Wednesday 31 October 2012

Your Stuff - the ebb and flow



Lots of things happen over time in your new home. We moved in last year and are still in the midst of finishing the house. It should evolve over time, living with the sun, your stuff and allowing the ebb and flow of things. If they don't work, let them go - even if they work, you don't have to use them all. The gestalt of the overall space is the goal.

My belief is that the space around an item is just as important as the item itself. Give it room. Your eye moves around a space quickly when you enter a room, and you want to reighn it in, make it easy for that to happen (if that's your design intention). Fewer items calm us because, we don't have to assess the space as erratically. 

In saying that, I love an overstuffed library, and a room where more is more; you can see how design can shape the life of the user, and where the design intention is strategic.

 This is my bedroom at the new house; I swapped out the sconces from glass amber shades, and installed a chandelier above the bed on a dimmer. The bed nail head trim complements both. I received the vases from Sigrid a few months ago, and the jade flower is from Heather Ross. I am really in love with my cotton tufted bedding and Restoration Hardware's linen sheets, but have recently put the duvet back on the bed. The end table is one of those ebb and flow pieces...I don't like the cable/electrical plates showing, and think it will end up in the living room because I like viewing it from all sides, but it works for now. I am looking at a smaller solid piece by Brent Comber. I am also considering an all over wallpaper for the room, but when the view is so great, I want it to be the star.

Enjoy your home.

8 comments:

Tracey Ayton Photography said...

Oh Michelle it sounds absolutely amazing!!! Aren't those Restoration Hardware sheets wonderful? I'm a believer in the ebb and flow of things too and moving into a new home I feel it is necessary to sorta get to know each other :-)

Brillante Interiors said...

Well said Michelle, and your bedroom looks very elegant and serene.
Having said that...it took me 5 times so far to interpret the characters and to be considered not a robot :(

Danielle Hardy said...

I couldn't agree more. Decorating our home has been such a process and I much rather take my time and figure out what I really like. Problem is that I often change my mind but that is the fun of it :) Love your headboard :)

pve design said...

I do love simplicity and as we both know as artists, we are very sensitive to the process. I would prefer to do without until I can do with. A shop nearby has a wonderful slogan. "Surround yourself with things you love" and that goes for people and creatures too.
pve

CREED said...

I really enjoyed reading this Michelle, not only a gifted artist and designer but you have such a talent for writing about design and process (not easy to do). Soo good - please keep it up! ~ Cxo

CREED said...

Oh one more thing,,,,funny your first comment about the Sun. So true!! Since just buying and moving into our house the one thin I've been obsessed with is tracking the sun, where it falls inside the house and outside. Its dictating many of my design decisions. Unfortunately,,,in most cases where the sun falls now is opposite to where you would want it to be.grrrrrr.

Michelle said...

thanks ladies...what a talented bunch!! Tracey...those sheets are so amazing, I haven't used anything else for a year...they go from the dryer back to the bed. Sorry about the bot Albarosa, will be fixing that...as I find them annoying as well. Thanks Danielle...it's from Stylus in Burnaby. PVE... no wonder I crave your company :) Carol...thanks! Sometimes I go off on a tangent! lol...and I don't think there is ever the ideal sun situation, in this southern exposure, I have had to install roller shades on every window, and in the summer, you work the air conditioning pretty hard.

InteriorDoorandCloset.com said...

All of the interior designs are well organized and have a serene atmosphere. Thanks for sharing Michelle.