Decorating Direction & Inspiration

Can I offer a little decorating advice?  Advice might be the wrong word, how about if I say that I want to share something that I've picked up along the way of learning my style.  It all started when I was registering for my wedding.  My matron of honor went with me, and she's a stellar decorator and ahead of me in the homemaking game.  I was scanning away and she finally said, "Stop! I can't figure out your style. We need to talk." She pointed out that I was liking a lot of different stuff across the board and making weird decisions.  

Right there in Pier 1 I learned about styling.  I learned that I should probably pick a style (to which there are several) and stick with it.  She wasn't trying to box me in to something rigid.  I wasn't registering for ivy painted plates, then going for deep red velour curtains, then choosing a sailor inspired tissue box (wait, I did have one of those at some point in my life).  And she certainly wasn't making me pick a theme like that.  It was more of a direction than anything.

{source}

That's when I got it.  I've learned over the years that I like a lot of different styles, but there is an underlying theme that is really me.  I've picked three pictures that are my all time favorites.  So much of what I want to be and where I want to grow are in these pictures.  When I think about changing up a wall decor or making some pillows or just dreaming what I would like to do in the future, I think about these pictures.  They're me and I love them and they have different things about each of them that I want.

{source}

If you're interested, then here's what I learned: plants in our home is a must, that it's good to mix unexpected patterns and colors together (I'm looking at you, sage and aqua), pictures of cool colored nature scenes are a household favorite, and I love balance and clean lines.

{source}

I've heard decorating advice that says, "just pick what you like and it will all work."  The people who say that have the gift of being eclectic and chic, and that's just not all of us.  It's certainly not me.  While I'm all about trying new things and taking some chances, I know that there are certain things that I'm always drawn to.  I still come back to a few basic feelings and direction that I know to be what I love.  These pictures here, I love so many things about them.  They provide direction and inspiration and serve as a tool to help me find more of my personal style. These days, anything that helps me find my own decorating style is fine by me!

Please, if you want to pin any of these pictures, please go to the source and pin from there.  I've put the source under each picture and made it larger as to encourage checking out their homes.