What type of Designer am I?

June 9, 2016Leave a comment

Recently I have been so bored and flat out grumpy with the space that I live in. I have the hardest time designing a space for myself and my family. When I design for others, it is easier to stay focused and stick to a scheme/story. When I think about a space for myself, I’m all over the place. I love everything!

There’s a part of me that wants all pretty, ladylike things. That is 100% not my husband’s style and not really friendly for our boys to play and run around in. I browse through my Pinterest to see what makes me the most excited and the style is really all over the place.

This room is amazing!!! I’m partial to everything Hunted Interior does. Check out that gold and pink! Doesn’t get more ladylike that this!

There some mid-century modern interiors that make me smile and appeases my Mad Men side. I love the color of fabrics, LOVE the sputniks, love the fashion. It’s a lot of wood for me but I know it can be done nicely. I love the sloped angles of the legs and rounded edges of things.

Emily Henderson can do no wrong. I love the legs on everything, the bits of brass, the color… see, I’m smiling 🙂

There’s Modern Spanish Colonial with clean open interiors, black window frames, saddle brown leathers, wood ceiling beams, wrought iron metals, I feel, is so masculine and make me want to open all the doors and windows and bask in the warm sun (and make tapas!).

field-notes_coco-republic-interior-design_bower-rd_11

All I need is a Chesterfield sofa and some gorgeous spanish tile around the fireplace.

GLAM! Thank you very much! Mirrors, sparkle, metal, velvet. This is definitely for the Stephanie that lives on her own and throws small cocktail parties with other designers. Not very practical for a mom of two boys under 5 years old. So many breakable objects and surfaces to Windex! Fingerprints…everywhere!

Bliss at Home has the most amazing Living Room. It’s white and black and shiny all over. I’m just smitten!

There is also a little hidden lumberjack in me that wants the plaid, rustic wood and antlers. I want a big fireplace and thick wood mantle. I want soft, warm materials like flannel and knit.

Who wants to snuggle on that couch and watch some Ghostbusters with me? Perfect blustery day interiors.

And what about the clean Contemporary/Transitional/Neutrals?!?!? Clean white cabinets, unstained wood floors, large comfy couches, PAINTED walls (not just white!), more family friendly.

the-makerista-red-purple-orangerie-designers-guild-black-and-white-abstract-682x1024

I LOVE this light green color (check out Sea Salt by Sherwin Williams) with the pops of red and purple pillows. This might be the closest to what I can pull off with my kids. Not too girly and I could use semi-gloss so it can be wipeable.

What ends up happening is: I like this piece from one style and that piece from another and in the end it doesn’t look cohesive… at least in the moodboards I’ve developed. I scare myself into not pulling the trigger on anything and our entire house stays tan (quite literally, our couches, our carpet, our drapes, our furniture, so much brown!).

I’m desperate to make a change! I’m combing my Pinterest boards that make my heart pitter patter to find things that they all have in common.

I’ve notice a couple things:

I love contrast! Mix me some of that light and dark, I don’t like rooms that are all one color (either all dark or all light). I like pops of “happy color,” like emerald green, orange/coral/hot pink, mint, mustard.
I’ve been super into shiny metal the last couple years. A big gold mirror, a silver rhino head, a copper bowl. Interesting metals that don’t all have to match.
I like cool brown (if that’s a thing) unstained wood. I want it to have a nice contrast with a chunky white baseboard, I want it to look nice with my pops of “happy color” without overpowering them, I DON’T want it to be too gold or orange or red based. Unfortunately the last time we bought furniture was the height of espresso brown so all of my furniture is dark. Fortunately, the shade of wood I like now won’t clash with the espresso.
Storage! I like pieces that can hide junk that finds it’s home all over the house. The more drawers or cabinets the better, so that each drawer can have an assigned category and those items can find their way there during quick room pick-ups.
Wide open spaces. I love rooms that serve multiple functions so that my family can all be together. The same room we watch movies in is the same room we play, do homework, eat dinner, make crafts, wrestle, and play music in. The thing I don’t like about our house now is that if I’m in the kitchen, I cannot be part of any of that family action.
Bugs & Animals! I find that I’m attracted to rooms with an animal bust on the wall or beetle statue and creature pillow. They make me smile all the way from the inside and I feel like they are things my little boys can appreciate too.
Living Room by Bright Bazaaar. This fills my pops of color, high contrast and creature feature requirements.

So what is a girl to do? I can’t pick one! I already have a small neutral home, I can only go up for there, right? My goal is to at least get the house painted this year and start collecting colorful art and new pillows for the couches. That will get things moving. I need to brainstorm solutions for a play area/ home office that is literally the other half of my living room. hmmm…

Until next time, sweet dreams.

My Love for YHL

July 29, 2014July 29, 2014Leave a comment

A while back I posted Domino’s Top 26 Design Blogs, needless to say each week I have quite a bit of glorious design reading material in my inbox. One of my favorite blogs wasn’t included in this list by Domino, it was included shortly thereafter in their Top 17 DIY Blogs. Young House Love is not only my favorite blog but they have a fantastic book and a home line at Target. I look forward each week to find out what project this family is working on. I swear they never sit down.

So the last post that I saw was for curtains in their master bedroom and contemplating what curtains they might want in their home office (both are rooms that I love). Reading the post inspired me to re-take the home tour of their current house and refresh my design hungry mind of all the rooms that I just love. They also worked with Habitat for Humanity on a Showhouse for the Homearama fundraiser. This house is everything my dream home would/could/should be.

So after drooling for a little bit this morning glazing at the lovely, happy, family friendly interiors that is Young House Love, I decided to collect all my favorite rooms and share them. And hopefully you will love them just as much.

bright powder room, painted existing sink cabinet and new mirror.

before living room (most of the rooms in their house were in this kind of shape, outdated colors, lots of dark wood, I just had to include a photo of what they had started with)

after living room. painted brick, exposed ceiling beams, neutral soft gray, fun pillows and accessories.

home office. I love how clean and bright it is. It so wonderful that there’s a desk for their daughter to do projects too.

master bedroom. I love this color gray! I love the gallery wall and the bright pop of yellow and aqua and the clean white bedding and curtains.

little girls room. I love the painted door and the pretty contrasting blues and pink. Such a happy room.

little boy nursery. This green is such a great boy color.

another shot of the nursery. This is the inspiration to recover our IKEA shelves (that house all the boys toys and book) to help tie into all the dark wood furniture in our living room.

guest room. This room is so cheery and gorgeous. Someday when we have an extra room that I could make a home office/guest room, I would like to pull these colors in. Just a touch of feminine in my all boy world.

Ok, now onto the showhouse. Because this was a ground up project there wasn’t any “let’s work with what we got” projects. Everything is brand new and built to order. I am always attracted to blues and grays when it comes to interiors which is probably why I’m obsessed with this house. And to top things off, each room has a fun pop of pink or yellow or green and the crispest white.

Exterior. I love the dark blue with the bright white trim and the timber and stone details.

front porch. I love the little seating area, the light fixture, white and blue with pops of red.

living room. Ahh! Colors, comfy seating, minimal but still fun accessories. I’m dying.

another view of this gorgeous haven.

kitchen. I would never have put this combo together but I love it. The light fixtures are fantastic, the bar stools are so awesome and not so tall that you can’t showcase the kitchen still.

another view to show how pretty the marble is with the backsplash and the gray cabinet. again with a pop of aqua.

adjacent breakfast nook off the kitchen. I love the built-ins and the custom giant table, so great for family dinners with lots of food on the table.

nook

powder room. I just love this tile. Amazing.

butler pantry between kitchen and dining room. chalkboard paint with local chalk artist work. I also love the idea of having friends doodle on the wall during a party or event.

dining room. I love the dark paint with the wainscoting (and that chevron pattern in the wood is fantastic!). I really love how the room feels very masculine but the art and curtains brings it back into the feminine realm. And of course, the running theme in all the rooms is beautiful light fixtures.

home office. I love these colors, light fixture, simple clean desk, geometric shapes. I want to work/play here.

master bedroom. Although I do love this room and all the colors for myself, I think if Ryan and I lived here we would definitely steer towards YHL’s current master bedroom. I do love these dressers and nightstands to pieces.

master bath. I love all the tile in this room! I love the sink cabinets and driftwood mirrors and light fixtures. Hands down I will steal that tile someday!

laundry room. Why not make a room that you have to use beautiful like the rest of your house? I love the wallpaper and the light fixtures. They add interest to a usually drab space.

guest bath. I just thought this was really lovely and clean. I’m seeing a running theme in the Showhouse. All bathrooms are clean, simple rooms. Elegant tile, sophisticated fixtures and sink cabinets. Other than the white and gray with a dab of light blue, these rooms do not include the loud pops of color as seen in the rest of the house. I really like that.

playroom. I love the colors and built-ins and sliding doors with glazing in them (so when they are closed the light from the window will still fill the hallway).

girl’s bedroom. This room is so outrageous to me. I love the carpet (as seen in the boy’s room below), I love the bright pink bed and yellow patterned wall, and I’m strangely attracted to the chicken artwork.

boy’s bedroom. This room is made for my little explorer’s in mind. I love that the bed, drawers, shelves, and reading bunk and all built-in so the floor is completely open of activities. I don’t know if I would ever get Cash out of the bunk.

another view of the boy’s room. I need this carpet!

outside dining deck. It’s simple, it’s covered, and in nice weather those doors would be open all day long.

outside patio. I imagine sitting around the fireplace during parties after a long day of barbequing and watching the sun go down. This only thing this area is missing is a nice pool with a simple water feature. Then I would be torn between wanting to hang out inside or outside all the time.

floor plan. I was so excited that they included a floor plan on their site. It helps me do a mental walk through.

I think I’ve posted enough of my favorite things from their site. There’s so much more to see, swing by and take a gander for yourself. They have two other home tours of their previous houses and what they did to them and so many DIY how-to’s just in case you see something you like.

Jewelry Bar Inspiration

June 28, 20141 Comment

It’s been a I have yet to finish my exciting new jewelry storage. I currently using my grandmothers’ old jewelry box which my grandfather had brought back from overseas for her. I love it but with the size of some of my jewelry, it can be hard to close.

So I started looking around the web to find inspiration for an easier way to access my jewelry. There’s a lot of stuff that I’m not fitting into the rotation because I’ve completely forgotten about it.

I’ve seen a lot of this on the web but was a afraid some of my necklaces might be too hefty.

This is so pretty but my small children would be able to get into it and I’m afraid my necklaces would get coiled up and knotted, which is a current problem.

I like this one from Etsy but I didn’t want to take up too much wall space and I have a lot more necklaces than this (it’s a borderline problem)

I love the look of this one that she built into an IKEA PAX wardrobe. My current jewelry box is right on the sink vanity outside of our bathroom, where I also do my hair and makeup. I love the gray with the gold on the mirror and look at how many necklaces she has on one rack, that’s what I’m talking about! The thing I didn’t like was thinking about pre-drilling and screwing in all of those hooks. At this point, I know I’m on the right track but I need a little more tweaking to get there.

This is a little closer to what I was thinking. I’m going to keep my earrings in my jewelry box still but I want a double row of bars to hang all my necklaces and bangles from.

All I needed was a 1×2, a wooden dowel, and some hooks to screw into the 1×2 to hold the dowel. Cut to size to fit on the wall space that I have in my vanity nook, paint and add a little hardware.

I found these at target.

I’ll post the tutorial as soon as I find a little bit of time. Very excited for some jewelry organization!

Bedroom Envy

June 26, 2014Leave a comment

Since my post about Domino’s Top 26 Design Blogs, I have started following quite a few of them. One of my favorites is La Dolce Vita. Paloma has just posted photos of her latest project for a client and it is stunning. Every room is just rich and glamorous. She just posted pictures of the Master Bedroom and I was completely envious.

Just look at those textures and refined color palette. I had posted some of my brainstorming designs for a new adult bedroom sanctuary. My favorite design of the group was a simple black, white, and gray palette with some luxurious textures to add maturity and remind myself that I am still an adult but reuse my existing furniture. Here’s the design below.

It was based on this bedroom that I found on Houzz.com

Photo by Jamie Laubhan-Oliver. See more eclectic bedroom designs

And this bedroom.

Glad I’m on the right track. I just need some more tweaking to accessories. In my design, I left some things that make me smile or that I find humorous because that is our personality and I’m not the only person using this room. I wanted a little masculinity so that my husband didn’t feel out of place, hence no chandelier.

Long story short, check out La Dolce Vita for sheer sophistication and glamour. Most of the other blogs that I follow are very family friendly design and a lot of DIY design. It’s nice to have a little bit of everything for my design brain.

Rooms for the Boys

June 2, 2014June 2, 20142 Comments

We’ve been in our house for just over a year now and some spaces just don’t feel right. I recently started a major spring cleaning overhaul and have been throwing out garbage bags full, some stuff I wonder why it made the last two moves with us. A lot of stuff was little baby items that Levi, my 10 month old, not longer needs or fits in. That was the purge that was both heartbreaking and rejuvenating. Now starts the time where my boys are active and full of personality, AND need a space to call their own. Cash is still rockin’ a few decor items leftover from his nursery (which was mostly rocket themed which I translated into a half assed attempt at Star Wars theme once he moved into a big boy bed). He’s lately is into everything super hero. He loves Batman, Wolverine, and the Hulk the most. He still loves Star Wars and gets excited every time he sees the Millennium Falcon on the movie. “Like my bed!” he shouts.

So while cleaning out our tiny house, I decided to make each space work better for us and make us happy. I would say the upstairs bathroom, the kitchen and both boys rooms are lacking the most personality in the whole house. Since Cash moved to a big boy bed around 18 months (more out of necessity since I need his crib for the soon to come Levi) I designed Levi’s room keeping in mind that he will soon have a big boy bed of his own (most likely by the time I get to finishing everything).

I’m not ready to let go of having some Star Wars stuff in the house, I would sleep on those awesome Star Wars sheets at Pottery Barn Kids if I could. But I do want the art and accessories to be something both boys can grow older with. I found some awesome art on Etsy and pulled colors from the art into the bedding and accessories.

Here is Levi’s soon to be new room.

1 Star Wars Original Trilogy set, 8.5″ x 11″, $29.95 (to be used with Ikea Virserum frame, $7.99

2 Hayneedle Babyletto Hudson 3-in-1 crib, $379 (we’re actually still using Cash’s original crib and by the time the remodel is done we’ll be using a big boy bed that my hubby will make but for the sake of the ideaboard I thought I’d put a nice white crib in)

3 Target’s Room Essentials Easy Care sheets in Orange Grid (these were actually just on clearance and I got the last set for $11.75)

4 This is the comfy fleece I got at JoAnn’s just over a year ago and I made a twin size quilt with it, it’s edged with red ribbon so I’m going to pull the off and find an orange ribbon to replace it. It’s currently being used on Cash’s bed so I’ll make sure to get Cash’s new room done and store the Star Wars quilt until Levi is ready for his big boy bed.

5 “May the Force be with You” print, 8″ x 10″, $15.95 (to be used with Ikea Virserum frame, $7.99)

6 Digital Download set of 3 Star Wars prints, 11″ x 14″ (to be used with Ikea Virserum frame, $7.99)

7 Teal Blue Roped Cotton Pouf Ottoman, $139.91 (if anyone has little boys then you know that they like to climb and jump on everything so I thought I’d find a piece of furniture that wouldn’t cause bodily harm when all this climbing and jumping happens, plus it adds more color to the room).

8 Ikea Ekby Jarpen shelf and hardware, $14.99

9 Star Wars Retro Alphabet print, 11.75″ x 16.5″, $30 (to be used with Ikea Ribba frame, $9.99)

10 Ikea Mariam Curtain set in Orange, $19.99 (I think I might line the curtain with fabric for extra darkness)

11 Endor Poster, 11.75″ x 16.5″, $25.80 (to be used with Ikea Ribba frame, $9.99)

12 12″ Industrial Faux Metal Letter, in Zinc, $15.50, “L” for Levi

13 Ikea Hemnes 3 drawer dresser in gray-brown, $149

14 Mulig shelving unit, $24.99 (I have a lot of junk in both boy’s closets, adding a simple shelving unit will help me utilize the wasted space on the floor)

I want to make sure there is plenty of art in each room so there’s plenty of color and stimulation for their little imaginations.

Cash’s Super Hero room is similar in color pallette with just as much art. I had a fun time finding all the art.

1 Digital Download set of 3 (Captain America, Wolverine, and Iron Man), 11″x14″, $16.00 (to be used with Ikea Virserum frame, $7.99)

2 Room Essentials Solid Yellow Quilt, twin, $39.99 (OMG this is so soft)

3 Target’s Room Essentials Easy Care sheets in Yellow Grid, $11.75 (still on the hunt for these, might have to find something similar)

4 We have an old school desk that I would love to refinish to look like this. I’ll probably paint it a blue to match one of the colors in the art.

5 Comic book Super Hero Letter, 5″H, in “C”, $12.50 (I thought about getting Cash the same metal letter that I’m getting for Levi’s room but I thought this would help separate their rooms a little more).

6 Teal Blue Roped Cotton Pouf Ottoman, $139.91 (once again, adding more color/furniture/climbing utensil)

7 Dynamic Duo print, 11″ x 14″, $20 (to be used with Ikea Ribba frame, $9.99)

8 Be Brave print, 8″ x 10″, $15 (to be used with Ikea Virserum frame, $7.99), I think I can duplicate this print myself.

9 Digital Download Justice League, 11″ x 14″, $6 (to be used with Ikea Ribba frame, $9.99)

10 Be Brave print, 8″ x 10″, $15.95 (to be used with Ikea Virserum frame, $7.99), I think I can also duplicate this print myself.

11 Ikea Hemnes 3 drawer dresser in red, $149 (we actually already have this in his room)

12 Vintage Incredible Hulk print, 6″ x 6″, $12 (I’m not crazy in love with this print but Cash loves the Hulk and I’m trying to find something not too scary for him).

13 Ikea Merete Curtain panels, in gray, $27.99 (the current curtains in his room are not very good at keeping the sun out, it would be nice if he didn’t realize it was morning for a little bit longer)

Obviously they will be tweaks here and there. As I was making this post I swapped out a bunch of the art in Levi’s room for cheaper digital downloadable stuff.

What do you think?

P.S. new living room ideas to come soon!

Domino’s Top 26 Design Blogs

May 23, 2014May 27, 20143 Comments

Domino Magazine recently posted their top 26 design blogs and I have to admit that I am in love! I started following a lot of them on Pinterest and squeal with delight when I see all the pretty interiors that I have to look at now.

I’m so inspired by all of these creative and crafty women. Here are some of my personal favs:

emily

Emily Henderson. Love her site and her style. She’s a new mom to a cute little boy and oh so glamorous and girly. I feel like since I’ve had my second baby boy that I want to surround myself with more girly things, just for me, so that I don’t get consumed by monster trucks, pirates (ahrrr!) and light sabers (not that there’s anything wrong with that, and I am the one that makes sure they are well versed in Star Wars). Her style is clean and fresh and filled with happy colors. And she even posts about fancy cocktails, good books, and neat DIY projects.

A Beautiful Mess is all about creating a beautiful life. We share daily inspirations, DIY projects and recipes. We believe that the best things in life are homemade.

A Beautiful Mess with Elsie and Emma. How cool would it be to be besties with your sister and have a design blog together. My sister and I definitely have different styles and tastes but somehow we like a lot of the same things. Like we may both love the same dress or artwork or green kitchen cabinets but we would style it differently (with different accessories or a couch or dinnerware). Anyway, recently I have gotten the chance to do some collaborations with my own sister and I can’t wait to post the end results on my own site!

Jenny Komenda of The Little Green Notebook actually helped inspire my current home DIY project, a simple jewelry rack! Hers, of course, was part of a whole IKEA wardrobe hack that came out super fabulous and was featured in Domino Magazine. I find that I love blogs where someone is tearing apart their house room by room and renovating it themselves. I get so excited when I see what it was before, during demolition, and what they transform it into after. She’s knee deep in a bathroom reno and I can’t wait to see it finished. She blogs and has her own design business! Truly my end goal!

Nicole Balch

Making it Lovely by Nicole Balch is another woman that I can relate to. She has fun, quirky, classic interior taste, mother of two with a third on the way, and just an outgoing personality that I feel she really wears on her sleeve (literally I love her clothes!). She finds a way to incorporate pink into her rooms that just makes me smile. And I love the Jedi birthday party she just through for her son. I’m finding a theme where I’m more drawn to these blogging designers when they have children and find a way to mix sophistication and quirkiness into their homes. Something I’ve been making moodboards for my own home lately is to mix the sophisticated adult with the joyful child elements.

decor8 is an all in one site where creator Holly Becker mixes interior design with good finds (from products for the home to jewelry), and even blogging tips and education for other potential bloggers out there. She’s very straight forward and honest about what makes a blog special and different. She has almost a Martha Stewart way about her, where she knows a bit about everything and has simple tips for everyone to achieve the look too. I’m very curious about her blogging ecourses and look forward to attending one later this year.

photo Meet-Kristin-1.png

Kristen Jackson is the woman behind The Hunted Interior. She not only blogs but also has an eDesign business out of the Atlanta area (I have another favorite Atlanta area blogger that I haven’t mentioned in this post, Bower Power with Katie Bower), like I said before, something I am aspiring to do. She comes from a hospitality design background so her interiors look a little hotel like but are freshly layered with mix-matching pieces that really give the room a personality. I love it when a sophisticated room doesn’t take itself too seriously and incorporates a touch of whimsey.

There are a few more design blogs that I am in love with that I haven’t mentioned in this post. I might start to shake and twitch if I didn’t get my weekly dose of Young House Love. The house they did for the Homearama showcase is my dream home. It’s clean and family/kid friendly (they just had their second baby so they know how to decorate with kids in mind) with colors that just flat out make me happy. I can’t get enough of them. I can’t wait to start transforming my house. I know it’s a long process and doesn’t happen as fast as it takes me to binge read some of these blogs so I need to remember to be patient, something I always tell my son, Cash. It will happen someday, until then I can live vicariously through these wonderful and creative women.

Thanks for reading

A New Adult Bedroom

April 28, 2014April 28, 2014Leave a comment

We had bought all our furniture before we had kids, so in our old house I felt like we were able to keep it slightly adult looking even with a baby swing in the middle of the living room. We moved right before baby #2 arrived and set everything up to be child friendly for our toddler and new baby, including disassembling our dining room table and storing it along with the extra chairs. Now where a dining room table would be is an explosion of children’s toys that my husband and I try to clean up each night to pretend for an hour or two that we live in a tidy house. Our original living room furniture doesn’t quite mesh with the toy storage system that we have implemented with shelving from my toddler’s bedroom. More on that later.

Slowly and surely, the toy invasion has moved upstairs into our bedroom and bathroom. I’ve tripped on several toy cars or stuffed animals in the middle of the night, so I have implemented a cheap system of throwing toys in an empty diaper box at the end of our bed. We have recently started the task of Spring Cleaning the house from top to bottom. This has given me a surge of newness and a drive to make our bedroom an adult oasis.

I started toying with different color schemes. How do I want to feel when I’m in our room?

Option #1

In the first option I use bright colors that reflect our personalities. Warm, fun, very outgoing. I love it, my only problem is that it feel very kid friendly to me.

Option #2

In this option I wanted to use a warm green to go with the wood color of our existing furniture. I do not want to replace our existing bed, nightstands and dresser, so those will remain the same in each option. I do want to add a garage sale/ flea market desk and paint it a complimentary color to the scheme. I typically don’t use green with my house decor but it looks like lovely with the wood and I am trying to create something different from the rest of the house.

Option #3

For Option #3, I asked my husband which color he would want me to make a scheme around. He asked for gray-blue. Definitely one of my favorite colors. So mellow, contrasts nicely with our wood color and feels very adult-like but can have some fun accessories. I also went a little crazy with Rhino’s in the decor, it’s kind of a family mascot. Ultimately, I would love to get a print of Andy Warhol’s Rhino and have it in our living room. (Again, more on that later.)

Option #4

And finally, the most adult and chic and glamorous scheme I could come up with. Since we’re currently renting our house I wanted to avoid painting the walls. I’ve been seeing lots of white and black bedrooms that I just thought were the cats pajamas. See below.

Photo by Jamie Laubhan-Oliver. See more eclectic bedroom designs

This was hands down my favorite. To mimic the old photographs I found some images of Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash to put in some ornate gold frames (we are big Johnny Cash fans, even named our first son after him). I wanted everything black and white/cream and gold. Very simple and clean and no kiddish colors found in the rest of our house.

I also plan on making a simple built in closet, similar to this:

how a girl built her closet

So let me know what you think of my bedroom options! Or give me suggestions for more adult themed schemes!

Decorating like a Tenenbaum

April 10, 2014May 27, 2014Leave a comment

The main thing I’ve noticed in Wes Anderson interiors is Collections. Every character or room has a collection of some sort. Hand drawings, books, computer equipment, taxidermy, and even color. Each room is ultra rich and saturated with a focus. I love Margot’s room of family portraits personally.

My advice to give your room a simple nod to the legendary director Wes Anderson, find something that tickles your funny bone and make a little collection of it. Large scale collections might be a little cumbersome, so minimize it for an even more amusing collection. My next collection is going to be “Z”s for my last name. I think the fun part will be finding them amongst the adventures of life. I also want a little corner of antlers and animal busts. To get my giggles, I’m going to look for them in fun colors or paint them myself. I saw a recent post on younghouselove.com where the took plain white antlers and dipped the tips in bright colored paint.

Now when I said that one of the collections in a Wes Anderson room was color, I meant just that. It’s red walls, with rich red velvet chairs, a red piano, a mom in a red skirt, red area rugs, etc. In this make believe world, it works. I’m not as big of a fan of it in the day to day world. I want a little bit of mix up in my colors and patterns. Just a personal preference. I am and will always be a fan of Wes Anderson and how his sets, costumes, and cinematography makes me feel. Sometimes a problem you think you have really isn’t that catastrophic. And when you look back at it in the future, will your reaction be as amusing as a Wes Anderson characters’?