Before I started planning anything, I thought I knew exactly how I wanted the house to look and feel, and I figured it would magically come together and be just right on its own. But something felt a little off about my vision, and I couldn’t put my finger on it. Maybe I was trying too hard to force a certain aesthetic that wasn’t truly “me,” or maybe I was getting carried away with Pinterest and wanting to perfectly cut and paste certain pins. The vision I had was missing that secret sauce. Something that would take my space from just “re-pinnable” to my own curated haven.
As corny as this sounds, I realized the missing secret sauce was ME. My home should reflect my personal style, routines, and energy, right? It should feel like a space that is comfortable and all mine, not like something I copied from Pinterest. After this realization I had a mini identity crisis. What do I want my space to look like? Is that true to myself? Does it reflect my personality? Who even am I?? Is there a God???
That being said, I want to make the design of my house about the mood and functionality, rather than just the aesthetic. It’s more about the statement it makes. This is my one and only home, so it should fit seamlessly with my lifestyle. I also want the house to reflect my personal style, which is honestly all over the place and changes with the moon.
My second epiphany was that since different rooms in my house are used for different purposes, they all need to have their own, slightly different vibe to fit the mood I’m going for in that room. Big yikes, this is all getting very overwhelming. Am I thinking way too far into it? Maybe. But it’s what I do best and I’m confident the outcomes will be worth the extra care. Lucky for me I have EIGHT whole rooms to work with, so I get to mess around a little bit.
Now there is actually a science to all of this, so I’m basically a scientist. This article explains the psychology of interior design. Different elements like color, lighting, and furniture arrangement invoke different emotional responses, affect your mood, and can even impact productivity You’ve heard of color theory, right? Just like that. How your space is cultivated matters.
The Vibe
Here’s where I’m dumping my brain of the overall vibe I’m going for in the whole house and how I’m going to get there. I’m not necessarily trying to replicate the designs that inspire me, but I’ll hopefully incorporate some details from each of them to get that feeling. Keep an eye out, I will be posting the mood board for each room too because I am a maniac.
Bright and Clean
First, I want the space to feel bright and clean. I get beautiful natural light from every angle, and let me tell you what a difference it makes! I want it to feel like I am able to let the outside in a little. The walls in most rooms will be white for a nice, crisp feel. I want the flow of the house to feel breezy and not stuffy and overcrowded. Now I don’t mean like just Clorox wiped the counters clean, necessarily, but just… clean. Decluttered, functional, organized. I like to keep my space low on clutter, because when my space is clear, my head is clear! It’s science.
Earthy
I want it to feel earthy, you know like just natural. That means alot of plants & animals, natural materials (like wood, jute, wicker etc.), textures, nature art, and earthy color palette. Something about incorporating the elements feels so peaceful to me. For the color scheme, there will be alot of neutrals, some greens and blues, but I might go a little buckwild and do some warmer colors in the upstairs bedroom, we’ll see. As I mentioned the main paint color is white, but for the office and my studio, I’m going with bolder blues and greens. I’ll do a post later on my methods for choosing paint colors. I love decorating with animals too! Animal decor, animal print, animal art, one real live animal, you name it. I have ton of nature-themed art hiding somewhere that I can’t wait to hang. From animals (duh) to mountains, beaches, fossils, and gemstones.
Vibrant
I also want my home to have a vibrant feel, like a fun aspect to it. I love the energy of that kitchen above! The rich greens and blues will hopefully help with this. I like to use alot of different colors in my smaller accents as well, and mix in some fun art so that I have a bit of variety. I’m a fan of unexpected and funky details!
Cozy
Lastly, I want this home to feel cozy and relaxing. Like after a long day of exhausting coronavirus social isolation at home, I can just plop down, melt, and feel embraced, if that makes sense. First of all, my furniture needs to be comfortable! Then there will be luscious amounts of velvet going on, and other soft textures to snuggle up in. I’m also a big fan of rugs all over, because we all deserve better than cold hard floors. Each room’s lighting will help with this as well. For instance I’m making sure to use warm, soft light for the spaces that don’t need to be super bright.
Some of these moods I’m aiming for seem a little bit contradictory, I know, like how am I supposed to make this vibrant and relaxing at the same time? I don’t want this to turn out looking like a carnival fun house, where every room is a big surprise. And I really don’t know the answer yet! But I’ll figure it out as I go. I think it’s all about finding the right balance, and making sure there are common elements throughout the house to tie everything together and make it work. It will probably end up being alot of trial and error until the spaces feel right to me. The longer I live in the house, the space will adapt and I will be able to hone in on the look and feel I’m going for!
My Style
Like I said, the styles I like are all across the board and I’m going to go crazy and just mix all of them!
Scandinavian
I lived in Germany for a bit about 5 years ago (oops am I being that girl?) and grew to appreciate the minimalism and neutral colors! But it’s a little too bland for me to embrace wholeheartedly.
Bohemian
There are alot of aspects of boho style I like, like the plants, softness, coziness. But in my opinion, an overdone boho just feels too cluttered and forced, so I’m aiming for a more subtle boho-ness.
Vintage
My cheap-ass nature has led me to loving vintage style! There is something meaningful to me about using unique objects and styles from the past. Not to get super-hippie on you but it’s also better for the environment and supports local businesses! See my post about the vintage stuff I’ve been finding! This house was built in the 1950’s, and it’s already kind of rocking that on its own, (see my last post), and I think it’ll be cool to play it up!
Long story short, my head is an entanglement of inspiration. I’m not limiting myself to just these styles though, so we’ll see how the mix turns out. Check out my Pinterest board “House Vibe” for my inspiration pictures! You’ll also find my inspiration for each room, which I’ll go further into when I get there. If you made it this far, thanks for reading!
