Today there was a post on Nesting Place about using collections to decorate. I have to say that this really resonated with me because I have been looking for ways to update the style of our home and move away from what I call "post college eclectic" and more towards something more sophisticated and well, grown-up.
This would be easy if I were working on an unlimited budget and was ruthless about decluttering, but that just doesn't work for me. While we are no where near poor, like most people, we do have to watch what we buy. As for decluttering, I am trying, but so many of our things were passed down to us and have special memories attached and are still in good condition. The only problem is that they may not match. Add to that the vast horde of yarn and fabric along with knitting and sewing projects in progress and I have a constant battle against entropy. This is why the post about grouping collections of things together as a decorative touch got me thinking. The problem is I didn't think I had anything that I could collect. However, as I walked around my house I was able to find two collections. The first is a grouping of family pictures in the nook leading to the master bedroom. This space is small which makes it hard to decorate, but we finally decided to use the space for family photos, mostly from our wedding. None of the frames really match, but I think it only adds to the look. The other collection is in my sewing room. At one point it was driving my crazy and in an effort to create a peaceful creative space I actually organized. The initial result was useful, but not pretty so I rearranged a few things and placed a DIY felt board with some of my favorite quilt blocks on top of the book
case. I then added some of those random spinning tools that had no other home to complete the look. I love the look and I am hoping that actually seeing these quilt blocks will help motivate me to continue working on the Dear Jane quilt that I started a couple years ago. I love the idea of displaying "collections" so much I want to do it in other parts of my house. I have always stayed away from it because I figured it meant more dusting, but this way I am displaying things that I would have out anyway so there is no extra work, just extra beauty. Now I'm off to search the house for other things that I can group together, at least until naptime is over...
My husband had a box full of "crap I probably would have thrown out". A lot of it was sea/ocean themed... so we compromised. I bought a deep shadow box for him and he put them in there. His collection is on display in the downstairs bathroom beside the lighthouse cross-stitch his friend made him. The bathroom is now "ocean" themed... which actually "works" for that room.
ReplyDeleteOur dining and living rooms are still "post college eclectic".
... and I loved that bit about battling entropy. Hah! I am amused.
That shadow box sounds like a great way to decorate. I really need to start digging through and see what all I can find in our boxes, we have WAY more than we should.
ReplyDeleteAs for the entropy, if you saw my sewing room on a weekend you'd understand. This is what happens when you turn a science geek into a housewife. :-)