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I know there was a thread not too long ago about your style but do you find yourself leaning toward certain themes? Maybe not quite the word I'm looking for but you get the idea.
Lately I feel very drawn to nautical things. For some reason I became very fixated on the idea of working an octopus into something somewhere. When going through shower curtains for my bathroom, I realized most of them had that nautical feel.
If you do have a "theme" or something that you lean toward in your home, what is it? Is it unifying or do you find yourself having different themes in different areas of your home? I was never really into that stuff (I have very simple/plain tastes) so I'm just curious. I don't want to go too overboard---just a touch here or there.
I'm obsessed with linen lately. Love the fabric but so do my cats! Thus, even though I love it, I have to live without it. I think I've always been drawn to a cottage style with coastal overtones. To me, I love the easy feel of cottage furnishings. The type of things where you don't worry about if it gets a ding or a scratch. Of course, I've always been obsessed with white - goes with the whole cottage theme.
I love seashore touches which is rather incongruous for my Colorado home. But my love of seashells stems from my childhood on the beaches in Florida. I keep the shells corralled in an open-shelf blue and white hutch in the dining room. A few seashell throw pillows in the living room in the summertime.
But if you look on my mantle around the corner you'll see a large birchbark canoe, a painting of the Rocky Mountains, some antlers, and a bunch of fake pine boughs. It all makes me happy.
My house would be considered early museum. The wife and I love antiques. She's into furniture, crystal, and clocks. I'm into kerosene lamps, artwork, an old things that are no longer used or made. We make estate sales several times a month. We buy what we believe to be under valued items as well. So far, we've been real fortunate in our buying.
That's my theme! I want people to walk in and think "warm" and "happy." I want to avoid pretentious, sophisticated, and uncomfortable. I'm trying more for casual beachy than coastal, perhaps with a touch of Mediterranean, with lots of colors that are not primary colors. I have mostly various shades of orange with red, yellow and some aqua. I know, some of you are cringing at those colors!
My "theme" is that I am trying to get to the point where everything I have, it's because I love it - not because I already own it or because it was free or inexpensive or whatever. I have to love it. I'm doing pretty well, probably about 60% there, although that calculation may change when I move into my new house, as some things I have now may not work as well there. I do plan a few tweaks though, like painting the currently antique brass base for the coffee table an antique pewter.
Overall, my style is transitional, which allows me to blend everything from art deco to more modern pieces. I don't like things that are too ornate or fussy, but modern is a bit too stark so transitional with some older and some more modern elements is the right midpoint for me.
I guess our theme is "travel." We've both traveled a lot (and continue to do so) and have collected items, including furniture pieces, during our travels. We also both are sentimental and have an artsy side, so we're always drawn to original paintings, cool pottery or glass, that sort of thing.
We love antiques but we also really love texture and color, so our home is full of rich colors (deep turquoise, rich orange, vibrant green, pure blues, gleaming golds, etc.) I want everything to not only LOOK good, but to feel good, and smell good (I love incense as well as scents like moss, eucalyptus, sage, etc.) My husband and I are happiest when we can snuggle down into a deep leather sofa with a beautiful, soft afghan around us and a cup of hot tea or a glass of wine, with the scent from a cone of incense wafting through the air, the warm circle of light from an interesting lamp at our side, and a great history book in our hands. Throw in some soft folk music in the background (from the US or Europe or even South America) and it's even better.
My style is mid century modern, my house started out semi-Colonial. So what I have and what I want are two different things.
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