I grabbed a load of clothes at Dorothy Perkins a few weeks ago during a huge 70% off sale they were having. I don’t really do hauls, but they were all tops I needed for work and the hotter weather.
It was my first time purchasing from Dorothy Perkins, and I’m pretty disappointed with the quality. It reminds me very much of Forever 21. However, the price I can’t complain about!
I spent a lot of time organizing the apartment again. The office was moved around yet again, my desk was reorganized, pictures were finally put in frames, and the bedroom was finally adorned with artwork and flowers.
The bedroom has actually been the hardest for me to decorate. For six months there has been nothing but a bed in our bedroom. Yikes! But now there are flowers, candles, artwork, frames, etc. It’s starting to feel much more like a place where I can relax.
I still need to add my reading nook into the bedroom, and then I’ll consider it complete. (And maybe a few more candles.)
I’ll try to take some pictures of the other changes for next week. It’s been a while since I promised pictures of the decorating! Again, it’s nowhere near done, but it’s getting there.
And that’s all I did last week. I hope everyone else enjoyed it!
This blog entry was posted in Personal on Aug 06 2012.
When it comes time to decorate, I often have a hard time imagining what would go well in a room. I have to see it with my own eyes!
I’ve started making mood boards, inspired by professionals I’ve seen work on some of my favorite TV shows and online blogs. These have helped me figure out what I want. (And just as importantly, what I don’t want!)
Here’s a recent mood board I made for our bedroom. It’s one I’ve just started, with the goal of finding colorful accents. I put in items I already have, and then slowly add in items I need to buy.
As you can see, I still need to add in my colorful accents. Right now, this is my base.
Here is how to start creating your own mood board:
Choose a medium: Decide which medium — digital or paper?
Digital tools: If you decided digital, you can use an image editor like Photoshop or a free tool like Picasa. (Here’s a Picasa tutorial for mood boards.)
Paper tools: If you decided paper, get a blank scrapbook and use it to collect all of your mood boards in one place.
Decide on a canvas: You can use a white background color, or you can do what I did and put in the color of your floor and walls. It’s up to you! I find putting these in help me with the overall color scheme.
Use what you have: Begin with what you already own and add it in, but remember you may sometimes not have anything to start with.
Adding pictures: To add pictures digitally, find them online and use your image editor to remove the background. Then paste them onto the mood board and resize to fit. For adding pictures on paper, simply cut them out of magazines or print photos from your computer.
Add new items: Now the fun begins… Using the same process, experiment with adding new items into the board. Remember nothing is permanent, you can always change it.
Annotate carefully: If you get a final vision you can go out and purchase the items that look similar. However, if you want to purchase the exact items you used on your mood board, remember to add the proper annotations so that you can remember where to buy them. Even better, write down the price. Then you’ll know how much you need to invest to create your dream room!
This process helps plan a design, and is incredibly helpful for seeing an overall picture of what something will look like when completed.
I especially have been loving my mood boards, because they keep me from being indecisive and I know exactly what I need to grab the next time I’m shopping for interior decorating supplies.
Don’t like interior design? That’s fine! You can also use mood boards for outfit planning, wardrobe overhauls, and makeup looks.
Have you ever made a mood board? Would you find it useful?
This blog entry was posted in Decor on Jul 03 2012.
There’s a gray area between minimalist decor and clutter. I would consider my decorating style somewhere in the middle.
As far as simplifying your life, I think it’s important to bring a room down to the bare minimum you can handle. Some people can get rid of everything, others need more to stay happy.
The easiest way to figure out what works for you is starting with a bare room and gradually decorating until satisfied. It’s much easier to do things this way rather than take away from what already exists, because you’re likely attached to many items.
Why is this important? Walking into a room with just the right amount of objects for decor can provide various benefits:
It relaxes you. The view eases stress, rather than immediately overwhelming you with eye-candy overload.
You focus on art. Having only a few items allows focus on special pieces or artwork, rather than having too much competing for attention. Quality versus quantity!
You’re inspired. Until I decorated my area of the office, I wasn’t inspired to blog. The right amount of decoration will neither overwhelm or underwhelm you, which allows room for inspiration and ideas to flow.
It centers your mind. You should have functional pieces and decorations, but not too much of each. You should feel comfortable and happy walking into the room to focus on why you walked in there in the first place.
After unpacking from my move to a bigger place, I found it too minimalist for my taste. I’m still adding quality pieces that make me happy, and I hope soon that I can experience the points above in every room!
If you’re having trouble limiting the amount of decoration you have, look out for a post on handling collections and holding onto items for decor.
Where is your line between minimalist and clutter? Do you need to do some organizing?
I grew up in Germany for the first couple of years of my life and I love seeing pictures where I’m hip deep in snow wearing a ridiculous parka during the winter. Right now I’m in Florida for the holidays and it just isn’t the same…
Fall and winter are my favorite seasons. Nature starts showing off my favorite neutral shades and the weather allows for layering fun with clothes and my favorite boots. It’s also easy to take winter colors and use it for interior design inspiration.
Here are a few examples of how to take your favorite season and decorate your place to make you feel happy all year round!
