What Do YOU Really Love?

I think all of us creative types love to look at pretty images. I know with the internet and blogging we are inundated with an abundance of beautiful rooms.

Sometimes I think it might confuse us to what we really love, because we see so many images of different styles, and different colors that we really love, but we would not put them “ALL” in our rooms.

Most of us are probably pretty eclectic in our style. We gravitate towards more than just one style. I know for myself it would be hard to pin-point just one style or word to describe what my home reflects.

I think that is what makes a home interesting. If it has a nice mix it will have the homeowners personality. If it is one style or a copied vignette from a showroom, it will lack soul or personality.

In my years of consulting with clients I developed an exercise that would help me analyze what direction or style to take them towards in making their house a home that they would love.

One of the exercises I would have them do was to clip images from design magazines that they loved. I just wanted them to go with their first impression, and what they  were drawn too by the picture. After they had several images I would go over each image with them ,and begin analyzing what it was in each image that drew them in.

Each picture would evoke some kind of feeling or emotion. I would keep track of what they said and when we were done with that exercise I would have a very good idea of what this homeowner needed in their home to give their home it’s own personal style.

We have all heard of Pinterest!! It is a  very good way of clipping and saving images that speak to us in one way or the other.

I have several boards that I have pinned images on. I have one board in particular where I put what I call my, “All time Favorites!”

This is very much like what I  had my clients do for years with images from magazines.

I thought it might be fun for me, and hopefully for you to go through some of my all time favorites to see what design elements speak to me………

 I am showing you this image first! Why? Because I really love this, in fact I have pinned it three different times here and once in my own picture files. There is nothing here that I don’t love. Here is the list of words I would write down if my client showed me this image:

• Black and white (high contrast)
• Lots of light
• Natural elements with plants or florals
• Textures with baskets
• Simplicity
• Lantern hanging fixtures
• Stripes in flooring and roman shade

Remember I am keeping track so I can analyze what my client will require in her home in order for her to love it.

 

• Clean
• Crisp
• white
• order
• reflective surfaces
• charm
• vintage
• lantern type hanging fixture
• plant for touch of life and greenery

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This is another image that I have saved several times in my own personal photo files.

• Warmth with wood
• black and white contrast
• real flowers and foliage for life and the color green
• lots of light
• vintage pieces
• blue
• symmetry
• cottage charm
• checks

• black and white contrast
• natural elements with flowers adding pops of green
• warmth with wood
• lots of light
• charm
• simple, clean, uncluttered

• contrast of black and white
• texture with baskets
• vintage pieces
• live plants to add life and pops of green
• charm
• lanterns
• stripes

 

• crisp white open and airy
• live florals to bring in green
• lots of light
• lantern type light fixture
• warmth with wood
• vintage and antique pieces

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• contrast with white
• symmetry
• green with plants
• lantern type fixtures
• stripes

 

• Contrast with white
• painted green cabinet
• green in florals
• warmth with wood
• texture with baskets
• stripes in rug
• checks

• contrast with white
• Green in cabinet and tile
• live plants
• crisp,clean, airy
• stripes in tile work and towels

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• Lots of light
• black and white contrast
• green with fruit and outside views
• vintage charm

This is just a sampling of the images I have saved as my favorites. You can see that there is a consistency in what I have chosen.
Shall we go through the list of words that describe the feel and requirements I will need to have in my home in order to make it my own personal taste?

• Lots of light
• crisp, clean, airy
• contrast with white
• black and white
• live plants/flowers for life
• Reflective surfaces for light
• colors: black and white, green and blues
• texture with baskets
• warmth with some wood
• lighting vintage and lanterns
• symmetry and order
• checks and stripes
• mix of vintage,antiques and new

This is the list of what I require in my home in a nutshell. See how easy it is when you line-up images and you analyze what elements you love in the image.

A consistent list will occur right before your eyes.
I hope this little exercise will help you in your own journey of discovering what you need in your own home to make it your own personal style.

Design is an ever evolving process that can take years. Our taste will also evolve, but  and I do mean, BUT, always stay true to who you are and try not to fall into the pit of  trend-land. If you maintain a look that you love you will be able to evolve over the years by simply tweaking and adding a few  new pieces now and then. Remember what I always say.......

...............“Enjoy the Process” Of:

Discovering your own personal style!

Kathysue

Being Authentic To Who YOU Are!!

Being authentic!!! Wow that is a hard one to pin down sometimes. I like to think at the age that I am I know how to be my authentic self as a person. I am talking about being authentic in a particular area of your life.  I am talking about being authentic on our blogs.

You know, what we write about, and how we write about it. When I posed the question, “Would you continue writing your blog if you never got any comments?” I got so many comments and opinions. One comment that came towards the end really struck a cord with me. My reader wrote this:

You posed a very interesting question about blogging and one that I often ask myself. I would continue blogging without comments as I started the blog to document my journey as a designer. I then got some mentions from other blogs which generated more readers which (perhaps weirdly) made me feel a lot of pressure to tailor my posts more to the people who were now visiting my blog, which felt inauthentic and however hard I tried my readership didn't increase which was disheartening. I now write for me, document my designs and the things that really inspire me and think less about what people may want and try to have a more authentic voice. Having said that I really enjoy comments that I do get and value each and every one.
Great post to make us think!

Here is a blogger that  was briefly caught in the trap of trying to figure out what her readers wanted. As she wrote more of what she thought they would like to read, she got further away from her authentic self. I was glad to hear that she went back to being a designer on a journey, and she is sharing her journey with her readers on her terms.

How many of us have been caught in the trappings of wanting more readership, and we try to tailor our blog post to what we think the readers out there want, or at least what we think they want. You know how uneasy you feel when you do that. That is because You and I are not being our authentic self.

We happen to read a blog post, and we see a great response so we think, maybe I should write a post like this? We try to write a post like the popular post and it falls flat. We don’t enjoy writing, or researching for it, and to our dismay there is very little response from our readers in the form of comments.

When I thought about writing this very post, I thought to myself, that this is probably not a post that my readers will enjoy, and yet I find myself writing it anyhow.

You see I am being my authentic self here. I love design! I love talking about design and reading about design. I also love fashion as you have read in my last couple of posts. I also love to know what makes people tick, including myself. So from time to time I will be writing a piece like this that will make me think, and hopefully will make, you, my reader think also.

After reading the comment that my reader left me. I had to be honest with myself, and realize that I am not always my authentic self when it comes to writing my blog. Sometimes I will put a post up that I feel is a bit lack luster and less inspiring than I would like it to be.

There have been other times I write about a subject that I think might be a bit controversial or that my readers might not accept. I have done this many times and I have hesitated, and when I finally write it  the response has always been a positive one.

I realize we as blog authors can not always write an inspiring post, but we must always be our authentic selves, even if it is just a few words describing something that inspired us.

Life is a gift and we each have our very own life to live and no one else can do that for us. Why would we rob ourselves of our own personal experience of this great life by being inauthentic or not genuine.

There was a lesson for me in this comment and I had to share it with you all. Whether I am writing a blog post or a comment on another blogger, I am going to try my hardest to be my authentic self.

I pose this question to myself and to you all:

Is my blog representing who I am. Am I using my own voice in what I am writing? Has my blog evolved into the blog that I hoped it would be?

Hard questions to answer, but I feel these are very important questions we should ask ourselves as we continue to spend the time and energy that it takes to write a blog.

Blogging has been a wonderful and sometimes mysterious journey for me, but I am always learning, and I am inspired by all of you. I am inspired by your creativity, your writing and your comments. I hope I can continue to be my authentic self, and you will allow me to be a part of your day by reading my blog.

Thank you for making this a wonderful journey 

Kathysue Is:

“Enjoying the Process of Blogging, very much!”

Seeing Fashion Through Different Eyes!!

When you are young and thin it is so much easier to find clothing that fits, and looks good on you, than when you get my age and my size, ugh!!!

The other day I was looking at some fun fashion blogs and I found myself saying., "If I were thinner, If I were younger, If I were taller." You know those messages that play over and over in our heads, and either they paralyze us from moving forward or they stop us from even trying anymore.

Well, I don’t like being in that frame of mind so I made myself look at some cute young thing dressed in some very stylish outfits and I said to my self. “Self you should not wear a mini skirt, but what else could you substitute in its place?” I started looking at these darling fashions with optimism instead of a woe is me attitude. 

It was amazing how my attitude changed and how inspired I became.
I am going to show you a few of the images, and then I will tell you what I would change that would be more appropriate, and frankly just more, “ME!”


In fact over on my Pinterest boards I have a whole board for these types of looks that I call….. “Looks to make my way.”

Source: atlantic-pacific.blogspot.com via Kathy Sue on Pinterest

I think it is probably pretty obvious I won’t be wearing a pair of white mini shorts!!!  However I will wear a pair of white walking shorts or a pair of white jeans. I love everything on the top half of this outfit. The flower is way to much for my taste, but the rest I could totally wear. I would have to go for a pair of  neutral flats instead of heels, but that is totally doable.

By looking at this outfit from a different perspective I can study it and see what can work for me.

I am hear to tell you that on another day with another mood I would have totally skipped over this because of the mini shorts and the heels alone.

That really goes to show me that perspective and attitude is key in my success to having fun with my wardrobe at my age.

Let’s look at some more……..

Source: popcultureafternoon.blogspot.com via Kathy Sue on Pinterest

I think anyone could wear this outfit. What I liked about this outfit was the color combination. Since I am not tall I think I would probably have to wear  a more fitted open weave sweater, but other than that I think I could totally pull this off.

One of the outstanding elements in this outfit is the purse and the necklace. Love the strands of jumbled pearls and the bright clutch. I have plenty of pearls to work with. I now need to find a bright oversized clutch. I also love the large chain bracelet. Hmmmm? I wonder if I could wear turquoise nail polish? Maybe on my toes!!! See how this attitude works? I am on a roll.

Source: popcultureafternoon.blogspot.com via Kathy Sue on Pinterest

When I look at this outfit with my new found attitude and perspective. I see that  I really love the brights with the neutral of the animal print. I also notice that she ties it together with a neutral bag. 

I could do this easily. I probably won’t be wearing tight skinny jeans, but I am sure I can wear a pair of colored jeans and a bright t-shirt with a touch of an animal print sweater with neutral shoes and purse. Why not?!!!

Shall we try one more outfit on for size and style??……

Source: atlantic-pacific.blogspot.com via Kathy Sue on Pinterest

That is my JCrew navy checked shirt!!!! No red mini skirt in my future, but check out the cute trench-vest and red belt!! I would wear this with my white jeans or blue jeans in a heartbeat!!! In fact I can, because I ordered this trench vest from Urban outfitters. If I had looked at this with my old grumpy attitude I would have totally missed out on a fun and cute new piece to add to my wardrobe. Here are a couple of other looks with the same trench-vest.(Just found out this vest is on sale now!!! Was $79, I paid $59 now it is on sale for $39.99 HERE!!)

Source: popcultureafternoon.blogspot.com via Kathy Sue on Pinterest

Switch it up and wear it with creams and neutrals. I have a leather belt! I can do this with a cream top and bottom. I could wear my leopard flats instead of the leopard clutch. I can totally get the same look with a touches of , “ME” in there.

Source: atlantic-pacific.blogspot.com via Kathy Sue on Pinterest

There is a lot going on in this outfit. Let’s see which ones can I use.

A neutral striped tank with a denim blouse and a cute scarf that picks up the colors. I can totally do that. Darker khaki walking shorts, sure why not?!! Brown leather belt, I have one!! Stacked gold bracelets, I have plenty of those. I need that large bronze chain. I need to add that to my shopping list.

See how it all works?!!

Source: lookbook.nu via Kathy Sue on Pinterest

Other than the heels in this image I can wear it all!!! It looks as if my new trench vest is going to be a fun new piece for me to wear.

One thing I am noticing in all of the above images is the great use of accessories. It is just like building a well designed room. Get a good base going and then add to it with accessories in varying shapes and textures.
I need to look for a few things to add to my wardrobe. Who knows maybe if I look in my existing jewelry box I might already have it!!!


Now I am totally inspired!! I am now on the hunt for:

• brightly colored over sized clutch
• large chain necklace and bracelet
• medium width red belt.
• blue denim shirt
• neutral flats

These are just a few of the looks that inspired me when I started looking at fashion through more positive and creative eyes.


How about you all, do you find yourself discouraged by what you see out there in the market place? Try this little exercise and pick out an image of an outfit that you are attracted too and tweak it to fit your needs like I did.

“Enjoy the Process” Of:

Looking at clothing with a whole new mindset of being positive and creative. Tweak it to fit your needs and body type.

Kathysue

BTW: If you would like to see the other outfits that I am trying to make my way you can visit my Pinterest board HERE!