Authentic, unfussy and wholehearted interiors for me reflect a sincerity and commitment to emotion as opposed to a self-conscious attempt to impress or appeal only to what is logical. If that still sounds vague, maybe it figures. You can’t always capture a feeling in a photograph.
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Authentic, Unfussy & Wholehearted Interiors
These glimpses of inspiration from interiors I admire embody a wholehearted quality and timelessness.
How to get this magical combination?
Is there a formula out there to help?
Hahahaha. I always say that the first order of business is KNOW THYSELF. You can’t easily pull a room together for yourself if you’re shaky on your preferences, goals, dislikes, and values.
What makes it authentic?
Natural materials, a mix of old and new, collections of objects that mean something to you personally, and connections to the location of the home.
How to keep things unfussy so that contrived look doesn’t surface?
Don’t overthink it. Things don’t have to match or hail from the same era. As you consult design books or content online, look closer.
What do your favorite unfussy homes have in common?
If you are not naturally intuitive, collaborate with someone who is. Learn about intuition if you care to increase your own awareness.
When I consider wholehearted qualities, I immediately think about what is unseen…how do particular colors evoke a particular mood in a room?
What sort of floorplan or architecture or furniture arrangement calms or envelops you? When do you feel edgy in a space?
After you determine the mood you’re after, your choices can build from that foundation. The best designers understand how to create for mood.
Lighting is big. Not just in terms of taste or this many lamps, but addressing natural light and thinking about what time of day an interior will be used.
When Simplicity Feels Elegant
We’re alive at a very strange time in history with abundant uncertainy and chaos in just about every corner of the globe.
No wonder so many of us are after simplicity.
We also seem to ever be hustling. With less time, simplicity is MONEY!
Authenticity Explored
Rapid technological advancements mean there is machine-made, 3-D printer-created, and counterfeit everywhere.
An authentic look often relies on curating natural materials and minimizing unnatural ones.
Living with things from nature or things made by human hands (I showed you a handwoven alpaca throw in my home that is special in its natural goodness) brings a soulful quality to design.
Can you achieve authenticity on a modest budget? A lot of handmade, handcrafted, and authentic materials are costly. I have often thought it would be far more helpful if detailed cost breakdowns of work, materials, and designs appearing in shelter magazines were freely mentioned.
But we’re so private about money and consider such discussions crass. I personally would relax in many cases where the budget was fantasyland. While it is obvious in many cases the homeowner had no budget whatsoever, I still think more transparency helps.
Don’t you love it when you’re viewing a home tour, and the homeowner lets you know she picked up this or that for 5 bucks from a yard sale?
How is Restraint Your Friend?
Clutter can be a distraction and an obstacle to achieving an unfussy look.
Do you suppose it’s true that happiness is wanting what you have?
Because that is a good starting place for pruning collections and belongings when it becomes clear there is excess.
I can’t tell you how many times I have felt dissatisfied or frustrated with the mood of a room, cleared it, and suddenly heard choirs of angels. It wasn’t that room needed something, it was that the room needed to let go of something.
There’s a big difference between decorating for your own tolerances and decorating according to what you were maybe programmed to think decorating is about. There are still no rules. No design police will make arrests for clashing patterns or a piece of furniture not quite the right scale for the space. If it suits you, it suits you.
How do we express our values and story when putting together a room?
Often this happens naturally according to what we collect over the years. Do you regularly bring home seashells? Are you drawn to midcentury pieces that remind you of a lovely childhood? Have a surplus of framed family photos? There are endless ways to give expression to your story.
Resources & Finds for Creating Your Oasis
In the mood for English country cottage chic? You may be charmed by this:
Do visit the archives with more ideas and quotes to ease you toward the timeless and the tranquil.
Peace to you right where you are.
-michele
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