Inspiration (and broken rule)

What inspires you? What makes you feel like singing or dancing? Can you see that translated into a space you could live in? Do you get a feeling from a song that you want to feel when you walk in your living room? Or, does walking into your spaces make you feel inspired? Should the spaces we live and work in inspire us? Shouldn't we run from spaces that bring us down?

I'm trying to figure out how I feel about where I live! This is the first full week I've lived here and I haven't quite found my spot. One thing I love about this condo is that it is easy to clean up, after all, it's tiny. But, I LOVE our bedroom! It's very small only 10' X 12.5', but it looks and feels much larger. We have a king size bed, two night stands a triple dresser and lots of light.

Now, I didn't have anything to do with the amount of light that comes into the space, the window and door were already in place, but Perry thought I was crazy for thinking that all of the other furniture was going to go in the space and not feel cramped. I did better than that, I think it actually feels larger than it is!

How did I accomplish this? Well, I used a very calm and light color palette. Some people would look at this and say there is NO color palette. The furniture is painted black! The "rule" I broke was painting wood! I don't know about your family, but in my family, you don't paint good wooden furniture. But! I say, if it's broke, fix it! And while the furniture wasn't broken, it wasn't quite right either.

This furniture was pine, and while it was in great shape, had nice lines and was completely functional for us, I wasn't wanting the country look that it had. I was interested in making it a bit more modern, so I painted. (forgive me father!) By adding the brushed nickel knobs (my "jewelry" if you will) it appears more contemporary and has a bit of "bling".  I found brushed nickel framed mirrors and hung them over the dresser for a very contemporary look, especially compared to the mirror that went with the set.

All the fabrics are all creamy off-white. I didn't use any accent colors, no accent pillows, and minimal accessories. I think the lack of color and accessories is exactly what makes the space feel calm, but it doesn't feel sterile or boring. The sheets are luxurious, the coverlet is silk and has a wonderful pattern to it, this adds texture and richness to what would otherwise be a "flat" space.

All of the accessories are in brushed nickel or silver. This gives the room sparkle and is lighter than any other metal finish, again, lending a calmness to the room. The artwork is my own photography from vacations we've taken and framed in black frames with cream mattes keeps with the overall scheme.

Personalized Accesories

The very best thing about this room, it was done on a budget! When you move as often as we do, you can't afford to decorate elaborately and expensively. And, I am the self-named queen of budget shopping! I did this entire room for about $500.  Keep in mind I had the furniture, I just painted it. The breakdown goes something like this:

Lamps - $120
Knobs - $28
Paint - $25
Art - $26
Bedding - $200
Accessories - $20
Tray - $8 (I made it myself)
Mirrors - $90
The overall look - Priceless

My whole goal is to show you that you can have beautiful spaces without breaking the bank. The art and accessories are personal and that is what you want in your master bedroom. This room doesn't necessarily make me want to dance and sing, but it does inspire me! It is a place to relax and sleep without distraction and it inspires me to know that no matter how small the space or budget I can create something beautiful!

Editing

My fireplace in Auburn, Alabama

We live in a culture and society that loves to edit. Don't believe it?  We don't want to take hours or days to read a book, we'll go see the movie when it comes out (let someone else edit the parts we need to know). Written letters became shortened into emails which now are shortened down to text messages. We all know that "roflmao" is a seven word sentence, and no one minds that we don't spell out words anymore to say what we mean. R U with me? We can't be bothered to "clutter" our text messages, emails or FB posts with extra letters or words, so why do we clutter our homes/offices with unnecessary stuff? Look around you right now....what do you see that you don't need to see or even want to see? I'm not talking about things that are out of place, if they have a place, then put them away and see what's left.

As I said before, my husband and I just downsized. Not just a little bit, we reeaaallly downsized! We went from 2700 sq. ft. to just under 600 sq. ft. Some of you have heard me whining about the space, but let me tell you, it actually feels good to live so "edited". (except for the things that I've realized I needed!) We had to make some pretty tough calls about things that we loved, but now that the decisions are made and the stuff is gone, we don't actually miss it.

I literally had to think about things like, just how many pairs of underwear do I really need?! Ok, so that's maybe a little more than you needed to know about me, but the point is this...clutter, even when it's good stuff, is like noise around us. Sometimes you don't realize how noisy it is until you turn off the television and the kids are asleep! All of a sudden you think..."Wow, that silence "sounds" good!" It's the same way with the things with which we fill our homes (offices)!

Now, I'm not suggesting that you sell or give away everything you own, I'm talking about editing. Keep the very best and let go of the rest, it's like shedding a few pounds, not going anorexic. I've always been a lover of layers of accessories. My friend, Denise, pointed this out to me. I never thought about the fact that I "layered" accessories, but when she said it I took note. I noticed my fireplace mantel.

I had beautiful artwork above it. I had a mantel clock and a pair of obelisks, some grape vine orbs and on the hearth a plant, a beautiful basket and fireplace tools. What was I trying to do, display everything I had there because it was the focal point? I'm not saying I didn't love it; I did! but I could see what she meant.

Now I have to say, I still love the warm, cozy feeling of lots of accessories, and there is nothing wrong with it, but I feel fresher and calmer when my eye has a place to rest in the room. (And it's so much easier to dust when you only have a few, carefully chosen items!) Maybe I'm just at a place in my life now where I am seeking calm and quiet; visually speaking. Or maybe I've gotten lazy and don't want to dust, whatever the reason I'm encouraging a more minimalist look.

Not only do you have less to distract you, you also have more time to enjoy the best of what you have. Think about your favorite music, now think about listening to it all... at the same time! If you love your accessories and can't stand the thought of getting rid of things, pack up some and rotate them out every few months, then your room has a fresh look and you can appreciate your treasures more!

It's not that I don't enjoy days of reading a good book, I'm just looking for a "quieter" place to read it. "LOL"

The Rules of the "prose"!

My great-grandmother's clock.

Do you all remember the "rules" of writing a poem? Remember? You were in school and you had to write a poem using iambic pentameter? how about a Haiku? or a Sonnet? There were rules, if you didn't use the right number of syllables or lines, it wasn't Haiku, or a Sonnet or a Limerick. However, even without following the "rules" you were still writing poetry. Sometimes the most beautiful poems don't follow any of these rules!

Just like with designing your space, there are "rules". Rule may be a bit too firm, maybe we should say there are guidelines. There are certain aesthetics that work and look good and flow well. Just like a poem with the correct number of lines and the correct number of syllables per line, they look pretty on the page and they sound nice when read, but not everyone loves the same poem.

What I'm getting at here is that we should not design, or decorate our spaces with rules that someone else used. I love to use things or place things in ways that don't necessarily follow a rule. One rule that I hate is when people tell me I have to group my collections instead of spreading them around the house, "that way they make more of a statement", I was told by a decorator. Maybe I am not trying to make a statement with my collection, maybe I just like to have them around me, in every room.

My favorite collection is my clocks. I have great clocks that came from my grandmothers and some that I bought. Some that were given to me as gifts. With them all in one room, the ticking would drive you crazy (talk about "pentameter"!), but that's not why I don't want them in one room (although my children have said that I'll someday be known as the crazy clock lady because the ticking is loud even spread around the house). I love to see my clocks in every space in my home.  So, for me, I try to collect clocks that suit the decor of the room, or decorate the space around the clock!

Are there "rules" to design and decor that you don't like? or maybe that you don't understand? or maybe you haven't ever heard the rules...share with me! I'm going to be talking the remainder of this week about the "rules" that I like and don't like. I'm here to tell you to break the rules and create your own beautiful "poem" in your space!

Regeneration Interiors & The Designing Prose

On the advice and encouragement of my family and close friends, I have finally decided to start a blog. I have two things that I think I do very well, one is decorating and the other is writing, so combining the two, just might work. 


I have had a desire for several years to start my own interior redesigning business. I've done several small jobs and worked with another redesign professional on projects she had, but I felt that I could take it to the next level. About a year ago I took some classes in staging and interior redesign, I'd had the skills, but I wanted to have the credentials. I had a good friend who worked with me on some copy for a potential website and collateral materials. Because of other things going on in my life I had to shelve the ideas for a while. 


I've recently moved to a new city, to a new phase of life and decided since I was in the "starting over" mode, it was probably the best time to start something new as well. The name I had decided upon last year for my interior redesign business was Regeneration Interiors.  Regeneration is about new life. It's a second chance; a new start. The act of making again. That just happens to be the place I'm in and so the name not only defines my idea, it defines where I am at this moment.


Having just moved from a 2700 square foot house with four bedrooms and three baths, formal and casual spaces, large garage and a beautiful backyard to less than 600 square feet total including storage and a balcony, I am living the struggles of downsizing, re-thinking everything about how my space functions and "lives". In our last house the master suite was larger than our entire space now, we've had to reevaluate what's really important and what we can live without. (but that's a story for another day)


My mission is to help others reinvent their home or office environments, and create a space that meets their lifestyle, functionality, and design aesthetic. Through this blog I hope to inspire others to make their living spaces and work spaces into spaces that renew and revitalize them. I believe that our homes should be spaces that we want to spend time in, we get so little time in them. I think that no matter what size your space and no matter how large or small your budget, you can have a space that reflects who you are and that feeds your spirit and prepares you to go out in the world every day. 


I hope that you will follow along with me on this journey of regeneration. I hope that those friends and family members who encouraged will be proud of what I do here! I welcome comments and questions and I will attempt to give ideas and provide answers to help you create the home you want and one that you love!