I'm ready to join in...my home is important to me...I want it to be practical/artistic/soothing/inviting. So using Amy's design categories, I thought I'd share my authentic style...
For the first segment of this series, Amy has six categories of design elements inspired by Donna of Funky Junk Interiors, the first blogger profiled in Amy's Authentic Style series. These six elements are
Clean lines
Rustic
Nature's Elements
Unique
Creative/Thrifty
Authentic - found objects mixed with antiques
Thought I would start with Authentic (with a good measure of Nature's Elements too)
This pine dresser is the oldest piece of furniture I own - its a Danish chest from the 1860's. When I moved from the Midwest to the West Coast, I had been living with leftover college furniture...it wasn't worth it to move it halfway across the country...pitched most of it...figured to start over with "real" furniture. When I bought this chest 25 years ago, I knew that I wanted a piece of furniture that would last a lifetime and be versatile. Initially this chest was my bedroom dresser...but over the years it has been a dining room buffet, an entertainment bar and now a linen chest...it sits in a nook outside the master bath and holds all of the towels/bedsheets/linens for the house.
You might be able to see if you look closely...the bottom left corner is chewed off...the best dog we ever had - an abused/neglected/old/gentle yellow lab retriever named Forrest that we rescued, chewed off the corner one day...don't know what possessed him...he never chewed anything else in the seven years we had him...we kept the chew marks as a reminder of the (mostly) good dog he was...
Style tip here - buy real furniture when you want a piece that will last...the expense in the long haul is worth it...I paid $800 for this chest in 1986...it has been worth every penny...and this chest will move with me wherever I go. This is the benefit of shopping for vintage furniture - more than likely, it is sturdily built with solid wood construction.
The vignette on the top is a compilation of found objects and natural elements. A few volumes from the set of 1898 Encyclopedia Britannica my sister bought at a library sale-$5 for all 26 leather bound books...various bottles, vases and bowls each found for small change...
an old birdcage that I dragged back on the plane from Atlanta several years ago (before all the additional security...I don't think I could get on a plane today with that in tow!)...
a framed poster from the John James Audubon art exhibit that I attended at the Seattle Art Museum in 1996 and the metal crow I bought at Restoration Hardware many, many years ago.
What helps to tie all this together is color and theme...having design elements that are consistent is what gives your home its continuity and contributes to its good vibe.
Be sure you check out the other blog link-ups over at WhisperWood Cottage...I love looking at people's homes...always interesting to me to see what inspires others...
Also linkng up to Funky Junk Interiors Saturday Nite Special on decorating with birds & nests...
And I'll running posts Part 2 and Part 3 in the coming weeks with additional peeks inside my home and how I define my authentic style - stay tuned!
