How To Get Back To YOUR Design Roots

 

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In my years of consulting I use to ask my clients specific questions while having a conversation with them about their home.

While I listened I would pick up on what I would call,“Buzz Words.”

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These were words that they would repeat unknowingly in our conversation that would give me clues to what  the elements, and the feeling they needed to have in their home.

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Basically I was getting down to their design roots for their home.

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Since I am working on my very own home I felt like I needed to give myself a consultation.

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I was losing my way a little bit in my family room re-do. This is a very easy thing to do when we have so much available to us in the design world.

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We are all inundated with so many visual images that entice us that sometimes we go astray.

It is so important to stay true to who you are, and try not to be swayed. When doing this exercise on yourself, you have to be completely honest with yourself or it won’t work.

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It was time for me to get back to my design roots so I marched right over to Pinterest where I have been pinning images that are pleasing to my eye.

Yesterday I spent quite a bit of time going back to my own design roots so to speak. 

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I made copies of the images that were some of my all time favorites. You are seeing a sampling of them throughout this post.

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Under each picture I wrote what I liked and disliked in the image. It is just as important to realize what you don’t like as much as what you do like.

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I then went back and wrote down all of my own personal buzz words. 

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These are elements, and the feeling a room must have for me to feel like it will meet my needs for a well designed room in my own personal home:

Results:

• Light and bright
• Uncluttered
• Clean lines
• Fresh and Crisp
• Patterns  in geometrics, stripes or checks but very few checks
• High contrast in some elements
• Not to matchy or contrived

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Next I wrote down a list of elements, and how many times they were repeated in the images I was using. This helped me to see the importance of each element.

ELEMENTS:

1. Black urns 2
2. Green 2
3. Black lampshades 3
4. Black spool chairs 3
5. Greek Key motif 3
6. White gourd or urn lamps 5
7. Framed coffee table 5
8. Basket 5
9. Large bright artwork 5
10. Touches of Blue 7
11. Two Patterns 7
12. Lanterns 8
13. Trimmed out furniture pieces 10
14. Blue striped or plaid rug 10
15. Green plants 12
16. Black and White 13

I found this list to be very interesting. I learned a few things about myself…….

There needs to be touches of black and white in the room, for high contrast.

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I seem to like a blue and white striped or plaid rug.

 (This was a big surprise because I was recently telling someone I don’t like plaid fabric for my family room. Apparently I enjoy a mega plaid on the floor.)

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Most of the green found in my rooms were in the form of live plants and flowers.

I also realized that I have to have lanterns and brightly colored artwork.

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One of the many reasons I love the design world is we are constantly on the learning curve.

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I hope this little exercise I did for myself can help you all in any future decorating projects.

The one crucial detail I have to emphasize is to be perfectly, openly honest with yourself. 

Try not to think about any particular project, just clip the pictures that speak to you for any reason and then analyze what you like or dislike about them..

Here’s to honest, back to your roots decorating!!!

I am participating in.....