Wednesday, December 15, 2010

My Style - Looking For It

How many of you are still searching for "your style"? I know you pick up the latest PB or some other catalog and you fall in love with a hundred different looks till you are left feeling lost and confused and wondering what you really like! I know I'm not the only one out there that feels like this.

I remember about a year ago I "found" a blog called The Lettered Cottage and I felt like I had finally come home (ok so that's exaggerating a bit). It was like looking at a dream that was actually within a normal human beings grasp.

Linda Banks traditional living room

I later came across the website Houzz, which really helped me hone in on what I liked even more.
Green Paint traditional entry

I found that going through (yikes) hundreds of pictures and saving them, then going back again and seeing which ones actually jumped out at me, helped me realize what I like most.
Skona hem eclectic dining room

Do you know what it feels like when an image actually jumps out at you?! It is a picture that isn't lost in the crowed. Something that you remember and think back on.
Dreamy Whites

Then you adapt those images for your own use.... this is the hard part.
Guest Cabin traditional bathroom

Sometimes a beach cottage just doesn't fit in with a brick rancher. Dirty carpet floors don't complete that perfect clean look.
White

Hmmm, I guess now is when you shoot for the image that is both reality and dream. That is possible, thank goodness. Don't put your expectations so high that you can never achieve the look that you want. Don't try to make a hunting lodge out of a coastal retreat. Do adapt the look you love to the home you're in.
kitchen kitchen

I do live in a brick ranch style home. It doesn't have plank walls, wood floors or vintage hardware. It has carpet and tile, textured walls, shiny gold knobs and such.
Mt. Shadows traditional bedroom

But I have found my style! I found that I love bright and airy rooms. Texture in many ways and forms. Clean and simple. A touch of days gone by. The feeling that you might catch a whiff of salt coming off the foaming waves when you walk into a room.
window seat with GREAT pillows and color family room

So I'm learning to adapt. Add those touches in a way that doesn't clash too much with the style of my home that I can't change, and change the style that I can. (Sheww, did that confuse you too?)
Main Cabin traditional kitchen

So if you're still looking for your style, don't worry if it takes you a while to find what you're looking for. I promise it's out there.
Slick Wood Ceiling traditional kitchen

Don't make any rash or sudden moves until you find it though. Who wants to end up with a pile of overpriced decor that you bought because you got desperate?
Dining Room eclectic dining room

Then again, who wants to read all this stuff that I'm typing?
French Larkspur eclectic home office

It's ok to skip a few words. There won't be a pop quiz at the end.
Main Cabin traditional family room

In the end it's really just an excuse to show you some really great looking rooms.
hhbradys ideabook kitchen eclectic kitchen

All of these pictures are ones that "jumped" out at me. In a good way.
French Flea Market eclectic bedroom

Hope you enjoy them as much as I do.
coastal attic bedroom - 50 Comfy Cottage Rooms - Photos - CoastalLiving.com

If you don't that's ok too.
Beachy White Bedroom - 50 Comfy Cottage Rooms - Photos - CoastalLiving.com

Now I'm just rambling....
(Congratulations to Megan from Little Blue Prints for winning the CSN Giveaway!)
Photobucket

16 comments:

Alison Agnew said...

Lovely pictures...and I WANT that ladder in the one.

Me thinks you like white a little? Me too...

AntiqueChase said...

I love those images too... there was some loveliness I had never seen before!

Patricia @ 9th and Denver said...

"Don't put your expectations so high that you can never achieve the look that you want."

You said it! That has been me. I was just thinking this morning about being so discontented with our home--from looking at too many pictures of homes that weren't mine, and thinking I like that--how can I do this in my home? I only just thought this morning-- STOP being discontent and make your place YOUR place and FALL IN LOVE with it all over again; Find my own style-- that is what I'm setting out to do and hopefully it will come!
Thanks for this post. It only confirms what I need to do to be content! I need to be happy where I am and with all that God has given us. It is a blessing after-all.
"Godliness with contentment is great-gain"

Rachel Noelle Pallas said...

LOVE all those rooms!! Hope you are having a great week!Hugs, Rachel ;)

*French Farmhouse 425*

Destiny said...

I have the SAME problem! I save photos that I find (online and in magazines) that inspire me and my "look"...but like you, I have modern home with tile and (dirty) carpet and golden oak cabinetry, brass doorknobs, etc. that contaminates my desired look! I work at it a little at a time...trying to transform my home into what I envision on my canvas : ) and I ALSO have a pile of decorative items that no longer fit my look Hahaha...the Goodwill LOVES me!!!

michelle said...

I loved every word you had to say! I feel the same way, there are so many things out there that I love and I want my home to be but in reality, my home won't be that way. You give some really great advice and I think that I pretty much have all of those pics in my folder on Houzz!! :) I will find a way to get that claw foot tub into my teeny tiny bathroom though! :)

Unknown said...

Right on Jillian, you hit the nail on the head! So, what happens if you have several styles? Is that okay? I just call my house eclectic. H calls it colorful. It is that. Is it okay have a different style in each room? Just wondering. : )

Happy Gramma said...

There is a phrase for my house... It is called "contemporary attic". I dream about having my house look like some of these pictures.

Unknown said...

All of these beautiful styles are me I am going to paint this Jan. From Sage green to white and I can't wait the green has been on the wall for ten years.

Liz @ the Brambleberry Cottage said...

Gorgeous images, Jillian. Interestingly enough, I have a number of them as tearout sheets in my idea files. ;) Hubby is always telling me that "great minds think alike"!

Please be sure to come by and enter my fantastic year-end giveaway. Click the picture in my sidebar for details.

Blessings and a very Merry Christmas!
Liz @ the Brambleberry Cottage
http://thebrambleberrycottage.blogspot.com/

The Misty Journey said...

Wow! I loved this post. I am still working at my style. Some of it, I know exactly where my taste and design style and color theme fall...some of it just doesn't "work" in my home. What kind of style is my house (the outside)? You have pinpointed yours...I need to figure out mine, maybe that would help me. Like Corn in my Coffee-Pot, I loved this line: "Don't put your expectations so high that you can never achieve the look that you want." I struggle between cutesy & simplicity. I see ideas, but when I try to implement them I feel its blah, lacks the same zest of these "ideas" I find. Sometimes I get downright frustrated, wish I had time like you to pour over all these images to find my style. I love it when something "jumps out at you"...its such a fun an inspiring experience...really motivating to work on the home. I will give you my next big secret of my struggle: Can you really have a home with everything in its place and a place for everything???

MANY THANKS for the post today Jillie!

Helen said...

I have to say that after all these years, that I am still looking. Most of my furniture has been "early yard sale" through the years and trying to make it fit together somewhat. I cleaned for a lady one time that called her home "eclectic"... I had to look up the word... kinda a way to make all sorts of styles mesh... or something. If I had my way, I think I would tend toward costal, but then I don't live in a costal style home.

I think the most important part of any of this is contentment. Being content in your spirit helps you adjust to any circumstances in your life and surroundings.

Sarah @ Cozy.Cottage.Cute. said...

All of those picture are d-r-e-a-m-y!

WhisperWood Cottage said...

All lovely and inspiring! Many of them are in my own inspiration file! :)

Amy

Rachael said...

I just randomly found your blog and I love love this post! I love all the pictures. I too feel like I love/like so many styles, but I can't decide what I love the most. Ah... still need to keep searching, but I like how you talked about it.

Unknown said...

Great pictures, but I did read every word. You have created a great post and on a subject that I have been thinking a lot about lately, defining my design style. You said it very well. Thanks for that.