Lately I've been looking through a lot of interior/exterior design magazines for inspiration. We're getting ready to do some new design options with the backyard sometime in the next 5 or 6 months and I have to spend a lot of time thinking about something before I can commit to it. Sometimes all the options are a bit overwhelming to me.
So I've been reading Domino and House Beautiful and Phoenix Magazine, etc. looking for ideas.
And it's making me sort of irritated with my own house.
There are times when I like what I've done with the house and times when I think it looks good, and other times when I feel frustrated with it.
Does your house look like these photos?
Neither does mine.
But I'd like it to -
I kind of feel like I'm a little tiny bit part way to it looking good and then...it just doesn't quite measure up.
I walked around the house today with my camera and tried to just look through the lens objectively - like if you were taking photos of your house to submit to a magazine how would it really look?
The results were not good. I didn't even take any of the photos because it was kind of disheartening.
But I think it's a good idea. It really helps you to see things more objectively, more like someone who's never been to your house before probably sees it.
So that's my plan - try to approximate something more like the rooms I love in these magazines and less like what I've currently got going on. I think more than anything it's a lack of structure and organization within my rooms. So my goal for the next 7 days is to take one room at a time, photograph it objectively and then try to fix the problems. I'll try to upload the photos here and see if I can make some progress...anybody want to join in the fun? Come on Shannon...aren't you at least game?
9 comments:
Game! I can't even get my underwear clean...how am I gonna take photos and see what is wrong. Its all wrong!
Oh come on! It'll be fun. We're planning on painting your bedroom soon anyway - it will be kind of a 'before and after'. I wish I would have taken photos of my bathroom before I had it painted because that would have shown a dramatic improvement!
You're no fun
That's what I've been telling you!
I can't analyze too much of our house. There are too many places that are unfinished, too many cluttery places, too much yuck. I would rather look with blinders on and ignore all the clutter and yuck. OR maybe I COULD take some pictures and just systematically leave out all the yuck and focus on the small portions of the house I love and pretend I really know what I am doing in the decorating department.
I sorta did this in my bathroom the other day and my bedroom - except my bedroom needs more work still. Retardly I forgot to take 'before' photos of the bedroom. Mostly I am not ready to re-decorate anything, or paint or whatever - but what I am trying to figure out is what just doesn't look good. Like I think a lot of the times things just become cluttery or I look at the same thing for so long it no longer bothers me when in fact, it probably looks stupid. So I realized when you go to take a photo of something you get a whole different perspective. I'm just trying to make little changes in each room to de-clutter and make it look better. If I try to do it all at once it will seem overwhelming.
I love your house! The only thing that seems missing is a dining room, or a traditional table. But if your family doesn't miss it, that's not even an issue.
I love your colors, the window placement, the interesting glass work & recessed lighting, the floors, the built in bookcases, the art work. The laundry room is small; but lots of laundry rooms are. Ikea has so many great storage ideas - maybe utilizing the walls more in the laundry room will help make that area feel better. Most of us have vertical spaces we don't take advantage of. Now even Home Depot has products for wire shelving, hooks, cubbies, lazy-susan style moving storage, etc. that can make the most of any vertical space.
Clutter is an ever-present frustration for all of us. We usually purge like crazy when we move, and when the city bulk pick up is coming. I can get pretty ruthless - but obviously not ruthless enough! It's either time to move, or time to clean...
It's always much more fun as a social activity; if you want company de-cluttering, I'm in!
Damn you and your challenge, Lezlee...you got my mind all worked up and wanting to do something positive with my house and I spent the whole day yesterday cleaning my carpet! Hellllooooo!! I hate cleaning! You are making me care about the state of my home again! Knock it off, Mrs. Let's Play a Game!! I love Country Living and Phoenix Magazine. I also really love Real Simple magazine, which gives some great organizational tools ans ideas for morons who can't figure out where to put stuff (that would be me).
I've been completely side-tracked by trying to get a kid off to college at the end of this week! (total craziness) And I have a feeling I am not going to have time to give this idea my whole heart until I get back. BUT I am definitely going to focus on it then (I really did give my bathroom a mini-makeover which I will share with photos later as well)
Anyone can play along!
Also to Calizona - thanks for the compliments on the house - and you are correct, my laundry room is a major problem (that's not what you were saying exactly but it's what I think when I look in there) that will probably be the last thing I do because it requires too much work.
It's nice to read someone else admitting that the pics aren't anything like her own home, that the difference can be kind of irritating, followed by a specific challenge/plan of attack. I admire your honesty and your desire to act (instead of just whine, my natural reaction).
I think I'll play when we get back from vacation next week. Unless the trial moves faster than expected and my husband can't leave town--then we'll have a stay-cation instead of a lovely time in Colorado =/ Either way, I can use the time to ponder and pick out which area to work on first. Or brush up on my Photoshop skillz... (thanks Cynthia!)
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