Your Home Decorating Style?

I was into VICTORIAN and collected antiques for awhile til I decided my house looked like the the waiting room of a funeral parlor. Now I'm into SHABBY CHIC and COTTAGE STYLE (just slap a coat of white paint on EVERYTHING).
I've got a few friends that are into the New York loft INDUSTRIAL look (a little sterile for my taste). Then there are those people I know that can't let go of COUNTRY (cutesy, homemade crafts and shit sitting and hanging everywhere).
What's your style?

and Early American Milk Crate.

Not a style, but it works for us.

"This is some pad you've got here - Decorated in early fuck."
Paul Gleason in "National Lampoon's Van Wilder"

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

Slip covered sofas, pine tables and chairs. Mix and match patterns. Bare hardwood floors during the summer - area rugs in winter. No cutesy stuff. I like to use old ladders as plant stands, tin buckets for magazines and such. I like things that look better with another dent and ding. Most of the wood pieces I bought unfinished. Beat the hell out of them, then stained and final coat low luster varnish.

I have old hardwood floors and embrace anything that is imperfect and has character. I even went dumpster diving and found an old fire screen and endirons that have some rust and dings, I love the way they look and will keep them just the way they are. I hate to walk into a home that looks like it was delivered from a furniture store and set up exactly like it was at the showroom. I had to overcome a long held belief in perfectionism to get to my current decorating style and I love it.

:toast:

we have a love-hate relstionship with all things wood..consequently our "home decor" has been "dueling hodgepodge" for 33 years..

I finally gave up, and now just wage decor war for the things I REALLLLY want.. Right now that is a dusty peach leather sofa.. I plan on just moving more of the "wood stuff" into "his area"...

I won the carpet vs tile war, by just getting a sharp box cutter and physically removing all the carpet in the house myself, hiring a guy to lay the tile, and just doing it before we talked it to death, and I capitulated again and recarpeted.:)

The wallpaper wars were actually won by me (put it all over the place), but eventually lost by proxy... SweetiePie the wallpaper-removing-kitten, has made me re-think the whole issue, so I will probably go back to paint:(

My current project is to dismantle the couch we currently have , and then attempt to make it over myself.. Since it will be "trash dump bound" anyway, it sound like a fun project.. If it turns out looking good, we'll keep it..:)

and "less is more." I like period and modern furniture and things, and throw them together in a neutral setting. I acquired several small collections and rotate them. If you rotate stuff you don't have so much to dust and I think it also looks better.
I'm into rugs (was lucky enough to acquire a few nice Persian ones), and have a small collection of real antique Chinese porcelain, and old silver Bedouin jewellery. And I'm into books - LOTS of books are very decorative. And nice plants and fresh flowers. But the most important part of decorating, in my opinion and experience, is the lighting.

Oh yes, I quite agree about the lighting and that is why I have little lamps all over the place, many of which are stained glass. I love looking into my house when it's dusk on a cool fall evening and I am working out in my garden. I love the warm, amber glow of the little lamps on the mantle; the green/gold art glass lampshade in my office. That and the peculiar fragrance of chrysanthemums really means "fall" to me.

I have an obsession with color banded in white trim. Also, grids. I love squares with everything organized in them. Everywhere you go in my home, you will find these two things.

We have a large living room with a fireplace and presently have two couches facing each other. I really like the couches, which are navy blue with white cording trim, but we are going to replace them with two leather chairs. I'm looking forward to that because I, too, believe that in decorating, "less is more." There is a deck that spans the entire length of the LR and is completely surrounded by bamboo and huge canopy trees behind that. You walk onto this deck through two French doors. Can't see a person, can't see an SUV, can't see a barbecue grill, can't see anything but all that lush green.

I have a bamboo couch and a sisal rug on the deck, surrounded by flowers and ferns. I love to go out there and read my students' papers.

I have a horrible kitchen which is awaiting a complete renovation but all the other rooms of my house are great. I really like our bedroom, which is painted a color called "sugar cookie" and the trim is painted "tea green." The ceiling is white. There is a large French armoire (repro antique) for my clothes and a red Oriental on the floor. Big king bed covered with down and piled high with pillows.

The master bath, off this bedroom, has a walk-in glass brick shower. How I have wanted this, for so long. Finally had it put in last year. With the expense of this walk-in shower, though, which had to be custom-made because it's an odd-size space, I couldn't afford artistic tile so we went with black and white and it looks fantastic! Very art deco.


Cher

and cosy, which is what I'm after. I'm also renovating, early next year. I'm getting a brand-new kitchen, because we're adding to the house.

I'm having two couches reupholstered (haven't chosen the fabric yet), and plan the latest, really nice things for the bathrooms and kitchen, but I've been warned not to go too far, because we might be selling before too long, maybe three, four years, and might not "get the money back."

I'm not sure, but isn't "sugar cookie" a yellow tint?

Your place sounds a lot like ours. Except ours is eclectic with books and cats.

and i never venture into that self-important postmodern stuff, either. I'd rather read the footnotes of pomo philosophy than have to live with its furniture.

Miz t. likes Oriental. Got kind of a Chinesey looking upholstery on the 8 or 9 piece sectional couch. It's is actually one of the old "pit groups"...remember them?...that we got for a couple of hundred bucks at a garage sale 20 years ago. Came in the ever-popular gold crushed velvet. 10 or 12 years ago she spent northwards of a grand and had it reupholstered in the Chinesey print. I think we've gotten our money's worth out of it.;-)

We have a few small pieces of lacquered furniture, lots of Japanese and/or Chinese vases, lions, dragons, lanterns, bric-a-brac. One large chest she covered in a Japanese landscape print silk(?) wallpaper. Looks better than it sounds.

Visitors think it's so cool that I brought all this stuff back from my years of travel in the Orient. Except almost all of it came from discount stores right here.

We had one of those...bought new many, many years ago. Reupholstered twice. I would have tried again but it would have needed to be restuffed. I loved that thing...so comfy. The rest of the room is oak antiquish furniture, some gaudy stuff my husband likes. That sofa some how worked with it...made it all seem so cozy...like having a big bed in the room. I miss it.

Wash the dishes when there's no more clean ones. Sweep the floor when you can't walk around without kicking something into the corner. Wash clothes when that last shirt really does smell bad.

I'm the Queer guy's worst nightmare... I hate haircuts too!

...we 'danced with glee' around the thrift store when we finally found the fluted velvet swag lamps (a matching pair) we have been looking for, forever.

The Tikkis

Early parenting. You know the one......Everything has been slowly moved up, up, up out of the children's reach. All of the walls started out as "Dover White", but are now a rich crayola color. Which one? Well which one do you like? Pick one, they are all there! We started out with a nice cherry livingroom table and the kids tore it apart only for it to be replaced with a train table. Salvador Dali could not have done such an artistic job on our bedroom doors. Oh! And the carpets? They were once a rich eggshell color. Alas, Jimmy Hoffa could be hiding under all of the stains we have tried so desperately to steam clean out! They even decided to fingerpaint our carpet orange at one point! Most people decorate with throw pillows, but we have toys tossed about accenting those wonderful crayola designs. I could go on and on but I think you get the picture!

Christina

Treasure every moment. They grow up so fast...

...you'll miss it all when they are grown! When my daughter learned to write her address for the first time she was so excited that she wanted to surprise me. She wrote our address with black magic marker, nice and big, on the white front door. She was so proud of herself that I couldn't possibly get mad. I kept it there for a very long time.

I'm sure the neighbors were totally charmed, and anyone who drove by, too.

Reminds me of when I played "checkbook" when I was a child. I got out my dad's business checkbook and wrote out tons of checks. Went into his check stub and changed all the numbers. I will never forget the explanation of why "checkbook" wasn't a "game."


Cher

Welcome to DU!

:toast:

I am completely devoid of any kind of style and my apartment shows it.

Nice clean lines. Dark woods. None of this crazy color. White fabrics.

crackerbox wooden house my father built 60 years ago. My dad has been dead for 40 years and the place has not been cared for. My mother didn't want anything to show dirt, so every darn thing in the house was the color of dirt! Little wooden bookcases painted chocolate brown, etc. Felt like a dark cave in here. She raised 7 children, so I can sympathize with her philosophy. However, our children are grown and we slapped a coat of white paint on everything and it looks beautiful. Many of our things are dark wood and they look great in contrast.I like the dinged-up look, but have not dinged anything up on purpose.

with amusing touches of Litter Box Chic...

with touches of New Sloth.

My living room walls is a pale yellow with a rose stenciling. I have a blue sofa set with multicolored flowers, but mostly yellow roses. My dining room has a large queen anne style (handpainted cream by me with pink roses stenciled on) and chairs to match. The dining room and hall walls are rose colored. My kitchen is white with again, lost of blue and rose.
Okay, I admit it. I'm feminine. I love girly things. I have lace curtains, lots of flowery things, and even...gasp...some doilies on the mantle. My room also has flowery curtains and a big wrought iron bed. However, my boys' room is bright blue and Buzzlightyear themed. I'm not cruel. However, I do get my fair dose of testosterone in my house, so I have to have a my special girly things.

Sarah

With a little Victorian clutter thrown in...

I shop at Yard Sales and discount places a lot. I have some interesting, eclectic pieces mixed in with mission and modern. My colors are burgundy, gold, and greeen in the living area, greens throughout the rest of the house with golds and burgundy as secondary colors. My bathroom is sunny yellow.

I am in the process of changing colors in a few rooms-trying some painting techniques. I love to decorate!

a sort of Japanese look, simple and quiet-looking with a lot of natural materials and browns and neutrals. My husband likes mid-century modern, and we both love going to antique stores and flea markets, so we have combined these things.

Living Room: Contemporary with a lighthouse/seaside theme in artwork and nic-nacs.

Master Bathroom: Ihilani Resort

Guest Room: Unfinished
Guest Bath: Unfinished
Office: Plain. Ikea-like. (It's difficult to make 6 PC's look stylish.)

Kitchen: Unfinished... eventually a contemporary "country" look.

Wall-mounted oil lamps (kerosene lamps) in every room. Decorative when not in use... and after hurricane Isabel, they proved to be VERY VERY useful.

-- Allen

Artistic clutter might be the most polite term.

Far too many books and bookcases. All the strangest paintings and art objects we could find at science fiction conventions or spot languishing at yard sales. A hodgepodge of furniture acquired here and there or passed on to us by other people. The rugs and curtains which were in the house when we bought it, which are boring but I've got more interesting things to do than worry about replacing them.

My ideal home might be arts and crafts eclectic, but I doubt I'm ever going to get there.

I have a giant framed punk Barbie poster over the southwestern patterned red/green/tan couch. A collection of penis related objects on a shelf - things like a wind up hopping penis, a container of "Dic-Tacs," a can of "Spotted Dick," and other unusual items people give me. Also a framed court summons from an 80's anti nuke protest when I was arrested as "Karen Silkwood," on the anniversary of her death.

Earthtones, rustic wood, iron, copper, native american art style

My study--Old English classic--green and brown and ochre

My partner's study-- superhero-- white walls, blue carpet, shelves upon shelves of collectibles (inclusive of complete Bowen minibust collection...)

We finally mastered color washing and knockdown effect w/ stucco.

Just painted the outside of our house today-- earth brown/yellow mix with white trim (Had been light gray/darkgray)

BTW-- We love Changing Rooms! (Trading Spaces is a pale comparison)

Go Linda Barker, Anna, Laurence, etc.:7

Family furniture from the 20s and 30s, dark pine country stuff and some antiques.

Now, we're remodeling the bathroom and will finally be installing a claw foot tub we bought (refurbished) 20 years ago. Old style stuff makes me feel comnfortable.

I love 40s furniture and especially like 40s barkcloth fabric <sigh>.

I'm wild for shopping at thrift stores to find vintage things like 40s and 50s tablecloths, restaurant dishes, kitchen utensils. And also cheap books. I've also found 1/2 dozen neat original panitings at the thrifts. Every so often, you find some little watercolor or acrylic and they're so inexpensive. It's worth getting grungy to have the thrill of the hunt.

Not to mention the DVD collection, but at least that isn't X-rated...

...just trying to get a feel for your living arrangment. If this is too personal, feel free to ignore the question.

with an additional styling of late-era Dust and Clutter.

So I have given up space for peace. We have argued endlessly but he is such a GREAT decorator and he can go to a 2nd hand store and come away with the BEST BUYS...how can I argue? One day he calls me at the office and says..I saw the greatest lamp at the 2nd hand store and they are only asking $15.00 for it, come home NOW and bring me $15.00 since he had no cash on hand and at the time only I had a vehicle. I said when I get off work I will drive by and if it hits my fancy I will buy it. Of course he thought it would be gone by then. I did as I promised and went to the 2nd hand shop and saw the lamp and picked it up and bought it. WOW! It is from the 20's I am sure. In fact the movie 'Buggsy' has the exact lamp! It could be from the movie or the movie made a repro. It has a glass 'lamp' with mother of pearl designs and has three 'legs' holding up the 'lamp' with very neuvo female figures. I got there just in time, because a man who saw me with the lamp said...where did you get that from, and I simply said..from the lamp display...I am sure I could get a couple hundred if sold to a collector!!

This is what my house is packed with...very good, some expensive antiques and or repros bought at a 2nd hand stores.

But I LOVE SPACE and would sell every peice to get my space back!!!

I live in a wood cabin, so I do lots of wrought iron and American INdian art, lots of wood, pottery, etc.

My walking stick collection is my proudest display.

I'm more into old looking panelling and that kind of thing

everywhere, but with lots of old things around. Butter Churn from hubbies family with a plant on top, old sea captains chest found in Conn. years ago, but mix oak, pine and cherry. Windsor chairs, Queen Anne and trestle pine. Wing chairs mostly... Ijust like them. Have recovered some myself and refinished lots over the years. And refinished stuff from relatives attics, plus bought new things which fit in. I like things from the past and new things, if they are practical. Have to have indoor plants, too. Also like farm things. Have an old earth sifter on wall as art work. Like Audubon bird prints and Floral Prints if they are old.

Country Formal maybe describes it. But I cant' stand for people not to be comfortable so if it requires fuss to keep it up, it won't be in my house.

Cottage look is next favorite. Simplicity.

....I'm struck with how very fortunate we Americans are. How fortunate to be able to think about style v. the simple survival so many people around the world face. (And, indeed, even in our own country.)

My niece goes to Romania on church missions, to help villagers buy cows and build bakeries and that sort of thing so they can progress economically. She tells me that no home that she saw in the cities or out in the villages had bed rooms. No separate rooms for sleeping. A room with the dining table would have beds in it, too. And walls in the same room lined with trunks and crates stacked to the ceiling for storage.

And of course, those people are the lucky ones, with roofs over their heads. So, so many human beings are without shelter.

I'm not writing this to be a downer or to make anyone feel bad about what they have. I just thought we should all consider how very, very fortunate we are.

America is not 'blessed' because this is truly a zero end game. What we have is the result of what 'they' do not have. I believe we cannot continue to consume the worlds resources as we have in the past that the results will return to force us to pay the REAL price of what we consume as a nation? Only we are not aware of nor do we even consider the REAL price of this consumption? Sad but true!

its like discussing gourmet cooking when some people are starving in the world...

This doesn't mean we should necessarily feel guilty - but certainly we should consider in the big picture. I know your post made me feel lucky to have a one bedroom condo all to myself, with very little decoration.

in or have something that they enjoy around. I've seen people who have everything not care about anything, and I've seen people with nothing, draw a picture and put it on the wall, or bring a dandelion in an put it in a tin can because it gave them pleasure.

You don't know the circumstances of anyone who has posted on this thread. And, the fact that we are here, shows we have great compassion for our fellow man and are doing whatever we can to help and share.

This is hardly a Decorating Magazine site. And this hasn't been posted in GD. Why shouldn't people in the lounge talk about what they like.....there's certainly enough about sex and funnies....why doesn't that bother you like this thread?

:shrug:

I didn't say it bothered me to talk about style. I said WHILE we are talking about style we could reflect for a moment on our blessings. I love HGTV as much as anyone. I've had the 16-room victorian house, the Nordstrom account, the Volvo, the big parties, the social status. And I enjoyed every minute of it. I was really fortunate.

We are SO lucky, even those who have just one room.

I suspect that some DU-ers are an eyeblink away from having no home. Some probably have been homeless. Many are suffering from unemployment and George's economy. I hope we're thinking about them, too. (WWPWD?)

All that said, my friend who has a home decor/antique store said that shabby chic is on the way out. Most of her customers are looking for painted pieces that are black lacquer or brighter colors. She had a lot of French stuff and says that is still selling well (despite the so-called boycott of French things). I am a dealer in vintage paper items, so I'm always keeping an eye on the decorating trends.

As far as personal taste goes, lately my interest has been drawn to abstract art -- especially Kandinsky. I'm sort of looking for a print that will go with blue-black-putty-leaf green decor. Everything in my dwelling is thrift-shop finds except draperies and rods. And gee, it's fun.

There is an excellent photo book called "Material World" that came out several years ago. Unfortunately I can't remember the name of the photographer.

Basically, he travelled around the world, identifying a "typical" family in a variety of countries, and photographed them with ALL of their possessions on the outside of their homes. That is, they emptied their homes and arranged everything they owned in front, posing with their belongings.

Oddly enough, the U.S. family didn't have the most possessions (although they were close, and prominently featured their Bible in the front of the photo) -- I think it was the Kuwaiti family that had the most "stuff". The Japanese family was up there, too. Some families only had a set of bowls in front of a hut, others had some sparse furniture in front of a modest home. And interestingly, all seemed to convey a sense of pride in their homes and conditions. I never got a sense of sadness or misery from the images.

It was a fascinating book.

Edit: Found it Material World: A Global Family Portait by Peter Menzel.

Some of the photos can be found here.

Action figures (the good ones that come with the nifty bases, like the Star Wars Unleashed and Marvel Legends series of figures), anime and video game wall scrolls, and all furniture centered around either the TV or the computer.