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“I believe in living in a house and letting it give you answers. You don’t have to put it all together at once.
Warning: Keep this post out of the hands of husbands who might use it to detain your progress with the decorating of your home.
When Mr. B and I bought our first house I wanted it furnished with what I thought, at the time, was our style. I wanted every room to be pretty and furnished. So, we searched and purchased, as our budget would allow, and had each of the 3 bedrooms and living areas “decorated” for living. Or so we thought. As time went by we realized we should have bought a single larger sofa since the two love seats didn’t really work with our family and entertaining needs. They took up space that could have offered additional seating beyond a two-person sofa. I settled for stuff I later regretted purchasing. Some of this was the inexperience of my 23 years and some was trying to blend our newlywed tastes. Note: Mr. B, a long time ago, decided to leave most of the design decisions to me. He’s such a wise man!
Anyway, I learned the hard way how to go about furnishing a home, which seems to have been my MO for many years. Once I figured out that when you move into a home, it’s advisable to let the house give you its clues about what you and the house need to do to create the comfort and livability that we all long for. It took me a couple of houses to realize that by holding off on purchasing ANYTHING that was a make-do piece, and that by saving my money and waiting for what my heart desired, was so much better.
So, I’m sharing rooms from my home and those that I drew inspiration from in decorating our house.
the foyer:
Our foyer isn’t large but the wall you see here separates it from the long entry hall.
the master bedroom:
The wall color will be changed this summer, should I go with a light color or the darker walls in the first bedroom above? Our bed is only about 8 years old, when we bought a new mattress and box spring we decided to switch to a queen from a king. I like the fact that the bed has side rails and doesn’t require a dust ruffle, which when we had a dust ruffle on our old bed, attracted dust bunnies and doggie hair. [This is a true confession moment]
the dining room:
The dining room in our home used to be the living room, for that story visit HERE. The dining room table is the very first dining room table we purchased in 1980. We had it refinished last year, but I still love the overall design. the Windsor chairs were bought 25 years ago from an antique store that imported them from Ipswich…I love that story being an Anglophile!
the guest room:
The story of how I finally got my blue and white guest room is HERE. This picture was taken before the small pillows had been changed to a RL blue and white stripe. The furnishings in this room have traveled with us for years. The nightstand on the right is an antique, the nightstand on the left (which I realize isn’t very visible) was from a consignment store.
the family room:
The Carol Glasser room [above our family room image] was the inspiration for the red and cream checked sofa. Our walls were red when I made this upholstery decision and now I would like a solid fabric sofa…I can be patient, that’s the point of this post.
the reading room:
The loveseat is one of the pair we first purchased. It’s been recovered and restyled but it’s a well-made sofa and has served us well. The other one was given to our oldest son for his first apartment, I believe he sold it on craigslist when he married. So that’s the tour, we haven’t purchased a piece of furniture in years, the decisions we made early on taught us to buy what we love…not an original idea but on that works.
Tell me, did you have a similar experience in furnishing your home or did you know immediately what you wanted/needed and voila!?
Kelly - Talk of the House said:
Such good advice in your post today Karen! When I was a twenty-something I was not very patient and wanted it all “decorated” and unfortunately wanted it all done with what was in style at the time. Double negative. Man I wish I had known then what I know now about waiting, choosing what works in the room, choosing what will last with time….would have saved a lot of money! Your rooms are lovely and you can certainly see how your inspiration photos inspired your choices. We haven’t bought any furniture for us in years, but I just rearranged the study this weekend and now have room for an armchair. So I am on the hunt for a good one to go in there.
Karen B. said:
Kelly, That is one of my favorite ‘go to’ re-decorating moves (rearranging/re-purposing existing items). It seems like it gives me the lift I need from time to time, and costs nothing. I’m with you, I don’t spend too much time regretting those early days, but we could have saved lots had I been patient in those early years! Ahhh, life’s learning curve, right? 😀 Karen
Victoria • Restoring our Victorian said:
That’s the one good thing about this house being BARELY livable for so long… I didn’t buy anything that I wasn’t absolutely in LOVE with. Only things I HAD to have.
As you know, I am a TOTAL craigslist addict, and for the first two years we were here, I just stocked and hoarded stuff… storing it in the garage (which Paul loved) until a spot in the house was available.
I can’t say I did a good job of buying anything practical. I cringe when my 6’ 5 brothers sit on my Eastlake dining room chairs… Paul says it’s like living in a museum where you’re not supposed to touch anything. (At least he knows the rules.)
All these photos are extra gorgeous! I always get a handful of new inspiration pins from you, but I think all of these are going on my Pinterest boards!!
Karen B. said:
Ha,ha,ha. Yes, men somehow always like to point out our stuff invading their space, but their stuff is “necessary”. You are the reigning queen of Craigslist in my book. Hey, at least when you buy you are getting a museum piece at Pier I prices! My early stuff was from a store, kind of the Ikea of the day, called Akron. There were a couple of treasures I’m sorry I got rid of but for the most part, those early items fell apart after a year or so. Thanks for the Pinterest pins. Karen
julie ~ eab designs said:
Love the photo of the bedroom with the dark walls. I’m actually considering adding dark walls to our bedroom as well. Smiled about your dust ruffle comment, as we recently switched from a king to queen as well, with side rails. I love it so much better. ( Plus, I’m not tempted to store anything under the bed!)
Karen B. said:
😀 So true, it’s great when a bed keeps us organized. I don’t miss the dust ruffle, it was always askew and the doggie dust bunnies were an issue. Thanks for stopping by. Karen
around the table said:
LOVE the blue and white guest room;) Great advice here! We all rush to decorate at first. I regret making quick purchases over the years without fully thinking things out. It’s tough when you are first starting out because your budget is limited and sometimes we can’t afford to hire help (that was me!) .. so I would kind of piece meal things together. Now that the kids are grown I’m starting all over again.
xxleslie
Karen B. said:
Leslie, I think that’s my favorite thing about growing more mature (read: aging) is the wisdom of our small errors we made along the way. Maybe it’s a necessary step but hindsight is sure 20-20, isn’t it? xo, Karen
Linda Coble said:
Karen,
I loved that quote the moment I saw it and I try to live by it every day. As a newlywed, I made many of the same mistakes you did. Now, as a retiree, i have to be much more careful about the money I spend on decorating and as a result, my purchases are more well thought out.
I like the idea of darker walls in your master bedroom. Since you switched from a king sized bed to a queen, the room looks larger already so I don’t think that using a darker paint on the walls would be a problem.
Wonderful post!
Karen B. said:
Linda, Thanks for the vote on paint color for the bedroom. It’s 3 dark / 0 light. Now the only problem is finding a dark color that I love. Karen
Loi - Tone on Tone said:
Hi, Karen –
Enjoyed the tour of your beautiful home and learning about the pieces. I love your Windsor chairs. I had a similar set last year. And, yes, I buy what I love, too. Both for our home and for the store.
xo
Loi
Karen B. said:
Hi Loi, Thank you. You are always an inspiration with your eye for beautiful pieces, I have become more discerning over the years, wish I had started earlier! Karen
Content in a Cottage said:
Karen…
Your home is lovely. Do we ever finish decorating completely? I hope not. It’s so much fun to rearrange things around a new-found treasure. You have wonderful taste and a good eye.
Rosemary
Karen B. said:
Rosemary, I had lunch with my newly married son yesterday and he said he mentioned to Sarah (his wife) that now they had finished the yard and a renovation of the master bath they were in good shape. I laughed and told him a home is never truly finished…he said he is learning that! Thank you for your kind words, it always warms my heart to hear compliments from my blog friends. xo, Karen
debra phillips @ 5th and state said:
dear fellow anglophile,
your home is beautiful karen, cozy and warm. love the inspiration, especially those with the english influences.
YES, wait! that being said, that is sure hard. it’s exciting decorating new homes and i get to live vicariously through my clients. we have been in our home for 22 years and still decorating!
xxxx
debra
Karen B. said:
Debra, Thanks, it’s nice to know we have so much in common! We’ve been in our house 31 years. It’s fun to enjoy the history of living in the same place for such a long time, right? xo, Karen
debby said:
Great advice and it’s all so lovely. I laughed out loud at the disclaimer. Dumb men, they just don’t get the importance of decor! xo
Karen B. said:
Debby, LOL. Hey, we have to laugh at some of the clueless comments made by men (Mr. B. included), but if they knew what we know it might be boring. 😀 Karen
Acquired Objects said:
Karen you did a beautiful job with your home. I have been fair with the husband and let him pick some pieces of furniture, things that haven’t worked well in our home. I was under the impression it was his home too and he should help since he likes decorating….won’t be happening any more! And my tastes have changed over the years a lot so time to give my home a bit of a redo! Love this post.
XXX
Debra~
Karen B. said:
Lol, my tastes have changed over the years too. I guess it’s inevitable if one enjoys “feathering one’s nest” that as styles change, some of what we adore might change too. Mr. B still gets to weigh in on any large purchases, but he’s been okay with me handling the small stuff. Xo, Karen Sent from my iPad
Gretchen said:
Karen, I can’t even begin to list all the mistakes I made in my haste to furnish our first condo. It took me many years to figure out that it was important to buy only what you truly love, it’s worth waiting for!
The pictures of the rooms in your house rivaled the ones by the professionals in the magazines!
Karen B. said:
Gretchen, you are so sweet. I confess, you taught me that valuable lesson about buying what you love years ago and I’ve tried to keep it in practice. Xo, Karen
Sent from my iPad