Sometimes it’s fun for us to scroll through the photos on our House Tour page and try to pick out decorating similarities or patterns that we’ve never noticed before. Obviously there are blatant themes that we knowingly gravitate towards, like a light and airy look, neutral colors with some hits of soft blue and grass green, white curtains, dark wood furnishings mixed with white painted pieces and white ceramic animals (which I admit I like a little too much). But it’s also interesting to notice that we seem to have subliminal attractions that even we’re not privy to until waaay after the fact when we’re looking at the photos as a whole.
For example, in each of our three bedrooms we’ve chosen patterned bedding. We’re not huge on big graphic textiles in our home for the most part (although we love using them in mood boards for our color-loving clients, a lot of our house is decorated with subtle textures that have been layered, not bold prints and patterns around every turn). So of course we find this little graphic patterned bedding similarity quite interesting. Whatever it is about fluffy white bedding- which you’d think we’d be drawn to for all three rooms given our love of all things airy and white- was somehow rejected in exchange for a fun high-contrast geometric look in the guest bedroom…
… a softer graphic pattern in our bedroom…
…and a detailed modern floral look in the third bedroom.
Heck, even the daybed in the sunroom is accented by graphic little geometrically patterned pillows, so clearly there’s some sort of attraction to bedding that’s a bit beyond basic. Go figure! I guess it’s possible to even surprise yourself.
Another more obvious pattern is our proclivity towards natural materials. We always knew we loved bamboo blinds (which we have in the living room, the laundry nook and the den) and jute rugs (as seen in the kitchen, the den, the third bedroom, and our bedroom)…
… but it was funny to notice that even the tiny finishing touches and accessories that we introduce are often natural objects like woven baskets in the bathroom, corks as vase filler, planters made from natural fibers, even woven pillows in the den and the third bedroom. Interesting…
But looking closer what other patterns can we find? Obviously we like light slipcovered sofas and mocha floors (which we have throughout the house) along with lots of white frames (found in every single room- they’re handy for switching out since they all match each other) and white pedestal tables (we have one in the den and one in the sunroom). And we can’t forget leather storage ottomans for stashing everything from files and folders to paint decks (we have three in the den, two in the living room and one in the dining area). But we also noticed that we actually have a subtle animal theme going on. Not only are there the aforementioned ceramic animals living it up around the house, we also have a cow print pillow in the den along with curved ceramic horns on the mantel:
… a zebra pillow in the mini mudroom area:
… and various portraits and pictures of Burger throughout the house (including a formal little silhouette John had made for me based on Burger’s actual profile):
Then piggybacking off the natural theme (and overlapping a bit into the animal theme as well) we definitely have some sea-life patterns going on. From our bedroom and office botanical prints….
… to our clam shell in the kitchen and various starfish and faux-coral pieces that we have peppered throughout the house, they all work well with our airy and open theme. And I guess we’re just suckers for things that remind us of fun in the sun.
We also have a definite mirror fetish. Guess how many we have in the house? Let’s see, we have one in the sunroom, one in the half bathroom, one in the den, one in the living room, one in the bathroom, one little one layered over a giant one in the guest bedroom and an even bigger one in our bedroom. So that’s seven mirrors in a house that only has nine rooms. Yeah, we like mirrors.
And speaking of those oversized mirrors, it seems as though we often select one noticeably large object to place in nearly every one of our rooms, maybe subliminally to add interest since we don’t use a ton of bold colors and patterns to keep things exciting. For example, there’s the giant clock in the sunroom, the huge hurricane next to the fireplace in den, two oversized jars on the coffee table and the console table in the living room, the giant greyhound next to the fireplace and a life-sized ceramic dog in the sunroom, two oversized frames in the laundry nook, a huge P monogram that we made for above the console table, and even the aforementioned giant clam shell in the kitchen.
Then we noticed the glass lamp thing. Would you believe that we have a glass pendant lamp in the kitchen above the sink, two glass-based lamps in the living room and one giant oversized glass gourd lamp in the guest bedroom? And if that doesn’t sound like much of a pattern to you, consider than we only own one additional table lamp in the entire house (the metal task lamp on our desk in the den). That’s three out of four table lamps that are glass! And you might say that we had to notice that trend, but we’re usually just attracted to something and we buy it. There’s not much thought other than “where will it go?” and “how much does it cost”- so we rarely think “do we have something else like this already?” because for some reason every time we fall in love with something we’re convinced that it’s different than anything else that has ever existed and we must have it. Especially if it’s on the clearance rack…
And on the subject of lighting, we just realized we’re a bit biased when it comes to lamp shades. We knew we preferred clean-lined drum shades, but we didn’t realize there was hardly a different shape in our entire house (the floor lamps in the den and our bedroom along with the two glass lamps in the living room and the glass lamp in the guest bedroom all have modern non-tapered shades- well, the one in the guest bedroom is a smidge tapered, but not by very much). Who knew we were such drill sergeants when it came to that?
Oh and we can’t forget about our fondness of subtle tone on tone stripes. We painted them on our porch floor, the walls of our half bath, and even snapped up two identical jute rugs with them for the third bedroom and the kitchen.
So are we lame-o losers for consciously and subconsciously stocking up on patterned bedding, jute rugs, natural objects, animal-related paraphernalia, beachy items, mirrors of all sizes, glass lamps, drum shades, and stuff with subtle stripes? We guess it could be considered a bit boring to some, but we just think that we like what we like, and sometimes repeated attractions to things indicates that you’re finally pinning down a signature style of sorts- so people will see something and immediately say “that’s so you”- which is always flattering (unless it’s some tacky Dolly-Parton-looking outfit or something). Take the amazing Nate Berkus and his love of latch-like hardware, textured linen, beat up old chairs, and black window sashes. Or the unparalleled Candice Olson and her love of luxe creams, soft blues, gleaming crystal chandeliers and opulent fabrics.
Plus sometimes similar materials, colors, textures, and styles peppered in many rooms throughout a home can actually keep things cohesive and help with the flow- especially in a modestly sized casa with modestly sized rooms like ours. That way it doesn’t feel like you’re living in a house made up of totally unrelated spaces that feel jarring when you exit one room and enter another.
Of course we also like switching things up with interesting elements that don’t occur anywhere else (a bright green quilted headboard here, a patterned yellow rug there, a painted green bookcase here, a capiz chandelier there) so we’re by no means suggesting that people get all matchy-matchy and formulaic (in fact here’s one of our favorite posts of all time about how NOT to do that). We just thought it was an interesting little study in our strange subconscious psyche (were we oversized sea-loving animals who liked looking in the mirror in a past life?). And we’d love to know what patterns you guys pick up when you look around your space. From purple velvet to oil-rubbed bronze, what can’t you guys get enough of in your house?
Sherry,
– Loved this post! You and John have what many people struggle for in their decorating lives- inspired cohesiveness. Sure, the rooms may seem to run on a theme to you, but honestly the entire package is just beautifully pulled together and seamless. Everything flows!
Haha! That’s so interesting! I’ve never analyzed our apartment that way, but after reading this, I looked around and saw things totally different. My husband and I are drawn to earthy-colors, like dark reds, chocolate browns, creams, greens and burnt oranges. They’re everywhere and I NEVER noticed that!
I LOVE your blog by the way, very inspiring :)
Speaking of patterned bedding, have you seen the DwellStudio line at Target? Some amazing patterned bedspreads!
http://www.target.com/DwellStudio-Bedding-Collections-Designers/b/ref=sc_iw_r_2_0/175-9415723-8663124?node=404152011
I especially love the Regency, Formal Garden, Charcoal Circle, and Birds Damask sets. Now if only I could convince my husband… :)
Oh yeah we love the DwellStudio Target stuff. Even their baby stuff is adorable (we used some of it for Emily’s nursery). And you can’t beat the price!
xo,
s
Oh man- I just looked around and realized my decor sense kinda screams “hand-me-downs” and “dorm room stuff” and “left behind by old roommates”. I love a lot of the pieces I have, but it’s hard for me to put them all together in a way that looks funky yet polished, instead of like a storage unit.
I love the clam shell in your kitchen! I’ve been looking all over for one. Did it come from Z Gallerie? If so, is it the large or extra large one?
Thanks, Rachel
Hey Rachel,
Yup, it’s the ZGallerie one and it’s the large. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Love this! I actually noticed the same thing in our house over the weekend. We have dark red in every room in our house; all the curtains in our house are red. We’ve been thinking about changing out the curtains in our master bedroom, but now I think maybe they should stay so the whole house stays cohesive!
That’s an interesting way to take a look at your house! I’m sure I could find similar patterns in our apartment as well, though they probably wouldn’t be as well developed (it’s only been decorated for several months).
But on a slight tangent – you take awesome photographs! You make them look cozy and cheerful without washing out the colors. Can you do a post on how to take photographs of your home?? I took some for my blog (post will be up tomorrow), but they are very poor quality in comparison (for some reason I just don’t get how to take pictures that make it look cozy, but still accurate). Help please!!
Hey Jenny,
We’re by no means experts on the subject, but here are our photography tips:
1. We use a Canon Powershot. It has great features like “image stability” for clarity and a macro lens for detail shots (plus it’s still totally affordable)
2. We never ever use the flash. Wait for a sunny day, turn on all the lights and snap away (keep the camera still to fight blur)
3. Take a mazillion pictures. We take them from all angles, different heights, at different times of the day, etc. Then we pick our favorites.
4. Don’t forget the little extras. We turn on the gas fireplace, light some candles, fluff the pillows, etc. It all makes a subtle difference in the end.
5. Photoshop is your friend. We occasionally use it to crop photos, lighten things and correct colors so it’s a great little perk if you have it.
Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Great post!
I love how you say – we see it, we like it, we get it. At the same time I’m renovating my house, I’m trying to get furnishing and accessories, etc. ready for move in day. Everyone says – what is the style going to be? It’s going to be what I like – that’s it.
So far that seems to be a mid-century/traditional/modern look. But, I also have pieces of Americana, Country, some Antiques – lots of glassware for the china closet, all sorts of things I have a place for it all in my mind.
I hope it looks half as good as your place – every pic on your house tour looks inviting and that’s what I want my house to feel like for me and my family and friends. And as you say – what you like becomes your style and hopefully it will be uniquely mine, but appealing to others.
Delaware – J
Your mention of slip covered sofas jumped right off the screen for me. My husband and I are in the market for a new slipcover, any recommendations on where to find good quality, affordable slipcovers that fit well? We inherited our current one with the couch and it’s never fit very snugly. Also, any tips on figuring out what size and style works best? Thanks! Love the blog and am a fellow Richmond-er, go RVA!!
That was very helpful, thanks! I’ll have to try it out in the next couple days. Do you have any tips for photographing at night, or just during the day? I love the cozy feeling our apartment gets after dark, but can’t capture it the same way on camera.
Wow, there’s a decorating epiphany here. I have several little themes going on too and maybe need to weed out what no longer fits into those for the cohesive look your lovely home has. LOVE the Burger silhouette – any tips on where to get or how to make them??
Lesley- John actually ordered that silhouette on etsy for me as a gift, but you could probably blow up a photo of your pet and trace it and then transfer it onto black construction paper and cut it out for a super similar look. Hope it helps!
Jenny- Hmm, good question. We have yet to master evening photography as we hate the harshness that the flash brings to a space and there’s less likelihood of photos coming out clearly without using one in the evening when there’s less light. Perhaps using a tripod will keep the camera still enough (or setting it on a table with the timer on) to get a clean shot of the evening ambiance? Good luck!
Alaina- We love Rowe sofas and actually got our living room sofa for around $500 less than our Pottery Barn one in the den. We love it a million times more and it was much cheaper- can’t beat that. It was still around $900 or so, but it’ll last for decades so it seems like a good investment piece (especially with the washable slipcover and classic clean lines). Just google or check out your yellow pages for any Rowe retailers in your area and visit the showroom to see what they have. In our experience they had a ton more fabric options to choose from than PB and of course the price was a lot better. Hope it helps!
Kate- We actually purchased both of our sofas as slipcovered models, so we didn’t get the covers separately. One is from Pottery Barn (the den one) and the living room one (which we like a loooooot more) is from Rowe (just find a local retailer on google and save $500 or more over Pottery Barn- such a deal). We have heard good things about the Surefit slipcovers carried by Bed Bath & Beyond but you might have to purchase a few different options and try each one on your couch to find the best fit (then just return the rest). Hope it helps!
Jennifer S- Does it comfort you to know that all those leather storage ottomans and baskets that you see everywhere are stuffed with games, paint chips, dog toys and more? We just try to stash that stuff in eye-pleasing ways so no one’s the wiser!
xo,
s
I wanted to let you know your beautiful home is such an inspiration!! I just picked up two of the IKEA sheepskin throws/rugs after seeing how great they look thrown over the dining room bench and family room chair in your house. And the best part is the price!
Thanks for the great design tips!
Alaina
Q: In the market for a couch – ideally one that looks like either of yours. Any suggestions for affordability (but better quality than IKEA)?? I’ve been searching CraigsList every day, but have you ever looked for couches on craiglist? Eeek.
…and I completely forgot to mention that I featured your home (for the second or third or fourth… I’m losing count) on my blog again today in my post about the IKEA rug. So thanks!
Sometimes I can’t see beyond the toys scattered across the floor and the laundry waiting to be folded and put away. Really. They are everywhere. That’s why I read your blog! Not a toy or laundry basket anywhere.
I love how you are able to have a few little themes that all flow together, and they are not noticable to the naked eye where it appears to be all “matchy matchy” as you put it. How are you able to do that? I go into stores, find things I love, buy them and then my house looks like a collection of random things I found and loved in stores. LOL. It’s not cohesive at all. Im curious…should I make a mental note of themes and what I like and try to stick to those when I go shopping? So I don’t buy something on a whim? Thanks…lovely home!
Hey Jennifer F,
Here’s a post all about that. It’s one of our favorites: https://www.younghouselove.com/email-answer-match-point/
And another one that should really help things feel cohesive instead of mismatched: https://www.younghouselove.com/email-answers-decorating-add/
Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Love all the photos – thanks for sharing. I am always looking for inspiration!!! Both my sons are currently wanting/needing new bedding- I like the simplicity of your choices – not overwhelming but not boring either.
Sherry, on your mirrors as well… do you use microfiber cloths? I use the same on everything when I clean. But I can’t ever seem to get my mirrors JUST RIGHT!.. they seem smudged!
Hi guys:
I love your blog and your sense of style! It’s funny you’ve mentioned Candice Olsen. She lives down the street from me in Toronto, Canada. Really nice and outgoing lady! And yes her house is fabulous!
Ying Zhang- No way! You live down the street from Candice Olson? That’s pretty darn amazing!
Jo- We do use our microfiber cloths on our mirrors and they seem to come out ok. Sometimes they’re less than perfect initially but once they “dry” a bit they look better. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
I’ve been an absolute sucker for your style since I happened across your blog.
It’s not contrived or “done”. It’s contemplative without effort or “art”. It’s naturally elegant, serene and somehow– ‘evolved’.
Sun, cloud, earth, water; the stuff of memories. Which is why so many aspire to your style.
I think taking photos is probably the only way to notice this kind of thing, so, once I get my house cleaned up (we’ve recently inherited a few pieces of furniture and suddenly we are stuffed to the gills so it’s time to do some editing), I’m going to do just that and see what I come up with.
As an aside, I’m guessing that if I look the site a little bit I’m going to find the name of the paint color that dominates most of your house? I’m likin’ it, and since we’re looking at some reno, I’ll have some spaces to repaint.
Lovin’ the blog. Glad I found it.
Hey Erin,
Yup, here’s a room by room breakdown with paint colors for each space along with where we got almost every item of furniture: https://www.younghouselove.com/photo-gallery-2/room-by-room-source-list/
You can also access it anytime by clicking the link at the top of our house tour page that says “room by room source list”- hope it helps!
xo,
s
Thank you, thank you! I will look into it!
I love that you’ve broken down your “style” and put it into words (ok, and pictures). Seeing you define the recurring themes in your house has really helped me more clearly define my own personal decorating style. I know that sounds a little ambiguous, but it’s true! Seeing you guys always just go for what really works for you has encouraged me to do the same for my space.
Thanks for the tips of taking photo’s. Sometimes it drives me nuts that the picture doesn’t come out the way I want, but some days it does. I’m going to try your tips.
I think we have a theme to our home. Light and airy is what we wanted from the start and your blog only helped us get there. Now that we finished our Family Room http://www.lifamilies.com/blog/index.aspx?P=1&Username=JldDolphin
I want to change some things in the rest of the house. ;-) We love blues, greens and beige. In the Fall I love to add Burnt Orange and it goes so well in any of the rooms. Other than the colors following in the house, I can’t think of anything else that is themed. But over time, I’m sure there will be. lol! Great post.
I think that using similar themes throughout the house is a great alternative to using color to bring cohesion to a home!
Opting for similarities throughout the house really pulls together a cohesive feeling, that doesn’t make the eye jump all over the place. Then adding little pops of unexpected color just adds excitement. J&S you have really done this perfectly, and never strayed from your true stlye! Love your home, it has given me lots of inspiration!
Love this post! I know that I have a ‘stripe’ fetish…seems that I always have to have at least one fabric or rug in a room with stripes. Lately I have also been buying mostly solid pieces when it comes to my upholstery and I usually make my own pillows and add patterns and textures there. And finally, I have developed a love affair with brown. I have a brown sofa in the living room, a brown ticking stripe (there is the stripe thing again) in the den/library and just had some chairs reupholstered in a chenile damask type design in a darker brown. In the spring/summer I mix it with the light blue and light green and white and in the winter I use oranges/reds/slightly darker greens. Oh, and I love ottomans; 3 in the living room, 2 in the den/library, 1 in the master bedroom and 1 in the sunroom. It has taken me a few years, but I have managed to finally find my own style and go with it no matter what is in fashion.
Your blog is awesome. I am getting so many new ideas from it. Hope you don’t mind. I love your jute rugs and was wondering how they would be for kids? Are they soft enough? My oldest left silly putty (sparkly silver at that) on my area rug and I need to replace it but I did not know if my kids would like it. They watch tv in that room and like to sit on the floor. What do you think?
Hey Foggogs,
It definitely depends on the type of jute rug that you snag. The fibers can vary and the way they’re woven can depend on how soft they are so the key is really feeling them in person before springing for one. The one we have in the den (an oldie but a goodie from Lowe’s) is super soft and braided (Pottery Barn and Overstock sell similar varieties) while the ones in the kitchen and the third bedroom are definitely not cozy enough to sit on (they’re woven with course fibers that aren’t very soft). But as long as you take the time to find a soft thick, braided one the durability and resistance to stains can’t be beat. We actually potty trained Burger in the den with our jute rug (!) and three years later it’s still in mint condition. Love that!
xo,
s
Does The Company Store have brick-and-mortar stores or online order only? And if you ordered your rugs, do you recall how much shipping cost? Thanks!!
Hey Oonafey,
They might have some outlet stores but I’m not sure. Perhaps that’s a job for google? Also we remember the shipping being extremely minimal (maybe we even got it for free by googling around for a coupon code). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Hi youngsters! Great post!
After taking some good looks around the house I realised that my new and fastly developing fetish is anything turquoise, aqua, duck egg…you got the point!
From throws to accessories to frames to glassware.
Also I’m obviously drown to white ceramics, since I had to buy a hutch to place them in.
Also tall candle holders and white candles. Gosh, they are everywhere. Kinda boring now that I think about it! Hmmm….
@Jo: THE best and quickest way to clean mirrors,windows etc is by using vinegar mixed with water and lots of newspaper. It’s also frugal and eco-friendly because afterwards I just toss the newspaper into the compost bin or the recycle bin.
good heavens your home is so beautiful!
Aw thanks Emalie! You’re too kind!
xo,
s (& j)
I have a really hard time sticking to the no matchy matchy style. I think I do it and not realize it until it’s too late. I have a klipplan sofa and a karlstad chair in my living room and as much as I love the light colored sofas and chairs you have it’s not very practical for me. We have a dog who likes to dig holes and somehow she always manages to sneak up on them when I’m not looking. So needless to say light colored furniture wouldn’t last long. So I dyed the slip covers a chocolate brown which turned out really nice, but the rest of our furniture are dark wood tones. I have my eye on these cute end tables at Target but they are a dark espresso color so they wouldn’t really pop next to my couch. I was considering painting them but I’m scared of painting them white. I noticed that you guys are able to mix the white furniture with dark wood tones and it looks great, but I’m really scared as to how it will turn out. Should I paint them an accent color or a cream? I will say it a again, I’M SCARED!!!! I don’t want to ruin them. I would appreciate any advice you can give me on mixing painted furniture with stained furniture.
Hey Lindy,
Our rule is that you can paint furniture any color that you’d like and mix it in with dark wood or other tones of wood as long as:
#1. the color that you’ll be painting those pieces occurs many other times in the room so they don’t stand out like sore thumbs
#2. the remaining wood tones are similar (so it doesn’t look like a room full of hand-me-downs)
This means if you opt to paint a few pieces white, make sure you have other accessories and items in the room that are also white so everything feels cohesive (white lamp shades, white pillows, white vases, etc) and be sure that the remaining unpainted furniture is all a similar tone of wood so it looks intentionally mixed and matched as opposed to resembling a room full of bad dorm furniture. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Hey, youngsters :)
Yup – I think you can safely say that you’ve found your personal style. Have you ever read designers’ comments like “just buy what you like and it will all end up looking good together”. I balk at that a bit. I think they’re assuming that everyone already, like you said, knows what their heart wants in a home. It takes some of us a little while to figure that out, though – it’s not immediate, you know. I appreciate so many different styles, I’d be seriously dangerous shopping with only the “buy what you like” rule to go by. HOWEVER, after thinking thoughtfully about what we want in our house, and like this post, paying careful attention to patterns we’ve seen over the years, a look starts to emerge.
You all have made it to the stage where you know. You just know :) You can buy what you like and it really will all fit together somehow because you’ve done the work to figure out your style. Here’s hoping we won’t be too long in the same process!!!
By the way, did you hear? Check out our blog :)
~Jacci
Hey Jacci,
You’re totally right! We learned that just because you love something in the beginning of your decorating journey doesn’t mean you should buy it. Especially when you’re still hammering out things like color palettes and styles and stuff like that! Now when we fall in love with something it’s usually because it automatically fits into the right scheme, color palette, etc since we’ve refined that a bit since moving in. In fact here’s an old post all about that: https://www.younghouselove.com/email-answers-decorating-add/
And another one about how it definitely takes a while to refine your style and decorate in stages until things really start to click into place: https://www.younghouselove.com/email-answer-look-before-you-leap/
Off to check out your blog to read the big news…
xo,
s
thinking through my house, definite themes include: linen drum shades (am so with you on this!), striped fabrics and/or rugs, and silver picture frames. you mentioned yours are all white – something about having everything framed in the same color scheme makes photos, mementos, art, etc look cohesive and not cluttered.
love the blog – totally put the list of eco-friendly home cleaning solutions to work over the weekend. the olive oil and vinegar wood polish worked amazingly well! thanks for the tips!
Hey Guys! Love the themes, I guess that’s what makes up a couple’s style. Question, where did you get that white botanical print above the desk? That is EXACTLY what i’ve been searching for for my bedroom and I can’t find anything like it when I serach online.
Thx!
Hey Mharbeson,
That little botanical above our desk is one of our very own prints from our shop. You can check out all four varieties here: https://www.younghouselove.com/photo-gallery-2/about-2/shop/
Hope it helps!
xo,
s
I love the lightness of your house!
I’m still trying to find a similar lamp to the ones in your family room (the ones with the brownish clear glass base). I’m sure similar ones will pop up somewhere.
You guys know what you want, that’s for sure! That’s a good thing :) I have no idea what look I want our new home to take on, but that will come in time. Thank you for all of your hard work and the inspiration you provide. ::hugs::
~sigh~ I never get tired of looking at your house. So pretty!
I loved this post! I think your continuity really gives a polished, decorated look to your house and you’ve managed to throw in one or two unexpected elements in each room to keep things interesting. I knew y’all had done a great job with your house but it’s been a while since I’d seen a full tour. Bravo!
Sherry, I love your home and I love your love for your home. It permeates everything.
That’s why I am making the comment that I am: it is not good Feng Shui to have a mirror reflect your bed, the way you have it in the bedroom there. Intead: you are meant to have a ‘quiet’ bedroom to induce sound sleep.
Easiest solution is to put a cloth over your mirror at night! When you do this, you will realize that doing that WILL make a difference in how the room feels. Try it out…
Regards, Rose
ps sorry I have no feng shui articles on my blog just yet, but I will change this soon, as I realize that it would serve a purpose.
Very interesting Rose! We both have been sleeping like logs lately (big home projects will do that to ya) but we’re interested in tossing a sheet over the mirror to see if it makes a difference. Thanks for the idea for a fun little experiment.
xo,
s
Sry! Was reading too many things today.
I think your sea things trend is interesting. Especially in the kitchen. The bathroom is obvious but bringing that into the rest of your home is great, especially for the flow you’re trying to achieve.
that was a fun post! so fun to see your entire house (again) in one, giant posting!
i always notice patterns when i go back and review photos of things that i have done in different homes and rooms over the years. it’s funny how you get into trends or different mindsets over time that you don’t even notice you are doing. sometimes, i often end up purchasing something for my home months after i saw it initially, then realize where the idea came from wayyy later in the game! funny.
I like white ceramic animals too. Pier One has some very cute, but cheap white ceramic bird salt and pepper shakers that I bought that makes me think of you all. I think they were $6 for the set regular price and probably still in the stores. I also have a white ceramic peacock ring holder from Anthropologie, but do not know if it is still there… very cute. Love you guys.
Hi Guys- I’m in the market for a new duvet cover and really like the simple graphic designs on all of your beds. Can I ask where you got them?? I’m considering busting out the sewing machine and just buying some flat sheets for a Little diy, but would love to save some time. I love yours!
Hey Allison,
We actually have a handy room by room source guide that you can scroll through by clicking the tab under the header that says “House Tour” and then clicking the first link on that page that says “room by room source guide”- hope it helps!
xo,
s
hey! I’ve always really found trends in people’s tastes interesting. It’s interesting to see how similar tastes often overlap into taste in music, clothing, home decor, etc. I know in my house, I tend to use a lot of natural or purer materials (glass, wood, paper, pottery, jute and baskets), and I really like things that have a history and/or are made with really good craftsmanship. I too have a lot of sea and ocean type things (subtle though with shells, blue, white, green, and sunset sky type colors like purple or soft pink) and an affinity for white! I’m also drawn to little things that make me smile, black and white photographs, books, and old art supplies like cameras and typewriters. I like thoughtful little groups of things that just make my day a little better. :)
(oh! and I usually find that I end up grouping things by odd numbers for some reason…I like asymmetrical stuff and somehow it’s usually keeps my interest a little longer)
So, I love your home and it’s feel… whether you meant to carry out all the different patterns or not.
In my own home, it seems I like geometric patterns, linen, sunbursts, natural texture and leaves. So, I try to use a little of each in every room albeit in a different way. For instance, in the family room we have linen pillows with a sunburst pattern, a geometric print throw, a seagrass rug and black-and-white photos of flowers/leaves. Likewise, in the powder room I painted a geometric chair rail (using the end of a toilet paper roll), framed orchid prints, displayed a seagrass basket and rolled extra handtowels sideways on a display shelf that resemble a sunburst. And I definitely like cohesion in the color scheme throughout our home. We like gray, white, brown and black…neutrals… however each room has a little pop of something else to mix it up: pink in the powder room, green in the family and living rooms, aqua in the master bedroom and little bit of all of those in the guest room. It’s how we bring color to our home but still keep it calm and neutral.
Keep up the great work and educational posts!
I just posted something very similar to this in my blog recently. I realized, thanks to someone’s comment on my bathroom remodel, that our house is a big mix of masculine and feminine, or modern and traditional. I like both styles, so I’m the one that designs every room. But it ends up being a great mesh of both of our interests since he likes the clean, modern look.
I love, love, love your style, you can do my house anytime. However a little comment, you are very lucky in your husband. my husband gives me big wait times just to get a room painted, he is a perfectionist and a procrastinator, and that means I have to wait years to get a room painted but it makes tons of difference. I especially love your bedroom #2. Graphic bed linen is a great way to go.
Hey Janet,
You’re right and I thank my lucky stars for such a wonderful hubby everyday! In fact John has written a post about how to try to coerce a less than enthusiastic husband with a few sly little tricks: https://www.younghouselove.com/email-answer-have-husband-will-decorate/
Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Hi.
I love your house, it reflects similar styling to what our dream house is like. I was just wondering about the flowers in the pebble vase. What kind of flowers are they, and how do you get them to grow like that?
Cheers :)
Hey April,
They’re actually paperwhites. Check out this post all about them (with a link at the end with an updated pic): https://www.younghouselove.com/the-perfect-gift-on-the-rocks/
xo,
s
Where did you find all your glass lamps? I love the idea of having a glass lamp that you can fill with various seasonal items, but the only ones I’ve found are from PB and are super expensive. Thanks!
Hey Jennifer F,
They’re from the sadly departed Linens N Things, but perhaps you can find something similar on ebay (or even on overstock.com or walmart.com which also has plenty of affordable options)? We actually made up an entire room by room source list, so in the future if you’re wondering where we snagged something in our house you can look it up by clicking the House Tour link under the header and then clicking the first link on that page that says “room by room source list.” Hope it helps!
xo,
s
I like a lot of the things you guys like. Lots of whites, neutrals, soft blues and greens; natural materials; beach-inspired items; glass lamps; old worn out things. But instead of graphic bedding, I like an all white bed, or a bed decked out in neutrals, and I like patterned curtains, but I also like the simplicity of plain white curtains. Some of the words I would use to describe my decorating style would be casual, cozy, soft, light, country, cottage, beachy, feminine, vintage, farmhouse. I like my home to say “come in, kick your shoes off, and make yourself comfortable”. Your house definitely feels that way to me. I think I could come over to your home and be able to relax and make myself at home. I love your style! :)