A Random Break from the Norm: Interior Design Dreams

Sometimes when I have things to think about or do that I don’t want to do or think about I end up working really hard at distracting myself. I know it’s not the best thing to do, but honestly, sometimes it actually proves to be a good coping mechanism – sometimes something that I wasn’t able to handle becomes much easier to handle after I’ve put it off and let my subconscious mull over it for a while.

So lately I’ve been engaging in two main forms of distraction. The first is reading, as you may have picked up on by the fact that I read all four of the Twilight series books in 5 days. I also recently finished The Starfish and the Spider(review to come soon), and The Story of the Other Wise Man. I’m now onto reading Outliers by Malcolm Gladwellas well as a book on prayer and I’m considering starting Crime and Punishmenttonight (I’m hesitating though because I’ve never liked Russian novels much, I think it’s partly because they are so depressing and when you get as absorbed in the characters of stories as I do depressing can really eat at you). Anyway...

The second distraction lately has been design, style and craft type blogs – a bit of a shift from my normal theology and ecclesiology heavy reading. But, I am a women and a wife and I do enjoy sometimes embracing the Martha Stewart side of me, well, maybe not really Martha Stewart, but there is a side of me that wants to decorate a beautiful home that welcomes people and makes them feel comfortable and a side of me that wants to set an elaborate table and cook yummy treats and, yes, even though I hate shopping, and cloths are not at all my thing, there’s still a side of me that would love to dress up in some beautiful designer gown sometime. So, lately I’ve been distracting myself with that sort of thing, particularly with dreams about how I would decorate my dream home if I had the money, time or space.

So, as a tip of my hat to that side of me, here are just a few things I’m really enjoying right now:

 

I found this picture on the blog coco+Kelley (a site that in and of itself is on my list of things I’m really enjoying right now). I love the exposed brick on the walls and the big windows with white flowing curtains. I also really like the stand alone bath tub – although I think I would prefer one with legs – I’ve always wanted an old fashioned stand alone tub. I don’t like the antlers in the picture though – it makes it a bit too rustic for my taste.

 

I found these two on a blog called Absolutely Beautiful Things – I love the eclectic feel of the mismatched chairs that color coordinate. The pink is not really my thing but I still really like the over all look. I also love the built in book shelves in the living room.

  

This is also from Absolutely Beautiful Things. I really love the two different antique mirrors, but I think the sink has a bit too much of a country feel for me.

     

I am realizing more and more that I really like a lot of white – different shades of white and off white and light grey and cream – LOVE it! I think it’s just that it’s really calming and crisp feeling and I need calming clean, balancing influences in my chaotic mind. The first few pictures above are from Absolutely Beautiful Things, the last from City Sage.

 

This picture is from City Sage. I really like the different mix matched hooks on the wall of this entry way – also love the black door against the white walls. I’m starting to notice that I really like eclectic mix matched combinations – too bad I usually wouldn’t have the courage to try out something mix matched in my house… I think I need to get more adventurous in my decorating.

  

So, one of my problems with decorating is that I love whites and light colors but I also love things like the pictures above – deep rich dark colors with lots of cooling, calming effects, but also lots of contrast. I can never decide, plus I definitely don't think I have the courage to go this dark... though I do sometimes dream of dark blue walls and white bedding in a bed room. The first picture is from City Sage and I found the second picture on coco+kelley. I love the deep blues and crystals whites in both of these dining rooms – makes me think of the night sky – very peaceful.

 

Honestly I’ve never liked crystal or chandeliers much but lately I totally want one. This picture is also from coco+Kelley.

 

I’ve never liked yellow or orange much, but I like this dining room – it just seems like the kind of place where people would want to hang out and laugh and talk and party. And I think the colors of these flowers against the white are really beautiful. Found these on coco+Kelley and Absolutely Beautiful Things.

   

Seriously, ever since I was a little girl I wanted to have floor to ceiling book shelves (preferably with a sliding ladder). These one’s are from Diane Bergeron.

Ok, so I think that’s enough of this random tangent for one day. Like I said probably not the best use of my time, but oh, well. Hope you enjoyed.

Rejoicing in the journey - Bethany Stedman