Calm Breeze

Sunday, July 17, 2011

My Style is My Own

LOVE this chandelier! But I'm not so into the white, white WHITE look that is everywhere today.
Also not quite the look I'm going for.




I have come to a realization about myself. I have this absolutely ridiculous obsession with stepping away from the crowd. Not that I'm a total rebel who dyes my hair blue and wears a lot of black or anything, I just like to take the unexpected path, to do or create something unique to only me. It's not that I want to draw attention to myself for being different and, heaven forbid, weird. I just don't want to be exactly like everybody else. Or at least of lot of other people. (Random story: this inclination of mine is what motivated me to take Russian in high school, instead of French, Spanish, or German. I just had to be different! I did go on to minor in Russia in college, and even though I now have a lovely sister-in-law from Russia, I have to admit, I probably would have gotten more use out of Spanish. Oh well...)

When it comes to design, I look around at the trends that come and go and see certain patterns, colors, styles done over and over again, and I have this overwhelming urge to not do those things, just because they are popular. It doesn't even really matter whether I like those particular styles or not, the fact that they are everywhere turns me against them. It seems like in Utah, about a decade ago, the French Country look was really big, and then it was the Tuscan/Old World look, and now it's this Beachy Cottage look. While there are indeed certain elements that I like from each of these styles, if I were doing my own house, I would be mixing and matching, taking one popular color and pairing it with a totally unexpected color. Or mixing something classy with something totally wild. I love a look that is fresh, that isn't an exact duplicate of the Pottery Barn catalog.

Sometimes this tendency gets me in trouble. If I have a certain vision of what I want in my head, and it doesn't reflect the popular styles, it can be very difficult to find what I want. I'm hoping that the more I get into this whole design thing, the more I can reconcile my need for uniqueness with what's actually available on the market.

What do you think? Do you like to stick with the trend? Or do you like to break out and do something completely different? I'm not talking wild and crazy, like putting a hot pink rhinoceros head over your fireplace (sorry, Antonio Ballatore!), just something that speaks to you and makes you feel at home, more than some pre-determined stylistic set of rules.

So, on another line of thought: I found these AWESOME curtain panels at Pier One the other day. At least, I think these are the ones. The panels I was looking at in real life came across as just shimmery blue, not with that gold undertone. However, the only problem is that my family room windows are two stories high.
See?
 I was planning on sewing the curtains for this room myself, but I haven't found a fabric like this anywhere else, at least, not for less than $75 a yard! But I love the idea of having shimmering blue going all the way up to my ceiling! (Please remember that the sage green sofas are on their way out in the near future.) Do you think it would look weird to sew two panels together vertically? Maybe add some trim or another kind of fabric in between to make it look intentional? Or would it cut the room in half visually? Anybody seen something like that before?

1 comment:

  1. I constantly have the same problem! I am always totally conflicted with the idea in my head and what's available when decorating my house!

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