My Decorating Style

Growing up, I wanted to be a teacher but I also had a secret desire to be an interior decorator. I even went as far as to look into interior design class when I got to college. However, when reality set in, I realized that there wasn't much of a call for an interior decorator in the rural county I lived in and a move to a big city just wasn't for me. So I went on to get my teaching degree, but still carrying that secret desire with me. As life went on, I married the love of my life and began to set up a household; I put that secret desire to use in decorating our home. 

Being a newly married couple without a lot of money, I had to be creative with the decor of our home. For years, we used furniture people gave to us or found for us which limited the colors we could use. Yet, I found a way to blend the furniture and colors together by taking cues from nature. Those cues of nature have been carried over to our new home. I use a lot of greens, browns, and creams in various shades. I use blues, reds, and golds as accent colors. Each room's color blends in and melds in to the next room's colors making it easy on the eyes when moving from room to room. Another way cue I get from nature is the simple beauty of the land and natural light. I keep our window treatment simple by using just valances on all of our windows; however, we do have blinds for privacy. By just using valances it allows the natural light of the day to flood our rooms and when the blinds are opened or up, it gives us unobstructed views of the landscape surrounding our home. 

Over the years, we have also been able to add furniture we have had a say in the style and color. A lot of it has been made by my daddy and upholstered by DH. We also have several pieces once owned by other family members that have become very dear to us. That idea of surrounding ourselves with things that have meaning to us is another way I decorate. A lot of the knickknacks decorating our home have a special meaning behind them or have been given to us by a special family member. 

Personalizing our home is important to me. For me, it is what makes a house a home. Family is important to us, so I fill spaces with pictures of family and fur babies. We both love nature so there are a lot of pictures of some of the beautiful places on this earth we have visited or of our own little beautiful piece of land. Books abound in our home, because we believe learning is a never ending process. I also like to keep items we use frequently within easy research. So there are plenty of throw blankets laying on the backs of chairs. Containers full of pens, pencil, and markers sitting on top of desks. Pot holders and trivets laying on counter tops. 

The one aspect about decorating that has stumped me over the years is how to find the right thing for a certain spot. I have brought many, many things to put in a spot only to realize that it was all wrong for the spot. Now, I leave that spot empty and eventually the right thing comes along. It may take a long time, but eventually I find it. 

I have had several people over the years tell me I need to look into interior design again. I tell them I don't think I could make a living at it, because my taste isn't tacky enough for really rich people. I don't like a lot of busy patterns, odd designs, or loud colors that the really rich are attracted to. I also tell them my style doesn't fit the style of the people living in the area. I don't like recliners or water beds that are found in a lot of homes in our area and I am not overly fond of sectionals which fill most living rooms. I also like a simple, clean, uncluttered look to a room, a look not found in many homes in our area. So for now, I have to be happy using my desire to make our house a home. 

If you would like to see a visual of my style of decorating other then our home, you can visit my Pinterest page and look at the "My Style" board.

Simply decorating our home with the motto of "keeping it simple", filling it with items of meaning, and enjoying every moment of it!