wants, what the heart wants. Black and white has become my signature combo. Our last home was decorated in nothing but, actually. But what I’ve learned in my own little design lab of sorts, is to balance it out with rich texture and something natural, lest it look flat and well, cheap. Yummy warm wood is my go-to favorite accent.
PATTERN PLAY’N // What I lack in color, I make up for with pattern. I’ve always favored bold, repetitive graphics and I’ve certainly never met a black and white stripe I didn’t like. My previous obsession with zig-zags and chevron has been replaced recently by various takes on dots and spots… swiss, ocelot, leopard, you name it. Quite honestly, I still fancy a little structure to the chaos and I’ve always been a bit reserved when it comes to using florals in our home. But there is no denying that layered patterns can infuse both depth and playfulness into a space not solely achieved by color and texture alone.
A BIG thank you to Christine for allowing me to share a bit about my own style with you today! I'm a big Bijou and Boheme fan and what an honor it is to be featured on one of my own daily reads.
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What did I tell you?
Though Erin's style is definitely different than mine, I find it stunningly chic and sooooooo inspiring.
Now click over and follow her blog-
And if you've got some great style up in there and want to take part in this series too...the world's your oyster...get in touch;)
xo
