Gotta Have an Idea

of what you want, but you don't need to know everything when you decorate.
frinstance....
I don't want no....
1). Gimmicks.

see that bowl-used-as-a-sink thing? Gimmick. Just buy.A.Sink.
what a pain in the ass to clean, I guess. I don't have one. I live in a rental. But, if I owned my own trailerhouse, I wouldn't do that. Dumb and tricky.
pic stolen from My Favorite and My Best....

Also. The Red Wall. So sick of that gimmick. It went something like this: "Look, I have nothing going on in this room, so I'll paint it a wild bold color!!!!!!"
I had one. It was a huge mistake. If your house is just a big blah box, so what. Choose good stuff and get on with life.
I'll revisit this "box" topic again in another post because my new house has very little architectural interest, being a WWII working class starter home...but, still it does have charm! You just have to "seeee" it, and get past the idea of rich-people envy.

Yes, I am gonna paint one of my walls brown. Because. Someone painted it RED. Brown is pretty and a sweet basic color, and it will cover the RED. I really want dark grey but in my cool grey climate...it will just be cold. So a nice brown (with some grey).

2.) Trends.

This is so trendy... white (painted) objects, pastels, hipster art, weirdly mcm/orla keily-type print pillows. So much of decor today is taking old furniture and covering it in wack print fabric, or pastel velvet. Since I have only ever bought 2 new pieces of furniture in my 55 years, I fully understand the before/after thing....but I also think sometimes the old shit needs to be "respected". Not everything needs a wack print...not everything needs a new paint job. Sometimes a simple respectable print or solid is nice enough, and a wood item just needs a damn good cleaning and wax.


stolen from My Favorite and My Best....
and where Decorno left a comment about.
(Decorno only ever "allowed" one comment I ever left there...fascist)

this is what Decorno said:

"Dear Angie,

It's too cutesy, indeed. In fact, it looks like "blogger decor" to me. Totally well-executed and more mature, but it has all the signs: pops of pinky/blue color, the usual suspects for furniture style, cute art, girly to the max... cute. Cute, cute, cute. I think that room will date fast because everyone is crushing so hard on that look. That living room looks like a Polyvore mashup of every blogger's wet dream. When your reaction is that strong - run. It might mean you've been seduced by trends.

xoxo
Decorno"

And these....
come on! enough of this now. And I LOVE letters, alphabets, typography...but this is now the 2010 version of 70s owls and mushrooms. Enough of the long rolls, but OK on the framed One word (or 2).(and of course, the Keep Calm poster thing....it was boring from the get-go)

from:FrenchByDesign

Another thing that's trendy right now. Letters. Single letters from signs. Or old signs, period.
Hey, I've been using letters as decor for decades. Ever since I saw Alexander Girard in home decor in the 60s...I was hooked. And once you go look at the Girard collection, you'll see where So Many Hipster Designers are getting their ideas!
more that's trendy---

Bones. I'm goth. Go figure. I'll still be displaying my bones. And my fossils.

Old stuff from the flea market/yard sale. I've always been poor. And clever. Therefore I have always decorated with used stuff, and stuff I just found somewhere. I am especially fond of branches and dried weeds. And rust. And old frosted bottles.

update ** holy crap! The f'king Buddah Head is everywhere in home decor right now!!**
I love Buddha, trying to limit desires...for the good of someone/thing.... but are folks really trying to be Buddahlike with that head,or just following a trend? Because following trends, and buying shit just to be buying shit is very unBuddha.

3.) Clutter.
Do I need to show pics?
Yes.
from ApartmentTherapy....

It's going in its place or it's going in the garbage. Important, but I don't need to see it.....it will go in one of these:



or in one of my trunks, or suitcases....