This is a continuation of a few thoughts about timeless design and authenticity which began HERE. When you want to your space to both feel like you AND capture a design mood, where do you begin? What rules and elements to guide the design journey?
Capture a Design Mood
WHAT GUIDES MY OWN DESIGN APPROACH?
It’s Only Curtains
Perspective matters. There are matters far more important than decorating. Your health, for example.
At the height of the pandemic when amublance service was limited, our son nearly died in our home from a rare blood infection. No specialist at the hospital while he was in ICU had ever seen TTP. The additional complexities posed by Covid 19 protocols and staff shortages were serious challenges as he fought for his survival.
Design challenges are silly in comparison. A real problem is getting your 200+ lb. baby boy into a SUV with every ounce of motherstrength and speed to the closest ER because his doctor phoned to tell you the minutes matter.
DIY hiccups like a radiant floor heating system that isn’t working? Is it a real problem?
It’s a privilege to live this creative life.
My husband and I seem to do all things these days in a spirit of unknowing. While we may pour our hearts into them, we strive to not attach to outcomes. It’s one way we have learned to be radically resilient.
TIMELESS DESIGN IS TRENDING?
Plenty of folks are exhausted, anxious, filled with uncertainty, and craving sanctuary in the turbulent 2020s.
Timeless looks comfort us as they are enduring, adaptable, classic, high quality, well-crafted, and a blend of eras.
They offer sophisticated simplicity, natural materials, quality lighting, thoughtful architecture, earthy colors, and clean lines. Trendy looks eventually look dated.
Maybe what timeless design offers is a sort of anchor or bridge from the past to somewhere ahead.
Buying vintage furniture and handmade items online is easy now. We like selecting foundational pieces that will last and then layer with art and objects. The accessories reflect our values and change as we grow.
Social media exposes us to a wealth of possibilities. When hashtags like #cozyopulence or #oldmoney trend, there’s an uptick in search. The algorithms alert marketers and consumers what people are hungering for at the moment.
WHAT GUIDES MY OWN DESIGN PRACTICES?
I’m interested in designs reflecting how I want my life to feel…not how I want my life to appear to others.
This is an important distinction to wrestle with. When you know yourself, you’re aware of your desires, needs, and agendas. Therapy, spiritual journeys, and even podcasts may help.
Since I value authenticity and vulnerability, I don’t want to stage my house to impress or mimic a look from someone I admire. Inspiration from sources like Hello Lovely is a good starting point, but it rarely offers formulas for instant gratification.
A good number of fantasy projects on the blog had bottomless budgets. The designer may have been handed a blank check. I personally thrive when I can creatively capture a mood by playing with texture, light and color and never over-spending.
That said, I’ll splurge if I know something will deliver joy everyday. What can I say? I’m vast and complex; full of contradictions and compassion.
Just because you can afford a particular antique with an amazing provenance or original art does not mean those objects are right for you.
It’s important to design with heart and intuition. If you can’t hear their whispers, get still, unplug, or seek the grace to help you hear and see the beauty you desire.
I’m chronically ill so I have this bonus of built-in opportunities for slow living and stillness. Deep listening from practice is a fruit of such a journey.
Shop my home RIGHT HERE.
IS TIMELESS DECOR TOO SAFE?
Reducing everything to dualities can be a huge bore. Are there truly only two modes (safe or adventurous) to anything in this life?
What about the third way? The twenty seventh? Are certain colors safe? While there may be data about bestselling neutral paint colors to stage your home for sale…
does that mean neutral color stories are strictly for unimaginative buyers and those with dull personalities?
Isn’t there much more to neutrals with their subtleties and spaciousness magic? Also, plenty of timeless finishes may appear to be “safe” choices when they are quite wild.
Consider how unlacquered brass and other metals with a living finish change over time. Not boring at all!
Watching patina develop over the years with use is a great metaphor for aging and deeply gratifying for timeless design freaks like moi.
It’s interesting to note how both traditional and timeless design is trending at the same time attention spans are shrinking and tech is revolutionizing the global landscape. Who even knows what’s coming? Boring doesn’t sound half bad.
If you’re looking for a sensible foundation on which to build over time, timeless delivers. Looking for an escape to sanctuary, to calm the senses?
A whole rainbow of whites and pale neutrals help you get there. Thoughtful attention to lighting and natural materials set the stage. A myriad of textures and finishes add character. Minimal or maximal approaches work in a timeless context.
WHAT DO I APPRECIATE ABOUT TIMELESSNESS?
It feels like a transcendent escape from the changing landscape beyond home. Its mix of eras brings a reverence for the past.
I love juxtaposition where pleasing tension grows from combining patterns, geometry, and even rusticity with the refined. Juxtaposition can be playful. When the balance is right, the result doesn’t feel static, old fashioned, or pretentious as much as storied, uncontrived, effortless, and undone.
Undone? In a sense, there is room for more evolution and even small corrections.
WHAT MISTAKES DO WE MAKE?
Hiring a professional designer is smart and can save money and headaches. If you lack clarity, you may be vulnerable to common mistakes. For example, you may become attached to a look that feels glamorous or luxurious yet doesn’t suit your lifestyle.
Obsessed with Ralph Lauren interiors in the 90s, I once bought into a handsome masculine library look for our living room that didn’t suit our young family (with rambunctious boys!) at all. I hand-applied a dark moody limewash to walls and imagined brown leather sofas would distress charmingly with time. Good heavens, I sold those pieces and re-painted within a year. Mistakes help us grow.
Wise designers help you to identify your unique style. They have access to contractors and subs they trust. They pose the right questions. For example, do you entertain groups of people often? It makes sense to create comfortable gathering spaces and seating with little side tables for placing a drink.
If home is mainly where you retreat to your bedroom after long work hours, maybe devote the budget for a 5-star hotel bedroom with remote window blinds. The balance of rooms may be lower priority (until you get to them, when you entertain, keep lights low and light a mass of candles…works every time). Get a chic bar cart, put dimmers on all lights, and splurge on a luxurious mattress and bedding.
Lighting is Often Overlooked!
Don’t skimp on lighting! Especially if you’re building and there are opportunities to place sconces and dimmers and well-placed outlets for lamps.
If you want to live with neutral colors, get educated about white paints. Whites have undertones and vary as far with light reflectance. Sample at least three neutral paint colors before choosing the one you like. Even if it takes ten tries, it’s totally worth it.
Visit Hello Lovely for paint colors to sample. Where do you spend time at home? Focus on those areas first. If you are super artistic or eccentric, don’t feel limited by messages in media insisting function first. There are countless exceptions.
Hold design rules loosely. For example, you don’t want your home to feel like a museum rings true for most people, yet if your jam is museums, a gallery-like space makes sense.
A dim hall could morph into a bright white corridor lined with framed vinyl album covers or oil paintings by your grandma or collected African masks.
What lies at the intersection of timeless design and authenticity? The wonder and joy of YOU are weaved into the creative process of curating harmonious design elements.
Thanks for considering these ideas (more HERE) from a real life renovator and homebody!
Peace to you right where you are.
-michele
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Thanks for sharing your ideas. I like your designing which elevate the overall planning. looks beautiful.
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