MY DECORATING 101

I first became obsessed with interior decorating a little over a year ago when my husband and I moved into our first home. Since it was our first home I wanted everything to look really put together. I began sifting through endless catalogs like Pottery Barn, Restoration Hardware, and Home Decorators Collection for ideas. I couldn't decide which room I wanted to start with, or if I should do a little bit in each room and build on them over time. Should I keep the color flowing throughout the house or have a different color scheme in each room? Did I prefer monochromatic or polychromatic? It became quite overwhelming. The options were endless! My dilemma with the paint color was brought to a screeching halt when my husband who is a general contractor told me he had gallons of leftover paint from a job he had been doing. It was Benjamin Moore^® Stable Hay (only it wasn't really Stable Hay because the associate at the paint store mixed the color-match incorrectly, but that’s a whole other blog post itself) and we were going to use it throughout the majority of our lower level. I decided to work off this color since I did like yellow tones and find other colors that would compliment it. I learned that it is better to limit your color selections to 3-4 (one main, and 2-3 accent colors) per room. Since we brought our light beige living room set with us from our previous apartment I had to work that into my color scheme. After checking out several different options I decided to go with a cooler accent color for our living room and use a sea-foam-ish green/blue color palette. I learned that you could mix and match patterns as long as they worked well together and weren’t competing with each other. It’s OK to use different variations of the same color. You don’t want it to look too perfectly matched. I also learned that decorating a house isn’t cheap so I decided to do a little bit with each room to begin, and I add different details (such as framed artwork and accent tables) as I stumble upon them.

                                              Color Scheme

    

    Possible Inspiration? Photo from Domino Magazine

    Our living Room (work in progress)

1. Area Rug: HomeGoods (a.k.a my decorating Mecca)

2. Table: The Bombay Company (we brought this from our apartment)

3. Couches: Bob’s Discount Furniture (another carry-over from our old apartment and a steal, you really can’t beat their prices! I will however create another post soon of potential new couches I would love to buy)

4. Electric Fireplace (Home Depot)

5. Curtains: Country Curtains – Divine Sheers in "Ecru", Chelsea Lined Rod-Pocket Curtains in “Lake”

6: Pillows: Country Curtains in “Lake”

7. Accent Printed Chairs: HomeGoods

8. Various accessories: Bed Bath & Beyond

9. Flowers: Trader Joe's :)

Now that I have started out my blog by telling you about ME I will be sure to post some great ideas, photos, and thoughts that I hope YOU will enjoy. One of the biggest lessons I have learned during this process of decorating (and it is a continual process!) is that there is no real right or wrong. Make the space your own so that you, your family and friends can enjoy it for years to come…or at least until you decide to re-decorate again!